Inductive Bible Study: Bible Interpretation through Word Studies

More Accurate Bible Interpretation through Word Studies

Discerning the author's intent when reading Scripture is the only way to arrive at a true understanding of a biblical passage. Since the Bible is a book whose message is conveyed exclusively through words, grasping a clear understanding of the writer's intention necessitates a more precise understanding of the words themselves, a task complicated by the limitations of translation from the Bible's original manuscripts to English.

Here's where word studies come in. This article will discuss the why and how of Bible word studies and help equip you to enrich your own study of the Scriptures through this effective Bible study technique. You may be surprised by how easy and fun word studies really are!

How Do Word Studies Enrich Your Study of the Bible?

Though in the twenty-first century we have access to many excellent English Bible translations, there remains an inherent obstacle to discerning a comprehensive understanding of many words and phrases because of the language barrier. As "they" say: Some things are bound to get lost in translation. Thankfully, there exists a number of outstanding study tools available to help us navigate this seeming obstacle!

Helpful Word Study Resources

Concordance

Hebrew/Greek Lexicons (Let context be your guide!)

Complete Word Study Bible (CWSB) has an excellent dictionary

Bible Dictionary or Bible Encyclopedia

Strong's Bibles on Olive Tree

STEP Bible website (with word analyses for NASB95 and KJV)

Other Bible translations, such as the Amplified Bible.

Blue Letter Bible website

• Concordance: The Strong's Concordance, the most popular of this study tool, codes each Greek and Hebrew word in the Bible with a unique number. A concordance is invaluable for locating all of the places where an exact word is located in the Scriptures, allowing for the Bible to interpret itself in many instances.

• Lexicon: A Bible lexicon is a resource that provides definitions and meanings of words found in the original languages of the Bible, specifically Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. It helps users understand the context, cultural significance, and root meanings of biblical terms. The Complete Word Study Bible (CWSB) Dictionary often annotates which definition applies to a given word in the verse where it is found. Be careful... Using a lexicon without paying attention to how the word is used in its biblical context will derail accurate Bible interpretation.

• Bible Dictionary / Bible Encyclopedia: These study tools contain detailed articles about common topics from Scripture, including definitions and historical, cultural, and linguistic information. Many of these resources also include illustrations to enhance background information.

• Bible Study Software: Gone are the days when your library only resided on shelves. Now there are many wonderful digital options for Bible study, too. Olive Tree Bible software is our favorite, but many students of the Word also enjoy Logos and Accordance Bible software platforms. Our Strong's-tagged New American Standard Bible on Olive Tree makes doing Word Studies a breeze! Just tap a word, and a pop-up window facilitates quick and easy access to our library of lexicons.

• Online Word Studies: For years, we have recommended Blue Letter Bible as our go-to online study tool. Recently, we have discovered the STEP Bible website. The latter is really helpful for visually seeing where any word is repeated in a given chapter, even if the word is not translated the same into English. Just touch your cursor to a word, and the duplicates are highlighted for easy reference. So helpful!

• Other English Bible Translations: Most people have a preferred translation they like to use when studying the Bible. For word studies, however, it can be very helpful to consult other translations to get a more nuanced sense of a word. The Amplified Bible (AMPC, in particular) provides bracketed modifiers for many key words and phrases in Scripture. Even some of the Bible paraphrases can provide a fuller understanding of what the writer intended.

The Bible Conversations Series' Approach to Word Studies

Bible Conversations Series: Sample Wrestling with the Word Worksheet (John 1)

This Wresting with the Word Worksheet is a part of each week's study in the Bible Conversations Series. Foundational components of Bible Interpretation, Word studies and cross-referencing, fall under step two of the Inductive Bible Study Method. In this BC Blog edition, we will limit our focus to just the Word Study portion of the worksheet (highlighted in blue).

From the Bible Conversations Series study on the first chapter of John's Gospel, four words are given to study: Word (logos); Darkness (skotia); Baptizing (baptizō); and Followed (akoloutheō). A fifth bullet is provided as a free choice for another word from John 1 to explore on your own.

The guidelines for this worksheet suggest beginning with a Lexicon. There is a user-friendly option available for free on blueletterbible.org.

Concluding Thoughts

Although we have some really great English Bible translations out there, no one translation is perfect, and none has the ability to flawlessly convey the intended meaning of the author who was writing in a different language. Nevertheless, solid Bible interpretation is possible and definitely enhanced through the process of word studies. We cannot stress enough the value of engaging in this diligent study practice!

Coming Soon...

In our next article, we will be featuring Part 3 of Bible Interpretation: Cross-referencing. In the meantime, why not give Word Studies a try as you spend time in God's Word?

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