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Bible Study Target
Ring | Category | Description | Examples |
1 | Original-Language Bible | God's inspired Word in the original languages (Hebrew and Greek). 3 | [Zane C. Hodges, and Arthur L. Farstad, The Greek New Testament According To The Majority Text (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1985)],
[Kurt Aland, and Bruce M. Metzger, The Greek New Testament (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1983)], [ Biblia Sacra Utriusque Testamenti Editio Hebraica et Graeca (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1994)], [K. Elliger, and Rudolph, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1977)], [Aron Dotan, Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001)]. |
2 | English-Language Bible9 | Word-for-word translation of the Hebrew and Greek texts.10 | KJV, KJ2000, NKJV, ASV, NASB, LITV, MKJV |
3 | Primary Study Tools | Concordances, Cross-references, Language Tools. These tools are denoted as primary because they help us to understand the raw biblical text while minimizing man-made interpretation. | [James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1996)],
[Robert L. Thomas, ed., New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance (Anaheim, CA: Foundation Publications, 1998)]13 , [R. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1995)]15 , [W. E. Vine, Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, IL: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996)], [Frederick William Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000)], [Spiros Zodhiates, KJV Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1991)] or [Spiros Zodhiates, NASB Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1990)], [Jay P. Green, and Maurice A. Robinson, A Concise Lexicon to the Biblical Languages (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, Inc., 1987)]. |
4 | Secondary Study Tools | Dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries. These tools are denoted as secondary because although they can be of great value to our understanding, they also unavoidably include the biases of the authors. If we derived our primary understanding of the text from these sources, we will be 'tainted' (sometimes dramatically so) by the 'spin' which different interpreters bring to their understanding of the Bible. The dangers here are subtle, but can be far-reaching and take a long time to overcome until additional Bible study in rings 1-3 corrects misperceptions that have been learned. | [Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979, 1915)],
[Merrill K. Unger, R. Harrison, Frederic F Vos, and Cyril J. Barber, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1988)], [John F. Walvoord, and Roy B. Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: SP Publications, 1983)], [C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Study Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002, 1909)], [John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1997)], etc. 26 |
5 | Background Material | Historical and cultural works which help to anchor the biblical revelation within the historic setting and culture in which it was first written. | There are a large number of works which fall into this category. A small representative sample is given here:
[Nathan Ausubel, The Book of Jewish Knowledge (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1964)], [Eli Barnavi, A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People (New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1992)], [Alfred Edersheim, Bible History, Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995)], [Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993)], [Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994)], [Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Josephus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1981)], [ Encyclopedia Judaica - CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0 (Jerusalem: Judaica Multimedia, 1997)], [Philip Birnbaum, Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts (New York, NY: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1995)], etc. |
Notes
1 Eze. [[34:3|bible.26.34.3]], [[15|bible.26.34.15]]; John [[21:17|bible.64.21.17]]; Acts [[2:42|bible.65.2.42]]; [[6:2-4|bible.65.6.2-65.6.4]]; [[11:25-26|bible.65.11.25-65.11.26]]; [[20:27|bible.65.20.27]]; Eph. [[4:11|bible.70.4.11]]; 1Ti. [[3:2|bible.75.3.2]]; [[4:6|bible.75.4.6]], [[11|bible.75.4.11]], [[13|bible.75.4.13]], [[16|bible.75.4.16]]; [[5:17-18|bible.75.5.17-75.5.18]]; 2Ti. [[2:15|bible.76.2.15]], [[24|bible.76.2.24]]; Tit. [[1:9|bible.77.1.9]]; [[2:1|bible.77.2.1]].
2 Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in the ignorance of Jewish culture which has denuded western Christian commentary throughout history.
3 Students who do not know the original languages can derive considerable insight into the original languages by the use of some of the tools in ring #3.
4 Zane C. Hodges, and Arthur L. Farstad, The Greek New Testament According To The Majority Text (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1985).
5 Kurt Aland, and Bruce M. Metzger, The Greek New Testament (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1983).
6 Biblia Sacra Utriusque Testamenti Editio Hebraica et Graeca (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1994).
7 K. Elliger, and Rudolph, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, Germany: German Bible Society, 1977).
8 Aron Dotan, Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001).
9 Readers whose primary tongue is other than English would utilize the Scriptures in their native tongue.
10 Translations which utilize dynamic equivalency, such as the NIV, and those which are paraphrases (such as The Message) are not suited for detailed Bible study.
11 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1996).
12 Robert L. Thomas, ed., New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance (Anaheim, CA: Foundation Publications, 1998).
13 An exhaustive concordance for the NKJV is available, but it lacks support for Strong's number and a Hebrew and Greek dictionary.
14 R. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1995).
15 The older Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is more widely-available, but is not as complete or accurate as the newer version by Jerome Smith. [Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge]
16 W. E. Vine, Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, IL: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996).
17 Frederick William Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
18 Spiros Zodhiates, KJV Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1991).
19 Spiros Zodhiates, NASB Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1990).
20 Jay P. Green, and Maurice A. Robinson, A Concise Lexicon to the Biblical Languages (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, Inc., 1987).
21 Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979, 1915).
22 Merrill K. Unger, R. Harrison, Frederic F Vos, and Cyril J. Barber, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1988).
23 John F. Walvoord, and Roy B. Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: SP Publications, 1983).
24 C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Study Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002, 1909).
25 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1997).
26 Many works in this category, such as [David Noel Freeman, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1996, c1992)], are so compromised by academic liberalism that we cannot recommend them except for comparative study by mature, well-grounded saints. Even then, the value-per-page of many works in this category is extremely low. The hugely-popular NIV Study Bible is not recommended. As mentioned elsewhere, the NIV translation is not suitable for in-depth study and the commentary attending the NIV Study Bible is compromised by an attempt to appeal to too many interpretive positions.
27 Nathan Ausubel, The Book of Jewish Knowledge (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1964).
28 Eli Barnavi, A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People (New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1992).
29 Alfred Edersheim, Bible History, Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995).
30 Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993).
31 Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).
32 Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Josephus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1981).
33 Encyclopedia Judaica - CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0 (Jerusalem: Judaica Multimedia, 1997).
34 Philip Birnbaum, Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts (New York, NY: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1995).
35 "Apostasy would first begin in a denominational school and thus affect the training of ministers who were to fill the pulpits of the churches of those denominations. Eventually, more and more liberals took over the pulpits, and more and more churches became liberal themselves. So throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century, apostasy took over the schools and trained ministers for denominational churches." -- Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 73.
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