HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

EFFECTIVELY
Do your best to present yourself to God
as one approved, a workman who does
not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the Word of Truth.
2 Tim. 2:15
 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE

 Who Wrote the Bible?

 Man wrote it down- inspired by God.
 2 Pet. 1:21 “For prophecy never had its origin
in the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

 2 Tim. 3:16a “All Scripture is given by the

inspiration of God.”
 More than 30 different authors with their
own writing style.
 The OT was written in Hebrew (some parts
are in Aramaic – ex. Daniel 2).
 The NT was written in Greek.
 Many authors wrote the words with their
own writing style, but there was ONE mind
behind it all: GOD.
 We must seek the guidance of the Holy
Spirit when we read the Bible.
The Power of God’s Word

Living and active (Heb. 4:12 For the word

of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart.)
 A probing instrument – “judges the thoughts
and attitudes of the heart”
The Power of God’s Word

 The Power of God (Rom. 1:16 I am not

ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile)
The Power of God’s Word

 Power to Change People’s Lives (Acts 2:37

When the people heard this, they were
cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we
do?”)
 The Purposes of the Bible
 God’s way of communicating with
mankind.
 God’s spoken Word.
 Records the story of God’s salvation plan.
 John 20:31, “But these are written that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.”
 The Purposes of the Bible
 Doctrine

 To avoid personal opinion - Personal

opinion leads to heresy (2 Tim. 3:16b
“..and is profitable for doctrine….”)

 To avoid misguided reliance on the Holy

Spirit.
 The Purposes of the Bible
 Instruction manual (to benefit our lives)
 2 Tim. 3:16b “and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.”
 2 Tim. 4:2 “Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage-- with great patience and
careful instruction.”
 God’s Word is absolutely important in our
lives.
 It has to be the highest standard in our lives.
That’s why we need to read it, study it, and
obey it.
 Jesus said that the most important
commandment is “Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”
(Mark. 12:30).
 “Loving God with all your mind” is a vital
part of our relationship with God.
 Your mind is included in loving God.
 You can serve someone you don’t know, but
you cannot love someone you do not know.
God wants us to know him through His Word.
 Phil. 1:9 And this is my prayer: that your
love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight.
 The more you get to know God, the deeper
you will get to experience His love.
 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
Old Testament: 39 books New Testament: 27 books
The Law (Torah, Gospels (4 books)
Pentateuch) Matthew to John
Genesis to Deuteronomy
History (12 books) History
Joshua to Esther Acts
Poetry (5 books) Pauline Epistles (13 letters)
Job to Song of Solomon Romans to Philemon
Major Prophets (5 books) General Epistles (8 letters)
Isaiah to Daniel Hebrews to Jude
Minor Prophets (12 books) Apocalypse
Hosea to Malachi Revelation
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
 John Wycliffe: 1320-1384
 William Tyndale: 1530
 The Geneva Bible: 1560
 The King James Version (KJV): 1611
 The Revised Version: 1881-1885
 The American Standard Version (ASV): 1900-
1901
 The Revised Standard Version (RSV): 1952
 New American Standard Bible(NASB): 1971
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
 The Amplified Bible: 1965
 The Living Bible: 1971
 New International Version (NIV): 1978
 New King James Version (NKJV): 1982
 The Message (Eugene Peterson): 1993
 New Living Translation: 1996
 Today’s NIV (TNIV): 2002
 English Standard Version (ESV): 2007
 New International Version 2011 (NIV 11): 2011
 CONTINUUM OF BIBLE VERSIONS

Literal Dynamic Equivalence Free (Paraphrased)

KJV NASV RSV NIV NAB NLT LB

NKJV NRSV ESV TNIV NJ The Message

Dead Sea Scrolls (Discovered in 1947)
Qumran (NW of the Dead Sea)
Qumran and the Dead Sea
Qumran Community
Climbing to Cave 1
Qumran Cave 1
Cave 1 with Kim and Kim
 Qumran Cave 3
-the Copper Scroll was found in the right niche-
Qumran Cave 4
Qumran Caves 4a and 4b
Qumran Cave 4 entrance
Back entrance to Cave 4
Inside Qumran Cave 4
Inside Cave 4
1 Century Jar with Lid
st
Leviticus Scroll
Isaiah Scroll Fragment
Isaiah Scroll
 The Bible and Exegesis
What is Exegesis?
 Definition:the careful, systematic
study of the Scripture to discover
the original, intended meaning
(How to Read the Bible for All Its
Worth, 23).

 Goal:to find out the original intent

of the words of the Bible.
 What is Hermeneutics?
 Definition
 Broad definition: the whole field of
interpretation, including exegesis.
 Narrower definition: seeking the
contemporary relevance of ancient
texts.
 Goal of hermeneutics: To ask the
questions about the Bible’s meaning in
the “here and now.”
 Proper hermeneutics begins with solid
exegesis.
Four Basic Principles of Bible Reading

1. Observation (Examination)
2. Interpretation
3. Assessment
4. Application
 Four Basic Principles of Bible Reading
1. Observation
 Always start with prayer. Ask the Holy
Spirit to help you understand the text
you’re about to read.
 Read the text carefully.
 Every word is important.
 Every story is important.
 John 21:25 Jesus did many other things as
well. If every one of them were written down, I
suppose that even the whole world would not
have room for the books that would be written.
 Put aside your bias, preconceived
ideas that you’ve acquired from
movies, etc.
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
Who is this?
Were the Tablets that Big?
Babylonian World Map
 Did the slaves cry out to God? (Exo.
2:23-25)
 Did God curse Adam? (Gen.3:17)
 Did Jonah preach repentance? (Jonah
3:4)
 Did Saul’s name change to Paul upon
conversion? (Acts 13:9)
Four Basic Principles of Bible Reading

2. Interpretation
 Consider the context in which the text was
written.
 Consider the author’s intent.
 Wrong interpretations could lead to heresy.
3. Assessment
 What does the text say about God (His
attributes)?
 What does the text say about man?

 What does Exo. 2:23-25 say about God? (and

about man?)
 What does Gen.3:17 say about God? (and
about man?)
 What does Jonah 3:4 say about God? (and
about man?)
4. Application
 What does the text mean to me?
 How should I live from now on?
NARRATIVE READING
STRATEGY
 Introduction
A large section of the Bible is
narrative (More than one third of the
Hebrew Bible is narrative).

 Biblical
narratives “are of the
highest artistic quality, ranking
among the foremost literary
treasures of the world (Bar-Efrat,
Narrative Art in the Bible, 9).
 What is Narrative?

 “An account of events.”

 “Any work of literature that tells a

story.”

 “A text which includes actions

and action-bearers.”
What is Narrative Criticism?
 It
is a process which examines
texts “with an eye to actions and
their consequences, to the action-
bearers and the relations between
them” (Egger, 111). It closely
investigates the linguistic
techniques that a narrator
employs in the text.
 Narrative Criticism pays attention
to the text (“close reading”).

 Narrative Criticism asks why the

text exists and what function it
serves.

 Narrative criticism deals with the

development of the plot and how it
relates to the larger cycle.
 The Central Message of the
Bible
 OT: The coming of the Messiah
 NT: The Messiah
 Luke 24:44
He said to them, "This is what I told
you while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is
written about me in the Law of
Moses, the Prophets and the
Psalms."
Components of Narrative Reading

 Plot
 Characterization
Components of Narrative Criticism
 Plot: “a sequence of
actions, often explicitly
connected in terms of
cause and effect, leading
from an initial situation,
through complication, to
some sense of resolution.”
 Plot consists of four stages:

 Exposition: setting, background of

the story

 Conflict: problem

 Climax: the decisive moment

 Resolution: the outcome

 Characterization
 Characterization is the process of
shaping the characters.
 Characterization is created by the
narration and the speech of the
characters within the narrative.
 Characters are especially important
to the reader because they
contribute to building the plot. The
reader becomes aware of the
characters through their speech and
actions which set the stage for the
plot.
 Characterization
 Types
 Flat characters: are one-dimensional
characters who possess a single trait
(Ex. Abel)
 Round characters: are complex and
have more than one trait. Round
characters often change and develop
while flat characters remain static (Ex.
Cain).
 Two major traits:
 outward appearance
 inner personality
 Outward appearance
 Saul: “a head taller than any of the
others” (1 Sam. 9:2)
 Goliath: “He was over nine feet
tall” (1 Sam. 17:4).
 Sarah: Abram said to his wife, "I
know what a beautiful woman you
are” (Gen. 12:11).
 Inner personality

 Noah: “Noah was a righteous man,

blameless in his generation; Noah
walked with God” (Gen. 6:9).
 The men of Sodom: “wicked and
great sinners against the LORD”
(Gen. 13:13).
 Eli’s sons: “Eli’s sons were wicked
men: they had no regard for the
Lord” (1 Sam. 2:12).
 Techniques
 Repetition: The Hebrew Bible uses
repetition to gain the attention of the
audience and to emphasize important
themes or motifs.
 Duplication of incidents (Gen. 12, 20, 26)
 Recurrence of keywords, phrases, or
clauses (Jud. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).
 Repetition of synonyms (Deut. 7:5, “This
is what you are to do to them: Break
down their altars, smash their sacred
stones, cut down their Asherah poles and
burn their idols in the fire.”)
 Techniques
 Special patterns

 Consecutive verbs (Gen. 34:2, “When

Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite,
the ruler of that area, saw her, he
took her and violated her.”)
 Applying Narrative Reading
Strategy
EXAMPLE 1

1. Examination/Observation
 Determine a unit (where does the text begin and end?)
 Pray
 Read the text carefully (close reading).
 Pay attention to details.
 Watch for special patterns (repetition, synonyms, etc.)
 Study the historical, social, and cultural background of the
text.
 Applying Narrative Reading
Strategy
 Plot
 Exposition
 Conflict
 Climax
 Resolution

 Characterization
 Outward appearance: Physical description
 Inward personality
 Applying Narrative Reading
Strategy
2. Interpretation:
 Applying Narrative Reading
Strategy
3. Assessment
 What does the text say about God (His
attributes)?
 What does the text say about man?

4. Application
 What does the text mean to me?
 How should I live from now on?
 Example
 Unit: Gen. 4:1-16

 Plot
 Exposition (vv.1-2)
 Conflict (vv.3-7)
 Climax (vv.8-14)
 Resolution (vv.15-16)
 Example
 Characters and Characterization
Adam Eve Cain Abel Lord

Flat Flat * No physical description * No physical * Desires a faithful

* Doesn’t say firstborn description heart
* Careless worshiper * doesn’t say 2nd born * Omniscient
* Selfish priority * True worshiper * Merciful
* Angry * Gave his best * Gracious
* Jealous * Priority – God first * Holds man
* Deceitful accountable
* Murderer * Loving
* In denial
* Rebellious
* Irresponsible
 Assessment
 What does the text say about God?

 What does the text say about man?

 Application
 “So what? What does the story mean to
me?”

 “How should I live from now on?”