Lesson 3

How To

Study the Bible Lesson 3: Proper Tools of The Trade

By Shane Scott

Just as there are proper tools for cooking or carpentry, there are proper tools for Bible study. In this lesson we are going to examine the various tools every good Bible student should have at their disposal.

A Good Study Bible

Obviously, the foundational tool of Bible study is a good Bible. There are several factors to take into account in order to choose a good Bible:

1) Translation

There are three basic philosophies of translation: literal, moderate, and paraphrase.

A literal translation translates the original Hebrew and Greek texts using the precise word order and structure of the original. Examples of this kind of translation are the King James Version, New King James Version, American Standard Version (1901), and New American Standard Bible (which has been recently updated). This philosophy is called "formal equivalence."

A moderate translation translates the original ideas of the Hebrew and Greek texts into their modem English equivalents, while adhering as closely as possible to the word order. The New International Version and New Living Translation are examples of this philosophy, which is called "dynamic equivalence."

A paraphrase puts into English the concepts behind the original Greek and Hebrew terms, but with little concern for the original word order. The Living Bible and Amplified Bible are two of the most popular examples of this philosophy.

Each of these philosophies has its strengths and weaknesses because they represent attempts to balance RELIABILITY with READABILITY. The more literal the translation, the more reliable it will be in adherence to the original text, but the less readable it will be. And, the more free the translation is, the more readable it will be, but the less reliable it will be. The KJV and the ASV areparticularly difficult to read compared to other translations because they use archaic language, especially the KJV.

It should also be pointed out that except for the ASV, all translations will contain some degree of theological bias reflecting the beliefs of the translation committees. The KJV contains several blatant Calvinistic distortions (especially Hebrews 6:6, where "if'" is added to blunt the force of this apostasy text). The NASB and the NKJV also contain periodic slants toward Calvinistic or premillennial theology. Consequently, the best advice is to use one good translation as your basic study Bible (I prefer the NASB), but always consult several different translations for comparison.

2. Notations

A good study Bible should also contain numerous footnotes and cross references. Footnotes are important because they explain difficult terms (see the note in the NASB on the word "mina" in Luke 19:13). They also inform the reader of important textual variations. Remember, we do not possess any original manuscript of the Bible. We do possess thousands of manuscript copies, though, and the differences among these copies are very rare. Good Bibles contain notes which alert the reader to these rare differences (see if your Bible has any notes on I John 5:8).

Cross-references are also helpful. A cross-reference will lead you to other instances in which a particular term or concept appears in the Bible. This kind of comparison can be helpful in determining an author's message.

3. Study Bibles

There are many special study Bibles on the market. Two of the most popular are the Scofield Bible and the Ryrie Study Bible. I am very leery of using study Bibles. In the first place, most study Bibles have a special theological axe to grind (Scofield and Ryrie are ardent premillenialists). Further, many people confuse the notes in their Bibles for the actual Scripture itself! I do not recommend any of these kinds of Bibles, but if I did have to choose the most theologically neutral one, it would be the New Open Study Bible.

A Good Dictionary

Many people overlook the importance of dictionaries for Bible study, but unless we have perfect knowledge of all Bible terms, a good dictionary is essential. First, you need to keep a good English dictionary on hand when you study, since that is the language our Bibles are translated in! I have always used the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.

It is also important to keep a good Bible dictionary on hand. Bible dictionaries define key Bible terms, names, and places. The two that I have found most useful are the New Bible Dictionary and the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary.

A Good Concordance

A concordance is an alphabetical listing of every occurrence of every word found in the Bible, along with a few of the surrounding words to give some context.

The most popular concordance is Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (based on the KJV). Strong's concordance is very helpful because it assigns a number to each different Hebrew and Greek word in the Bible. Other reference tools use this same numbering system, which makes it possible to do word studies without any knowledge of Greek or Hebrew (we will talk about word studies more in a later lesson).

Another good concordance based on the KJV is Young's Analytical Concordance. Young's breaks down each English word on the basis of its Hebrew and Greek equivalent, which can make it somewhat confusing.

Other translations also have concordances, including the NKJV and the NASB. I use the NASB, I also have a copy of the NASB Exhaustive Concordance. It also uses the same numbering system as Strong's.

There are many more tools of Bible study, but these are the most basic ones. By using these tools we will be able to construct a solid understanding of God's word.

Questions for Review and Discussion

1. Explain the three different philosophies of translation, and give one example of each:

2. What do these different philosophies try to balance?

3. Record how the KJV and the NASB translates the following verses:

Acts 3:17 KJV: NASB:

James 1-21 KJV: NASB:

2 Tim. 2:15 KJV: NASB:

4. Why are footnotes important?

5. What is the danger of using special Study Bibles?

6. What is a concordance?

7. Find the following verse using a concordance: "Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle."

8. What feature of Strong's Concordance is especially helpful for doing word studies?