Someone told me before that you take a passage of the Bible and you answer the questions, who, what, when, where, how, why.
What are other tips in taking Bible study deeper?
What are other tips in taking Bible study deeper?
Tips in studying Bible-Hermeneutics
- Thread starter Mayflower
- Start date
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Eternally Grateful
Well-Known Member
One thing I learned which helped alot is called historical context. In other words. The people who the passage was written to and for. What would they think, Historical perspective. What was going on in the society which may have caused the things said to be said.
I know we want to try to bring out what it means for us today. But if we do not get historical perspective. We may miss out on what was really said. I believe this happens alot sadly.
I know we want to try to bring out what it means for us today. But if we do not get historical perspective. We may miss out on what was really said. I believe this happens alot sadly.
Pray without ceasing!
Rejoice in the Lord always!
This is true. I love the "Chosen Series." It has given me a better idea of the historical aspects of the time.
Eternally Grateful
Well-Known Member
You should never take any Bible passage in isolation, but put it in the context of all related passages. If you have not invested in Nave's Topical Bible (KJV) as yet, you should do so.
Hello Mayflower,
I like to do "word" studies sometimes to see how many times the same word is used to get a clearer meaning. As we know, the same word can mean different things.
In Him Always = abide :)
I like to do "word" studies sometimes to see how many times the same word is used to get a clearer meaning. As we know, the same word can mean different things.
In Him Always = abide :)
Excellent, Mayflower! Here is what I "would add" as deeper study tips:
Grace And Peace, Precious friend(s). For your Encouragement and help:
Bible “study” Rules :
(1) “Let ALL things be done Decently and In Order!”
(1_Corinthians_14:40 KJB!)
(2) Study ALL Scripture Rightly Divided! :
“Study to shew thyself Approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth!”
(2_Timothy_2:15 KJB!)
(3) Never Ever add to, Or take away From, God’s PURE And Holy Word!
{ Including "God's Contexts!," [Prophecy] Rightly Divided from [MYSTERY!] }
(Deuteronomy_4:2, 12:32; Proverbs_30:5-6; Revelation_22:18,19 KJB!)
(4) Be noble students :
“These (in Berea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in
that they received The Word with all readiness of mind, and
searched The Scriptures daily, Whether Those Things Were So!”
(Acts_17:11 KJB!)
(5) Build Sound Doctrine, God’s Way! :
(5a) Find ALL Related Scriptures For A Specific doctrine! :
”ALL Scripture Is Given By Inspiration Of God, And Is
Profitable For Doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may
be perfect, throughly furnished unto ALL good works!”
(2_Timothy_3:16-17 KJB!)
(5b) Compare ALL Related Scriptures to learn and know a
Specific doctrine! :
“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s
wisdom teacheth, but Which The Holy Ghost Teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual!”
(1_Corinthians_2:13 KJB!)
{Comparing Scripture With Scripture!}
“Simplicity” in CHRIST! (2_Corinthians_11:3 KJB!) Amen?
(6) The Best "Interpretive" Commentary On The Bible Is :
The BIBLE Itself!
NEVER ever interpret The Many Plain Scriptures
by the "few" difficult verses, But, ALWAYS Always
Interpret the few Obscure/Difficult/Dubious verses
By ALL Of The MANY Plain and Clear Passages Of
God’s Pure And Holy Word!
+
ONE Final Excellent Rule for Knowledgeable Bible study! :
(7) In order to Honor The Father And The SON (John_5:22-23 KJB!),
in Preparation For Judgment, Always keep {Uppermost} in mind:
”Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do ALL to The Glory Of God!” (1_Corinthians_10:31 KJB!)
-------------------------------
And then we ALL, who are "Called Into Fellowship With
God's SON, The LORD JESUS CHRIST" (1_Corinthians_1:9 KJB!),
And,
"Endeavouring For The Unity Of God's Spirit In The Bond Of
PEACE!..." (Ephesians_4:3 KJB!), can obey God's Exhortations! :
”...speak...the things which become Sound Doctrine!”
(Titus_2:1 cp "SAME mind And judgment!" 1_Corinthians_1:10 KJB!)
Amen?
Would the Results of following All of God’s Rules Above Be:
“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in
love, and unto all Riches of the Full Assurance Of Understanding,
to the acknowledgement of The Mystery Of God, and of the Father,
and of CHRIST!” (Colossians_2:2 KJB!)?
---------------------
Precious friend(s), Please Be Very RICHLY Blessed!
One thing that helps me most, I think, is to read and reread and reread ad infinitum. 100 times through a book (I'm thinking the shorter ones in this, Romans, Ecclesiastes, like that) will yield a fuller understanding than 5 times. Just reading and rereading until the words come readily back to mind, so as you're reading this passage, you will remember what it says in that passage, and can meditate on these things.
Another is to outline the passage. Work out what parts relate to what, the overall point, subsidiary points, conclusions, implications, and relationships to other passages with similar themes. The more detailed the outline, the more searching the Word to derive it.
Much love!
What I have found useful is to not try and solve all of the issues I might have with any particular passage. I like to leave those issues up in the air so that they are before me all of the time as I continue reading through the rest of the scripture, that is from the beginning to the end. What I find happening is that I get a link from the passage of the scripture that I am reading that connects to one of the unanswered issues that I have left up in the air and a little bit more of the jigsaw picture is filled in a little more.
For example, after the 9/11 event as I was reading through the book of Revelations, I realised that the image of a frog jumping is a great description of a commercial plane that is flying overhead and was the perfect description for John to use in trying to explain what was occurring. His description of three "three unclean spirits like frogs" IMHO perfectly describes the three plane flying above the ground on the day of 9/11 and I came to see a little more clearly the fulfilment of this prophecy. As the prophecy unfolded after the 9/11 event, I also began to see that the kings of the world were being drawn together to gather around 40 years later at Armageddon to be judged for their actions. Why were they being drawn together at Armageddon around 40 years after the 9/11 incident? Because kings of the earth trampling both God's sanctuary and His earthly Hosts.
As I continued to read through the scriptures on a regular basis, I also began to see other references, like Isaiah 63:1-5, 24:21-22, Daniel 7:11-12, ch 8, Zechariah 14:1-5 etc., that filled in more of the picture for me so that more of the contextual messages in the bible was being fulfilled.
What this meant for me was that I had to stop trying to cookie cut passages out of the bible and isolate that cookie cut passage from any other section of the scriptures. If you only focus on the sections around the cookie cut portion of the bible that you are trying to find answers for, then the bible will always remain like a closed book for you.
We all need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us is our searching for answers from the scriptures and give ourselves the necessary time for that to happen without trying to force a conclusion at the time of reading a particular portion of the scriptures.
We also have to keep in mind that God does not need us all to fully understand the breath of the whole bible, and for some, all that He requires us is to be fully versed in the salvation message that He has just for us and those with whom we rub shoulders with on a regular basis so that we live out our understanding of this salvation message in our walking with Him beside us.
As a grumpy older person, I may become short with others who have not been able to come to the understanding that I have found in the scriptures, but like my children, I must allow them to have the same experiences that I have had during my lifetime before we can openly discuss our differences, if there be any.
May the Lord continue to draw you and your other significant people around you into a closer loving relations with Him as you live out your life/lives on fire for Him.
Shalom
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I found an online source that seems to provide some great advice on your topic. Have not read it, just the 9 points it mentions up front. It appears to be encouraging and useful.
Hermeneutics 101: Rules & Guidelines for Bible Interpretation
1. Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
2. The meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph must be derived from the context. https://alwaysbeready.com/hermeneutics/hermeneutics?id=269#context
3. Interpret the Scriptures knowing that the goal in interpretation is not to discover hidden, secret truths, or to be unique in your interpretation.
4. Interpret the Scriptures literally unless you have good reason to believe that they are figurative.https://alwaysbeready.com/hermeneutics/hermeneutics-rules-and-guidelines/#literally
5. Do not interpret Scripture in light of personal experience but interpret experience in the light of Scripture.
6. When interpreting the Scriptures, investigate the meanings of keywords in their original languages.
7. Interpret the Scriptures bearing in mind that many commands, directives, and duties were made to an individual and not all people.
8. Interpret the Scriptures bearing in mind that Biblical examples are authoritative only when supported by a command.
9. Interpret the Scriptures keeping in mind that Christians are living under the New Covenant instituted by Jesus, not the Old Covenant that God gave to Israel.
I would suggest an important first step to consider after you have established your rules or plan for the interpretation of scripture, and before the actual application of interpretation of scripture text for extracting meaning- exegesis. It is to know and be confident that the scripture and passage under study is authentic and original as best as you can know. Performing Exegesis(es) based on your established hermeneutics on tampered or tainted scripture does not serve any good purpose. You will be surprised how many verses especially in NT text, has been altered or edited by the translators for deliberate bias.
That brings up another note. Hermeneutics also considers predefined religious doctrine and theologies. This can be a very negative addition and weight that brings certain bias in knowing the scriptures. I would caution against using the lens of pre-defined doctrine and theology you are already engrained or indoctrinated in. Keep it to a minimum.
The last tip from me is to pray and allow the Spirit within you to guide and lead you, at its/his pace and timing. This is the hardest thing for folks to believe in and use as the spiritual key. It is truly the key to unlocking the meaning in scripture. And why wouldn't it be, it is the same Spirit of God who inspired it to be written down in the first place.
APAK
@Mayflower ..let me add on 2 more items to the list I posted above as #14.
-Precedence: Do not invent or use a different meaning for a word or term without serious thought. There is precedence for sticking with many or most meanings, already established. And yes, I've come across several well established, engrained terms that are wrong IMO and I've changed their meaning.
-Inferences by logical reasoning - Many, even most times we are forced to supply inferences (these are both deductive and non-deductive classes of reasoning and then these can be divided into abductive and inductive) by drawing conclusions from premises where ever they are sourced or originate from/to scripture, verses and parts of verses. It cannot be avoided and must be done with care.
Best days are ahead in Spirit....APAK
-Precedence: Do not invent or use a different meaning for a word or term without serious thought. There is precedence for sticking with many or most meanings, already established. And yes, I've come across several well established, engrained terms that are wrong IMO and I've changed their meaning.
-Inferences by logical reasoning - Many, even most times we are forced to supply inferences (these are both deductive and non-deductive classes of reasoning and then these can be divided into abductive and inductive) by drawing conclusions from premises where ever they are sourced or originate from/to scripture, verses and parts of verses. It cannot be avoided and must be done with care.
Best days are ahead in Spirit....APAK
@Mayflower, the other day someone highlighted a particular biblical reference that forced me to reconsider my understanding of biblical prophecy with respect to this present time that is unfolding before us. The scripture they referenced was in Zechariah 12 and referenced the situation for Judah and Jerusalem as it unfolds as time approaches the judgement of the nation at Armageddon.
This member was able to teach me something that I had not seen before in scripture in the Book of Zechariah, but I was aware of from the Book of Luke in chapter 14. What the passage in Zechariah highlighted for me was that Judah and Jerusalem would possibly be drawn first to God during the time of the Armageddon event. The passages in Ezekiel concerning the gathering the gathering of the Israelites to God suggests a Global gathering of the nation of Israel would occur, and that God will plant Israel in the fertile field tended by Christ and that He will teach Israel about the things concerning the mountain, i.e. religion, of Israel, based on the foundational truth that Jesus, i.e. the servant of Israel, is the Son of God, and that they would continue living scattered throughout the whole earth, while Judah would remain in the Land of Canaan so that God's purposes would be fulfilled.
This passage, that I was shown, has helped me to see and understand more of the big picture, that is unfolding before us as the end of this present age draws to a close.
If I had thought that I had all the understanding that I needed, then I would not have seen the truth that is found in Zechariah 12 and would have remained ignorant of God's bigger picture that I have not even fully comprehended at this present time.
Nail down, as best you can, the process of peoples' salvation so that you can be steadfast in your faith and relationship with God. Hold lightly, what you understand with respect to the story of the End Times and allow revelation to come as the holy Spirit slowly reveals the end time story within the limits of our ability to comprehend and understand. Fully understanding the intricacies of the End Times is not as important for our salvation. What is important is our relationship with God and our faith in Him to keep us within His loving embrace no matter what may be before us during our life.
Shalom
This member was able to teach me something that I had not seen before in scripture in the Book of Zechariah, but I was aware of from the Book of Luke in chapter 14. What the passage in Zechariah highlighted for me was that Judah and Jerusalem would possibly be drawn first to God during the time of the Armageddon event. The passages in Ezekiel concerning the gathering the gathering of the Israelites to God suggests a Global gathering of the nation of Israel would occur, and that God will plant Israel in the fertile field tended by Christ and that He will teach Israel about the things concerning the mountain, i.e. religion, of Israel, based on the foundational truth that Jesus, i.e. the servant of Israel, is the Son of God, and that they would continue living scattered throughout the whole earth, while Judah would remain in the Land of Canaan so that God's purposes would be fulfilled.
This passage, that I was shown, has helped me to see and understand more of the big picture, that is unfolding before us as the end of this present age draws to a close.
If I had thought that I had all the understanding that I needed, then I would not have seen the truth that is found in Zechariah 12 and would have remained ignorant of God's bigger picture that I have not even fully comprehended at this present time.
Nail down, as best you can, the process of peoples' salvation so that you can be steadfast in your faith and relationship with God. Hold lightly, what you understand with respect to the story of the End Times and allow revelation to come as the holy Spirit slowly reveals the end time story within the limits of our ability to comprehend and understand. Fully understanding the intricacies of the End Times is not as important for our salvation. What is important is our relationship with God and our faith in Him to keep us within His loving embrace no matter what may be before us during our life.
Shalom
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Waiting on him
Well-Known Member
Place Christ in the center of all scripture.
Michiah-Imla
Well-Known Member
WHO = God.
WHAT = God’s Word.
WHEN = Eternal.
WHERE = From heaven to Earth.
HOW = Through holy prophets.
WHY = For instruction in righteousness.
I like to read passages forgetting everything else, just to try to make sure I'm reading exactly what is written, the way it was written, with nothing more and nothing less. I want to be sure I'm grounded in the statements made in a passage itself, and then begin to consider it in light of other passages.
Much love!
That is a wise process or tactic to take as a rule...taking the road of caution that still produces new truths along the way.
I do a fresh look and review of scripture, even those I have read many times. And when I do, I'm not looking to reaffirm what I already think I know so much, I review it for deeper meaning. This then leads me to think of other related scripture.
I believe that scripture can be thought of as jig saw puzzle pieces of a puzzle, and each piece is at the verse level.. I lay scripture down after a review and place it on paper or in my mind with other related ones. In time, I see I have gathered several related scripture and I see a puzzle being formed together and the mosaic or landscape of it changes based on major threads of the entire Bible. I really slow down when I'm ready to piece verses, selected verses to their appropriate theme, all together. It all must harmonize together, with not one forced jig saw puzzle piece that really does not fit in. We most probably have experience this when an actual jig-saw puzzle piece is awkward and forced into another piece where tabs begin to buckle. It stand out like a sore thumb. We KNOW we have to pull it out and start over again....the same with scripture..
Be back after doing a few chores.....APAK
