Kingdom

Life

Institute

How to Understand the

Bible Tract II

Class I: Bible Basics

• How does this affect the way you understand the

scriptures?

– All Scripture is “God breathed” and has a purpose

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17

– Not by the “will of man”

• 2 Peter 1:21

• Nothing is greater than the Word of God.

– 66 books written during a 1,500 year period

– More than 40 authors

– Written in three languages

– On three continents

– With one central theme: God's plan of salvation

• J. Barton Payne: 1,239 prophecies in OT and 578 in NT; over ½ fulfilled

• Peter Stoner: odds of 1 man fulfilling (8) is 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000

Major Divisions of the Bible

• What are the Major Divisions of the Bible?

– The Bible is divided into two sections

• Old Testament and New Testament

• 39 OT books and 27 NT books; 66 books

– A testament is the written expression of someone’s will

– Canon of Scripture: books officially considered divinely inspired

• Some Bibles contain the Apocrypha

– Roman Catholic and a few Orthodox translations

– A group of 14 books, not considered canonical

– In the Septuagint and the Vulgate as part of the Old Testament

– Usually omitted from Protestant editions of the Bible

Categories and Descriptions OT

• OLD TESTAMENT (Genesis – Malachi)

– The Pentateuch Genesis – Deuteronomy

• 1st five books of the Bible

• The Law

• Torah

• Law of Moses

– History Joshua – Esther

• The Historical books give a prophetic view of history

• The interaction between God and His people

• Obedience/disobedience,

• Blessing/cursing

Categories and Descriptions OT

• OLD TESTAMENT (Genesis – Malachi)

– Poetry (Job – Song of Solomon)

• Poetic and Wisdom writings

• The fear of the Lord

• Wisdom and the power of observation

• Skill in living

– Major Prophets (Isaiah – Daniel)

• declared “major” due to the volume of writing

• Revelation, prophecy, direction and wisdom during crisis,

warning

• Remind the people of their covenantal promises

– Minor Prophets (Hosea – Malachi)

• declared “minor” due to the volume of writing

Categories and Descriptions NT

• NEW TESTAMENT (Matthew – Revelation)

– The Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

• They narrate Jesus’ life, death and resurrection

• Synoptic Gospels

– Matthew, Mark, Luke

– Based on a “common view”

» They recount many of the same miracles, similar sayings and

parables

» Distinct from the vantage of the writers.

• John

– Relates many miracles and events not found in the other

gospels

– Instead of parables it contains long discourses about Jesus’

identity.

Categories and Descriptions NT

• NEW TESTAMENT (Matthew – Revelation)

– The Historical Narrative (The book of Acts)

• Narrates the story of the early church

– The witness of the disciples (Acts 1-12)

– Paul’s Missionary Journeys (Acts 13-28)

– The Pauline Letters (Romans—Philemon)

• 13 “Epistles” named for the cities or individuals to which

the letters were sent

• Pastoral Epistles – 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus

• Prison Epistles – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,

Philemon

Categories and Descriptions NT

• NEW TESTAMENT (Matthew – Revelation)

– General Epistles & Revelation (Hebrews – Jude)

• addressed to a broad readership rather than to specific

congregations

• also referred to as the “Catholic Epistles”

• Hebrews is an early Christian sermon whose author is unknown.

– Jesus is better than…

• Revelation – is in a class by itself because of its distinctive

writing style

– It is a letter addressed to seven congregations in Asia Minor

» Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis,

Philadelphia, Laodicea

Summary of Categories &

Descriptions

How Many books are in each Category?

– Old Testament (39):• Pentateuch (5)

• History (12)

• Poetry (5)

• Major Prophets (5)

• Minor Prophets (12)

– New Testament (27):• Gospels(4)

• History (1)

• Pauline Letters (13)

• Gen Epistles & Revelation (9)

Differences Between OT and NT

Old Testament

Moses and The Law (Exodus 34:10-17)

Annual animal sacrifice for sin by high

priest

Letter of the law kills

God spoke through the prophets

Mystery hidden (types and shadows)

Jews circumcised

Destruction by water (Genesis 7)

Creation of the world (Genesis 1)

Written in Hebrew/Chaldean

New Testament

Jesus and Grace (Matthew 26:28, John

1:17, Romans 6:10)

Jesus, our high priest, sacrificed for our

sin (Hebrews 10:1-4)

The Spirit gives life (Romans 8:2)

Speaks to us by His Son, Hebrews 1:1-2

Mystery revealed (1 Tim 3:16)

Christian Baptism

Destruction by fire

Destruction of the world (Revelation)

Written in Koine Greek

Bible Versions Differ

• Comparing the KJV and NIV you will find that the following Bible

passages are not included in the NIV:

– Matthew 17:21 "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.“

– Matthew 18:11 "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.“

– Mark 7:16 "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.“

– Mark 9:44 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.“

• No Bible translation is free of translation errors.

– Such errors were not in the original manuscript but were introduced later

• Compare 2 Samuel 21:19 with 1 Chronicles 20:5 (KJV, ABV, NASB, NIV)

– Some manuscripts are more accurate than others

• most Bibles will explain which manuscripts were used

– The older the manuscript and the translation, the more likely translation

errors have either been corrected or well documented in the footnotes.

Translation Differences

2 Samuel 21:19

Kings James Version Bible

Amplified Version Bible New American Standard

Bible

New International Version Bible

“And there was again a battle

in Gob with the Philistines,

where Elhanan the son of

Jaare-oregim, a

Bethlehemite, slew the

brother of Goliath the Gittite,

the staff of whose spear was

like a weaver’s beam.”

“There was again war at Gob

with the Philistines; and

Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim,

a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath

the Gittite, whose spear shaft

was like a weaver’s beam.”

“And there was war with

the Philistines again, at

Gob, and Elhanan the

son of Jaare-oregim the

Bethlehemite killed

Goliath the Gittite, the

shaft of whose spear

was like a weaver’s

beam.”

“In another battle with the Philistines

at Gob, Elhanan the son of Jaare-

Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed

Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear

with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.”

1 Chronicles 20:5

Kings James Version Bible Amplified Version BibleNew American Standard

BibleNew International Version Bible

“And there was again war

with the Philistines; and

Elhanan the son of Jair slew

Lahmi the brother of Goliath

the Gittite, whose spear staff

was like a weaver’s beam.”

“There was war again with the

Philistines; and Elhanan son of

Jair slew Lahmi the brother of

Goliath the Gittite, the staff of

whose spear was like a

weaver’s beam.”

“And there was war with

the Philistines again, and

Elhanan the son of Jair

killed Lahmi the brother

of Goliath the Gittite, the

staff of whose spear was

like a weaver’s beam.”

“In another battle with the Philistines,

Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the

brother of Goliath the Gittite, who

had a spear with a shift like a

weaver’s beam.”

Variance & Reasons for Differences

• Translation Principles

– Word-for-word

– Thought-for-thought

– Literal

– Paraphrase

• Words vs. Thoughts

– Formal Equivalence

– Dynamic Equivalence

• Untranslated Words – words not considered important

or detrimental to the context

• Added Words – words added for clarity usually placed

in italics (KJV, NKJV)

Automated Bible Study Tools

• What is the benefit of automated study tools?

– Condensed volumes of data

– Readily accessible

• Bible Hub by Biblios http://biblehub.com

• PC Study Bible

• Bible Gateway http://www.biblegateway.com

• Bible Suite by Biblios http://www.biblesuite.com

• Logos Bible Software https://www.logos.com

• Bible Study Tools.com http://www.biblestudytools.com

• Study Light.org http://www.studylight.org

• Blue Letter Bible.org http://www.blueletterbible.org

• Gotquestions.org http://www.gotquestions.org

How to Use Study Tools

• Demonstrate how to use:

– Physical books

– Bible software and online resources

• Concordances

• Dictionaries

• Commentaries

• Thesauruses

• PC Study Bible

See Exercise Work Sheets

A Concordance

• What is a Concordance?

– An alphabetical list of the words used in the bible with references

pertaining to where each word can be found.

– It helps you understand the original meaning and content of

Bible words, passages, and stories as they were written in their

original languages.

• What is a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible?

– It lists every word found in the King James Bible, the book,

chapter, and verse number, the number of times each word

appears, and the definitions of each word.

– It also highlights the fact that many words in the original

languages have more than one meaning.

Using the Strong's Concordance

• 1. Main Concordance

– “Angel”

– “Love”

– 2 Thessalonians 2:7 KJV

• 2. Appendix of Articles, Conjunctions, Prepositions, etc.

– Listing of every non-main word such as:

• and, because, but, he, she

• the, theirs, them, or, for etc.

Using the Strong's Concordance

• 3. Nelson’s Topical Index

– Lists subjects, names, places, things, concepts, events, and

doctrines of the Bible

– Division—diversity; discord

• A. Causes of:

– Real faith Luke 12:51–53

– Carnal spirit 1 Cor. 3:3

• B. Opposed to:

– Prayer of Christ John 17:21–23

– Unity of Christ 1 Cor. 1:13

– Unity of the church John 10:16; 1 Cor. 12:13–25

Using the Strong's Concordance

• 4. Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary (O.T.)

– Words in the dictionaries are listed in alphabetical order in their

original language (Hebrew/Aramaic or Greek) and numerical order

by Strong's reference number.

• Item A = the Strong's reference number

• Item B = the original spelling

• Item C = number of times the original word appears in the original writing

• Item D = The Hebrew/Aramaic or Greek word represented in English letters

(this is called the transliteration)

• Item E = the Strong's syllable-by-syllable pronunciation with the emphasized

syllable marked by the accent

• 5. Greek Dictionary (N.T.)

– Same as above (except numbers)

• Italics (5567) = NT for “melody”

How To Use Bible Dictionaries

• The Bible dictionary, combined with prayer and your Bible,

can help to unlock, understand and gain revelation about

the history and culture of biblical times.

– Determine the term or phrase you wish to look up. (Faith)

– Scroll through the dictionary to find the term or phrase.

– Locate the term or phrase and read the definition.

– Review associated passages. “Context is king”

• To choose a good Bible Dictionary consider the following:

– REPUTATION

– RECENCY

– REFERENCES

– RELEVANCY

Bible Dictionaries

• There are several types of Bible Dictionaries/Encyclopedias:

– Single-volume references

– Multi-volume references

– Hebrew/Greek Lexicons

– Theological Dictionaries

– Specialized Dictionaries

• Some popular Bible Dictionaries/Encyclopedias:

– The New Bible Dictionary (Inter-Varsity Press, 1982).

– The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Harper, 1996).

– The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, 1992)

– The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Eerdmans, 1979-88)

– The Revell Bible Dictionary (Fleming H. Revell Co. 1990)

Bible Commentaries

• A book of knowledge and interpretations that give

background information and insight on culture, history,

geography, customs and religious ceremonies during

biblical times.

– You can check your opinions/conclusions against the insights

gathered by the people of God through the ages.

– You can check several Bible commentaries to see if others

understand and interpret a Bible passage the same way you do.

– WARNING: Commentaries carry the slant of the author.

– Often commentaries will discuss difficult doctrinal or theological

problems associated with a particular Bible passage.

Thesaurus

• A thesaurus is a reference work that lists words

grouped together according to similarity of meaning

– Contains synonyms and sometimes antonyms

– The main purpose is to help the user “to find the word, or

words, by which [an] idea may be most fitly and aptly

expressed” Peter Roget

SUMMARY

• The Bible has many facets and knowing how it is

structured enhances our understanding.

• The Bible is unique in its origin and message.

• There are a host of physical and automated tools

available to help us study.

• It takes practice to utilize these tools to their full potential.

Other Tools and Final Thoughts

• Devotionals help you stay on course.

– ODB, DOP, My Utmost …, RBC

• Bible games and trivia

– help you stay sharp while having fun

• Charts, maps and pamphlets (Rose Publishing)

• Mature saints

• RESOURCES:

– Bible Suite by Biblios; Biblegateway.com; OnePlace.com; RBC;

– CSN Int’l; PC Study Bible; Probe Ministries; LivingOnTheEdge.com

– RZIM; Family Life Today; Running To Win; ServeHim.com

• QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: