(Lesson 5a is on my MySpace page if you'd like to read it. It would not post here for some reason. www.myspace.com/phyllisasherer)
Some Helpful Bible Study Tools
Lesson 5b
Psa 119:9-12 (KJV)
{9} Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
{10} With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
{11} Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
{12} Blessed art thou, O LORD:
teach me thy statutes.
Dear Friends in Christ,
If I were ever limited to only 2 books to have on a desert island, they would be a King James Bible and a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. I have been a big fan of The Strongs Concordance for over 40 years.
The book has been in existence for over 100 years, and is probbably the first example of a manually searchable database of Bible words and verses. There is even a Hebrew and Greek Dictionary in the back, with the English words keyed to the corresponding Hebrew or Greek words by a simple numbering system. This eliminates the need to know how to read the original languages that the Bible was inspired in, and yet allows one to get an understanding of the deeper meanings of the original word. This often helps to clarify misunderstandings in interpretation of a Bible verse.
The only way to improve on Strong's Exhaustive was to computerize it and add a computer search engine. An example of a Computerized Strongs Concordance, along with many other useful Bible Study tools, are all available at the following website online and no need to download..
http://bible.crosswalk.com/index.cgi
I suggest that you become familiar with using this classic Bible study tool to further your own education in God's Word....doing topic studies, word studies, character studies and doctrine studies. We are truly blessed in this age with the opportunity to use these tools for the furtherance of our growth in Christ and the furtherance of God's Kingdom. Let us not let them become an un-used blessing, especially when there is so much darkness in the world around us.
The Bible Study Tools described below have been available in printed book form for many years. They are also avaialble in digital software form. One ministry provides them free for just the cost of shipping or a donation or in downloading form at
http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html . There is another free set of software at http://www.free-bible-software.com/OrderConditions.asp . I encourage you to take advantage of these study tools and use them to enhance your understanding of God's Word.
Jer 15:16 (KJV)
Thy words were found, and I did eat them;
and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:
for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
God Bless you in your study of the Word of God.
In Christ.................brother bob........<><
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How To Use the Strong’s Concordance
http://www.theanswer.org/biblestudy/strongs.htm
A concordance is an index, or alphabetical listing, of words used in the Bible, with references to chapter and verse. Strongs is an exhaustive (or complete) index of all the words used in the King James Version of the Bible. It lists every word in the Bible including every "a", "and", "the", "but" and similar words, and every verse where they are found. A concordance is a tool for the Bible student to study all the places in the Bible where a particular word is found, or more broadly, to study a Bible topic, a Bible subject, person, idea or doctrine.
There are several reasons for using a concordance:
(1) TO LOCATE A VERSE OF SCRIPTURE
Often times you are trying to remember a Bible verse, or part of a Bible verse, but you just couldn't remember where it was in the Bible? This is the most common reason why people use a concordance.
HOW? Find the verse by looking up in the concordance the most striking or exclusive word in that verse. Try not to use "common" words. The more common the word, like ""the" or "God" the longer the list in the concordance, and consequently the harder the verse is to find. For instance, in John 3:16 a more striking or exclusive word would be "only begotton" or "perish".
(2) TO FIND THE DEFINITION OF ORIGINAL GREEK AND HEBREW WORDS.
Let's consider, for example, the word "accusers" in 2 Timothy 3:3. This word is found in the main concordance and alongside is found the number (1228), which refers to the Greek dictionary in the back of the concordance.
Notice that the numbers for the Old Testament Hebrew words are "regular," while the numbers for the New Testament Greek words are in italics. In the case of number 1228 in the Greek dictionary, the order of information is as follows:
1. the Greek word
2. the "transliteration" of the Greek word, or how it is written in English letters
3. how to pronounce the word
4. the etymology of the word, or where the word came from
5. the definition of the word, in this case "a TRADUCER: specifically SATAN compare 7815 O.T."
6. the different ways the word is translated into English in the King James. The translations always appear after the (:). In our example. we learn that this same Greek word appears in the English New Testament as "false accuser," "devil," and "slanderer."
Now take your Concordance and work through the same steps with a word from the Old Testament: You can start with the word "awe" in Psalm 4:4.
(3) TO DO WORD STUDIES, or to find all the places a particular Greek or Hebrew term is used in the Bible.
It's one thing to find all the places in the Bible where the English word "propitiation" is used. But what if this word is translated differently in different verses? The most accurate and precise way to study Bible ideas is to find all the places a particular Greek or Hebrew word is found. One way is to use a Greek or Hebrew concordance.
Or..... you can use your Strongs. Let me show you how.
Remember, all the different ways a word is translated are found at the end of each listing in the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries. So you have to work backwards by looking up the English translation words in the main concordance, and then you look for the number.
Let's use our example: 'propitiation' in 1 John 1:9.
First, note the number 2435. Then write down all of the verses where this number occurs. Where else does it occur?
ROMANS 3:25 and 1 JOHN 4:10.
Second. make a note of the different ways the word is translated. How else is it translated? Only one way:
MERCYSEAT.
Third. look back into the main concordance index:
"mercyseat.' This tells us that our search has ended. There is only one other place where this Greek word hilasteron is used: in Hebrews 9:5. So the term is found only four times in the New Testament.
(4) TO DO TOPICAL STUDIES, that is, the study of related words and ideas. When we organize everything the Bible has to say on a given subject we call it a DOCTRINE. There are any number of TOPICS in the Scriptures. To do a Topical Study simply take your Concordance and look up ALL the references where that particular word is used and write them down. Then look up the verses and begin to study them.
John Bunyan, author of Pilgram's Progress once wrote: "I dare not presume to say I know I have it right in everything; but this I can say I have endeavored to do. I have not fished in other men's water. My Bible and concordance are my only library in my writing."
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is a comprehensive, user-friendly and versatile concordance of cross-references, providing the reader with an essential study tool for private devotions, teaching or preaching. It differs from the Strong's concordance in that it effectively lists cross references to the Bible phrase by phrase rather than word for word. This then is sort of a topical Bible where the topics are each important phrase of a Bible verse.
Complete with over 500,000 Scripture references and parallel passages, this reference work contains the most exhaustive listing of biblical cross references available anywhere. For over a century this unique volume has been an essential tool—for the beginner wishing to be more biblically literate and for the scholar seeking greater depth and breadth of understanding.
Comprehensive:
• Reveals how Scripture interprets itself on every verse, topic and important word—from biblical promises, doctrines and historical issues to prophecies and their fulfillment
• Supplies lists of verses that shed biblical light on the intent of each passage
• Dates at the top of each page furnish a chronological framework for biblical people, places and events
User-Friendly:
• Organized according to the order of the books of the Bible, making it easier to locate any reference
• With cross references located in one place, the Treasury is easier to use than Bibles with chain references
Nave's Topical Bible
Nave's Topical Bible, the best known of all topical bibles, has been a valuable Bible-study reference and a best-seller for more than 75 years. It is a comprehensive digest of over 20,000 topics and subtopics with more than 100,000 associated Scripture references. The most significant references for each topic actually include the full text of the verse cited—saving the need to separately look up each verse.
For the pastor or teacher interested in saving hours of time but not willing to give their second best, and for anyone wanting to be challenged by what God has to say about a given subject, Nave's Topical Bible is the passport that will allow immediate and successful entry to the many points of interest.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (4 Volumes Hardcover)
This practical, authoritative, and complete classic reference dictionary explains every significant word in the Bible and Apocrypha and gives detailed information on the language and literature of Bible lands, and the historical and religious environments of the people of the Bible in articles by nearly 200 scholars. This is the original four-volume edition, which includes illustrations, maps, cross-references, and indexes.
The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
This Bible dictionary contains over 700 full-color photos, illustrations, charts, and maps. They are well thought-out and well researched. For example, under the topic of "Revelation" there is a 5-page chart which summarizes how each of the major interpretive views (a-mill, historic pre-mill, pre-trib pre-mill, preterist, post-mill) explains each major point of interpretation or passage (e.g., seven heads of Rev 13, Beast, bride of Christ, etc.). The maps are beautifully done and the text is conservative and information-dense. The topics covered are extremely comprehensive. This may be the best single-volume Bible Dictionary to date. 1700 pages in one volume.
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BIBLE VERSES FOR YOU TO PONDER
(Neh 8:5-8 KJV)
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people;
(for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
{6} And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered,
Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands:
and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
{7} Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah,
Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,
caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
{8} So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly,
and gave the sense{Heb=the knowledge and wisdom of it},
and caused them to understand the reading.
(Hab 2:2-4 KJV)
And the LORD answered me, and said,
Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it.
{3} For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
{4} Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:
but the just shall live by his faith.
(Mat 5:21-22 KJV)
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
{22} But I say unto you,
That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:
and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council:
but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
(Luke 24:25-27 KJV)
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
{26} Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
{27} And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
(Luke 24:30-32 KJV)
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
{31} And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
{32} And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way,
and while he opened to us the scriptures?
(Luke 24:44-47 KJV)
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
{45} Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
{46} And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day:
{47} And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
(Acts 8:30-35 KJV)
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias,
and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
{31} And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
{32} The place of the scripture which he read was this,
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
{33} In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
{34} And the eunuch answered Philip, and said,
I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
{35} Then Philip opened his mouth,
and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
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For further study, Check out these archives of past devotionals:
(Note: the devotionals may be under the headings of "discussions" "files" or "pages" )
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive-part-2?msg=new&lnk=gcis&hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive/web?hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive/web
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-archives-part-3/
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive-4
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