How to Study the Bible
Bible Study Methods

Article III

2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

For this article we will center on eight different methods, or ways, of studying the Bible. There are, however, more than eight, but these are the most common and will reap the greatest rewards.

1. Devotional Method

Devotional study is generally used alone or could be used in conjunction with other study methods or tools. Whether you are reading a whole book within the Bible, a passage, or even a single verse, the intention is to feed your spirit. There is no one single step-by-step direction on how it is done because it is done out of your spirit. In devotional study, you are earnestly seeking the mind of God. To begin, you need to enter into a place of worship to experience the presence of God in a spirit of teachable humility as you listen to God speak to you through His Word. You are not looking up any history of the Bible or meanings of words. It is you and the Lord devotionally meeting together to see what He is saying to you from an easy-to-read Bible. You are simply meditation, reflecting and praying to hear the heart of God. It is here where you and your Bible quietly meet together with the Lord. This kind of study is not meant to gain knowledge, but meditatively and reflectively seek to apply its principles to your life.

The New International Version is a good translation to read from when doing a devotional study. It is simple reading yet literal and authoritative. If you want a free-er version - in other words, one that is very simple to read in the language of today, you may want to use a paraphrase version. Some good paraphrases are the Living or the Message Bible. Glancing at the study notes in your Bible can be helpful. You are, however, not studying at this time, but the study notes can be helpful in clarification. Please note that paraphrases and study notes are the interpretation of the translator, editor, or publisher and prone to error and should not be used for any other kind of biblical study.

Every Christian should be regularly doing devotional studies of the Word of God in their quiet time. Sad to say, however, this is the only way that the majority of Christians study their Bible. They never go beyond this point. Devotional study, as important as it is, should only be the beginning of biblical study. Christians must go on and use other methods and tools that are available today.

2. Book Study

In most of your study Bibles, you will find either at the beginning or end of each book of the Bible helpful information on the book you are studying. For instance, if you are studying the book of Isaiah, your study Bible will give information on its author, the date of its writing, the theme of the book, and certain pertinent information you may need to help understand the book a little further. You may then want to study its author (the prophet Isaiah) to further to understand him. Understanding the author can give you a lot of information on the thoughts of the writer. You may also want to study in your Bible Almanac on what the times were like at that time. You may ask such questions as what was their cultural background, political environment, customs of the people, etc.

Another good source of information will come from your Bible dictionary. There will probably be some pictures to give you a clearer understanding of the times, along with a lot of good helpful information. Please note that in a Book Study you are not studying details about the book of the Bible, but gathering information that will later help you understand as you dig deeper into the book.

3.  Chapter Study

This chapter summary method involves gaining a general understanding of the contents of a chapter of the Bible.  It is important that you read the chapter of your choosing several times, asking yourself a series of content questions, and summarizing the central thought of the chapter.  This is a popular method for those who are just beginning Bible study because chapters are usually shosrt, not requiring deep studying.  This kind of study can be quickly taught to a new Christian or someone who is interested in developing a lifetime of Bible studying.

4. Word Study

Doing a word study means doing an in-depth study of a particular word/words in a particular verse or passage of scripture. In this kind of study you are desiring to clearly understand what the author was meaning when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write that Scripture so many centuries earlier.

It’s important that we understand how languages and ideas change throughout the years. For instance: In translating one language into another, you often need to research a word in a verse or text . Sometimes you can find the meaning in the margin of your study Bible, but more often than not, you may have to do a little research. What is meant by a word study, means you will need to find its derivative - the origin root meaning of that word in the original language that it was written. Having an English dictionary will not work - it is not wise to look up a biblical word in an English dictionary. Take the word fair. It could mean fair skinned. It could also mean the skies are sunny and fair, o r in August you might go to the State Fair. We have the same word, spelled identical, yet it has different meanings. When a comparison is made between English and biblical words, it is important to remember that you are crossing 2000-3500 years of time, cultural differences, sociological, geographical, and political barriers. Meanings of words change. The Bible is no different in that you can have the same word, spelled identical, yet it has an entirely different meaning. It all depends on how the word is used in a sentence. A biblical search for a particular verse in The Strong’s Concordance will give its meaning in the proper context with different numbers. Researching the number then will give you the accurate meaning.

The Strong’s Concordance was written by James Strong in the late 1800s, he was very knowledgeable in Hebrew and Greek. He took every word in our English King James Bible (excluding and’s and the’s) and attached a number to it that would correspond to the correct original Hebrew or Greek meaning. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, which was the language of the common people during the times of the New Testament writings. It is not the language of the Greeks today. The meanings of the words in Strong’s Concordance are limited. If it were expanded to its full meaning, the book would be so big and heavy to where no one could carry it. To give an example of how the meanings of one word can change from verse to verse, look at the following:

Gen 12:11 Fair 3303 yapheh (yaw-feh'); from OT:3302; beautiful (literally or figuratively): -+beautiful, beauty, comely, fair (-est, one), goodly, pleasant, well.

Job 37:22 Fair 2091 zahab (zaw-hawb'); from an unused root meaning to shimmer; gold, figuratively, something gold-colored (i.e. yellow), as oil, a clear sky:

Prov. 7:21 Fair 3948 leqach (leh'-kakh); from OT:3947; properly, something received, i.e. (mentally) instruction (whether on the part of the teacher or hearer); also (in an active and sinister sense) inveiglement:

Isa 5:9 Fair 2896 towb (tobe); from OT:2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well):

Ezek 31:7 Fair 3302 yaphah (yaw-faw'); a primitive root; properly, to be bright, i.e. (by implication) beautiful:

Acts 27:8 Fair 2568 Kaloi Limenes (kal-oy' lee-men'-es); plural of NT:2570 and NT:3040; Good Harbors, i.e. Fairhaven, a bay of Crete: KJV - fair havens.

At the end of each meaning you will often find a colon ( with other meanings following. Anything after the colon is how it is translated in the King James Version.

If you are looking up a New Testament Word and want to expand the meaning fuller beyond the Strong’s Concordance, then you would go to the Thayer's New Testament Lexicon. Another word for lexicon is Bible dictionary; however, it is a special kind of Bible dictionary. The Thayer’s Lexicon will give you a broader understanding of a particular New Testament word. The numbers in Thayer’s Lexicon correspond to the numbers in Strong’s Concordance.

If you are looking up an Old Testament Word and want to expand the meaning fuller beyond the Strong’s Concordance, then you would go to the Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon. Again, they correspond to the Strong’s Concordance. Other Old Testament lexicons are Wilson or Gesenius. These may or may not, however, correspond to the Strong’s Concordance. Be careful when purchasing these books because some are writing only in Hebrew and have no numbering system that will correlate the English and original language together.

Notice from the chart below on how the Thayer’s or Brown-Driver Briggs expands the meaning over the Strong’s Concordance:

	Strong’s	Thayer’s	Brown-Driver Briggs
God	430 'elohiym (el-o-heem'); plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: KJV-- angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.	430 'elohiym- 1) (plural) a) rulers, judges b) divine ones. c) angels. d) gods. 2) (plural intensive -singular meaning) a) God, a god, a goddess. b) god-like one c) works or special possessions of God. d) the one true God. e) God
Christ	5547 Christos- Christ = "anointed"; 1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God 2) anointed	2) (plural intensive -singular meaning) a) God, a god, a goddess. b) god-like one. c) works or special possessions of God. d) the one true God e) God 5547 Christos (khris-tos'); from 5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus: KJV-- Christ. 5547 Christos- Christ = "anointed"; 1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God. 2) anointed 5547 Christos-Christ = "anointed"; 1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God. 2) anointed	430 'elohiym- 1) (plural) a) rulers, judges. b) divine ones. c) angels. d) gods
Satan	4567 Satanas (sat-an-as');of Aramaic origin corresponding to 4566 (with the definite affix); the accuser, i.e. the devil: KJV-- Satan.	4567 Satanas-adversary (one who opposes another in purpose or act), the name given to a) the prince of evil spirits, the inveterate adversary of God and Christ 1) he incites apostasy from God and to sin. 2) circumventing men by his wiles. 3) the worshipers of idols are said to be under his control. 4) by his demons he is able to take possession of men and inflict them with diseases. 5) by God's assistance he is overcome. 6) on Christ's return from heaven he will be bound with chains for a thousand years b) a Satan-like man	7854 satan- 1) an adversary, one who withstands; an adversary (in general, personal or national) 2) superhuman adversary; Satan (as a proper noun)
Heaven	8064 shamayim (shaw-mah'-yim); dual of an unused singular shameh (shaw-meh'); from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve): KJV-- air, X astrologer, heaven (-s).	8064 shamayim dual of an unused singular shameh- heaven, heavens, sky a) visible heavens, sky 1) as abode of the stars 2) as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc. b) Heaven (as the abode of God)	3772 ouranos- 1) the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it a) the universe, the world. b) the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced. c) the sidereal (starry) heavens 2) the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings

Another tool for researching a meaning of a word is with the Vines Expository Dictionary. To research a word, you simply look in alphabetical order. The explanation of the words are very limited, however.

5. Character Study

A character study is a fun study - you get to know a person. Whether it is the Apostle Paul, Moses, David, Elijah, or one of the disciples, doing a character study deepens your understanding of the Word and the culture of the day.

Getting to know a character of the Bible also personalizes your study, because you are getting to know a person. When getting to know a person, you are coming to understand the thoughts of the writer. We need to learn from the lives of others. For instance: If you were to study about David, you would learn that he did some things that were bad; however, you would also learn that he had a repentant heart and he love God. David sought God with his whole being. We can take the applications of what was learned with David and apply it to our lives. Here we can see that no matter what we did wrong, we also need a repentant heart, and seek after God.

Many times your study tools may be different as you study the various methods. For a word study, for instance, certain study tools are more beneficial than if you were doing a systematic study. For a character study, looking at Bible dictionaries would be very helpful. A Bible dictionary would give a lot of historical information. A good study Bible is an excellent source of research. There are also good books out there specifically designed for character studies (i.e. Everyone in the Bible, All the Apostles in the Bible, All the Women in the Bible)

6. Topical/Thematic Study

A topical study: A topical study means studying certain topics in the Bible. It is a fun study to do because it carries you from one place to another - back and forth. You are gathering a lot of information. It would be good to look up every relative passage in the Bible that you can find on the subject you are researching. For instance: For a study on the power of the tongue, you may look up such words as mouth, tongue, speak, words, talk, or say.

One of the best places you research is in your concordance at the back of your study Bible. It is an excellent place to start. If you have a Thompson Chain Reference Bible it could take you from verse to verse to verse regarding a certain word or topic. Another excellent Bible for a topical study is the Naves Topical Bible. It makes topical research a lot easier. As you are researching and gathering this information, it would be wise to put your information in a systematic outline form.

A thematic study; Part of a topical study could be a theme study. Here you take 7-9 major things that run throughout scripture that make up a theme, such as themes in the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a mixed-pog of many different subjects, so if you systematically look up certain themes, you will find out a lot about your subject. If you studied on finances, you would discover that the word finance in not in your Bible. You can, however, look at words such as money, wealth, riches, treasure, silver or gold. If you studied on wisdom – some of the synonyms could be knowledge, understanding, instruction, discipline, wise, prudence or counsel. Looking up all these words in Proverbs would then give you a theme. As you would write down your discoveries, you would see some major points, as well as some minor ones, and an outline gets formed right in front of you.

6. Expository Study

An expository study is when you tie three or more scripture verses together and study it as one passage. The Biblical term is exegesis, which means to dig - critically analyze or explain the text, to interpret what the passage is saying. For instance when you hear a preaching about ministry gifts, you may read from three sections of scripture. These three scriptures make up a text. Examples would be Ephesians 4, Romans 12, and I Cor. 12.

Often when you do an expository study, you may need to do several different methods of study.

You may need to do a word study on these scripture passages, or do an historical study to put everything together in the text. As you do an expository study, you are taking that scripture passage and putting life to it. You are expounding out the meaning to explain in simple terms to where it is easy to understand.

7. Systematic Doctrinal Study

A systematic study is a topical study of great doctrines in scripture . The word “doctrine” can be confusing as various denominations carry doctrines that differ from one another. It is critically important that you study doctrine from a scriptural perspective.

Strong's/Thayer's Lexicon: The teachings or study of the theology of God, or the things of God, and the duties of man in relationship to God

Examining the meaning of the word “doctrine” in the Strong’s Concordance and the Thayer’s Lexicon, let’s make a comparison with the Webster’s Dictionary of today. The meanings are poles apart.

Webster's Dictionary of today: Principles or dogma of any branch of knowledge, especially of a sect or party - a belief held or taught.

Dogma is a doctrinal belief presented with authority - the authority of MAN

The Strong's and Thayer's gives us the scriptural meaning of the word “doctrine,” whereas the

Webster's Dictionary gives man's view of what the word “doctrine” means. We obviously want to look at doctrine in light of the Word of God.

2 Tim 3:16-17 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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

If all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for “doctrine,” wouldn’t you want your doctrine to be the teachings or study of the theology and things of God, and man's duties in relationship to God instead of principles or dogma which is man's authoritive doctrinal belief? Can you see why it is so important to use a Bible dictionary?

Here is a list of only a few of the Biblical doctrines.

Theology (Doctrine and Study of God)	Christology (Study of Jesus)
Pheumatology (Doctrine on the Holy Spirit)	Soteriology (Study on Salvation)
Ecclesology (Doctrine of the Church)	Eschatology (Study of end times)
Doctrine of the Trinity	Doctrine of Sin
Doctrine of Satan	Doctrine of Angels
Doctrine of the Bible

8. A combination of two or more studies

Many times in expository studying, you will do more that one study in exegetically researching the fullness of the text. Below is an example of exegetically researching the Scriptures by using a combination of two or more studies that I did in the past.

The Sermon on the Mount

• Character studies were done on Matthew and Judas.
• Several different topical studies were done on the Pharisees and the Saducees.
• Research in the Bible Atlas gave a better understanding of Jesus’ route about the time He gave His sermon on the mount, at the mount of Beatitudes.

You could do many word studies on what Jesus was saying when He said: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

     Meak doesn't mean weak.

According to the research in the Strong's Concordance, Thayer's Lexicon, Vines Expository Dictionary, and others, blessed are the meak means: Empowered to prosper are those who are teachable, for they will inherit the land all around.

     Blessed means Empowered to prosper

Meak means teachable – for they are blessed. They are the ones who will inherit the land.

Thayer's Lexicon and other deeper research expounds on the word meak as being teachable as a bit held in a horse's mouth to guide, to steer and to teach the horse where to go. Just researching in Strong's Concordance alone will not reveal that to you.

For those who are teachable to the Word of God - and apply what they learn to their lives, they will be blessed - empowered to prosper to inherit the land - all wealth that comes from our land, gold, silver, precious metals, as well as real-estate

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Do you see how important it is to dig - to exegetically research out scripture?

Studying the Word of God is exciting. It brings the Bible alive. The time you spend in your studies will be multiplied back to you over and over again as the fruit in your life starts to show what you have done. Take that time to study. It is important for your growth. Invest in some good study tools and helps. They are wise investments that will bring you a lifetime of rewards.

1.   A good study Bible
2.  The Strong's Concordance
3.  A good Bible Dictionary

For the next several articles, we will, with the exception of the devotional study, be doing a Bible study using each of the methods listed above.  Each of them will teach you in detail how to do a Bible study using the various methods listed above.  You will then be ready to do one on your own.