Bible Study methods FINAL EXAM SP 24 - Couser study guide

What are the steps to survey reading

1. skim

2. read

3. reread

What is the result of survey reading?

• Know what the passage is about as a whole

• Get a feel for the tone of the passage.

• Begin developing sense of the flow by identifying major
  sections, especially in larger works.

Historical background encompasses?

• Time

• Author

• Recipients

• Purpose

• Theme

• Tone

What needs to be summarized in the historical background part of your bible study?

• Author:

• Original

• Date:

• Current events

• Geographical considerations

• Occasion of Letter

T or F: Observations is a skill that can be developed.

True

Observations can be split up into two categories, what are they?

Initial and refined

Interpretive Questions do what?

Pose and answer questions drawn from the reading of the text.

What are the three levels of reading for understanding?

Inspectional Reading
– Skimming systematically and intentionally
Analytical Reading
– “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and
some few to be chewed and digested.” Francis Bacon
Syntopical Reading
– Comparative reading; several books are synthesized
around a topic so as to provide an analysis of the topic.

Why are literary genre’s important?

• Different forms have different rules
  for interpretation.

• One can’t read a love letter like an
  advertisement, or a scientific paper
  like a poem.

What are narratives?

• Not myths or legends!

• Historical records

• Selective records

• Each story has a
  reason for being written

What is poetry?

Language from the heart.
- Strong emotions both lovely and
painful.
- Deep convictions and burdens are
expressed.
- Music is often integrated as in
hymnody.
- Language full of symbols.

What is parallelism in poetry?

Hebrew poetry which is constructed through the “rhyming” of ideas rather than words.

What is wisdom literature?

(Instructional literature).

Using the powers of observation and
intellect, the application of knowledge
and experience in daily life, and the
Revelation of God, wisdom connoted
skill in living that was manifested in Holy
and Productive Lives.

What is prophecy?

 The Prophets are God’s prosecuting
attorneys.
 Often this involves a summons, a
charge, evidence, and a verdict (e.g, Isa
3:13-26; Hosea 4:1-17)
 They are “forth-tellers” not simply future
tellers.
 Their message includes consolation and
the promise of restoration.

What is apocalyptic literature and how do we interpret it?

• essentially a genre of prophetic writing that reveals God’s plan for the world

• Look for the big picture. Ex.
  Who wins in the end?

• Look for symbols that are
  interpreted elsewhere in
  scripture..

What are parables?

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels

how do we interpret parables?

• Look for guidance from the context.

• Do Not Allegorize the Details.

• Find the main point (frequently the
  climax)

What are epistles?

A letter (in the Bible these are first century letters).

what is typically included in an epistle?

1. Reference to the sender
2. Reference to the recipient
3. Greeting
4. Thanksgiving and/or prayer
5. Body (exhortation or instruction)
6. Conclusion in the form of greeting( s),
a wish for peace, benediction, autograph

How do we interpret epistles?

• Research the occasion.

• Relate what you read in the letter back to that
  occasion.

• Look for key themes that tie the letter to that
  occasion and also tie the letter together as a
  single whole.

• Do your detailed study in paragraphs.

What is Mosaic Law?

• A specific contract made with the nation of
  Israel during OT times.

• Written in the form of international treaties
  known as Suzerainty treaties, which were
  signed between Overlords and their vassal
  states.

• Designed to be superceded by the New
  Covenant and therefore temporary.

Define meaning:

The meaning of the text of Scripture is the
what the author intended to communicate to
his original audience

What does meaning encompass?

1. The meaning is determined by the author
2. The author communicated in understandable
terms (shareable symbols)
3.There is only one meaning
4.The meaning is unchangeable
5.If we understand how the author’s intended
audience would have understood the text, we, as
the readers today, can also understand the
meaning of the same text

Define implications:

The meanings in a text of which the author was unaware but which nevertheless legitimately fall within the pattern (or type) of meaning he willed.

what do implications encompass?

a. The purpose of Bible study includes identifying the principle or pattern the
author wished to communicate
b. Implication are determined by the author, so that if asked about a specific
implication, the author would say something like,
“While I wasn’t thinking of it at the time, that clearly fits what I was talking
about, and the principle should be applied.”
c. Determined by the author . . . . (NOT “I didn’t realize that...”)
d. Implications change over time
e. This focuses the meaning of the Scripture on issues common to contemporary
audience

Define significance:

How a reader responds to the meaning of the text.
Significance is personal and multi-faceted- may vary with different readers

Define application

The active response of the reader(s) to the meaning and subsequent implications of the text.

This involves both implications (patterns of meaning) and significance (specific appropriate responses for individuals and groups).

Define Subject matter

Subject matter: The literary, situational, and/or historical details of the text which, of themselves, do not constitute the meaning of the text.
The content or “stuff” talked about in a text.
Understanding: The correct mental grasp of the author’s meaning.

define interpretation

• Interpretation: The verbal or written expression of the author’s meaning.

  • a. Understanding precedes interpretation.

  • b. There will be multiple ways of explaining the meaning.
    definitions.

Define Semantic range

• Norms of language: The possible range of meanings allowed by the words (verbal
  symbols) of a text.

• “Semantic range” is another way to express this idea.

• Norms of utterance: The specific meaning that the author has given to a word,
  phrase, sentence, etc. in a text.

define context

• Context: This refers to the texts and their meaning surrounding the passage
  understudy.
  a. This again refers to the meaning the author wills to communicate in those
  passages.
  b. There are layers of context: paragraph, unit of a book, the book, section of
  Scripture, etc.
  Note: Robert Stein, Playing by the Rules, was a primary source for the wording of these

what is a key thing about historical surveying

The Bible provides a historical record of some of God's revelation.

What three things go in the big idea section?

Subject, compliment, big idea.

How do you write a subject?

By summarizing what the passage is talking about in the form of a question

How do you write a compliment?

look at what the author says about the subject, answer the question given in the subject.

how do you write a big idea?

by making a single statement of the author’s main point in a passage.