How to Study the Bible
OBSERVATION
Extensive reading
- Read the whole book (if it is small)
- Read various translations
- Read the first and last verses of each chapter, subdivision titles
- Read an introduction to the book
- What are some themes in the book? What is the tone/mood?
- What is the author’s purpose in writing?
Intensive reading
- Narrow to a unit of text (paragraph, chapter, stanza, etc.)
- Context: what came immediately before this? What comes immediately after?
- Read parallel passages and OT quotes (if applicable)
- Ask questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
- Identify: repeated terms, significant terms, figures of speech, connecting words
- Identify: contrasts, comparisons, verbs, commands
- Diagram the structure of the passage
INTERPRETATION
- What did the author mean? Why did he write this?
- What is the main point of the passage?
- Subject (what is the passage about) + Complement (what does it say about the subject)
APPLICATION
- How do we get from there (the time of the writing) to today?
Direct, principle, example, or universal truth
- Relate the text to your life, meditate on it, and put it into practice
Sample study plan for Galatians
Day Read
1 Ch. 1-3
2 Ch. 4-6
3 Ch. 1-3 (NIV, Message, or NLT)
4 Ch. 4-6 (NIV, Message, or NLT)
5 First and last verse of each chapter, subdivision headings
6 Introduction to Galatians (commentary or study Bible)
7 All of Galatians. Record themes, tone, and purpose.
8 Read paragraph 3 times. Note context before and after.
Look up OT quotations/allusions.
9 Read paragraph. Ask Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? of the paragraph. Identify repeated words, significant terms, figures of speech, connecting words.
10 Read paragraph. Identify contrasts, comparisons, verbs, commands. Diagram the structure.
11 Read paragraph. Review observations. What is the main point of the passage?
12 Make application of the passage to your life.
13 ? Repeat steps 8-12 for every paragraph in Galatians.
Units of study for Galatians:
1:1-5 2:1-10 3:1-9
1:6-10 2:11-14 3:10-14
3:15-22
3:23-29
4:1-7 5:1-6 6:1-5
4:8-11 5:7-12 6:6-10
4:12-20 5:13-15 6:11-18
4:21-31 5:16-26