PRINCIPLES OF BIBLE STUDY Part 1

David E. Mullis, B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M

The Following is a Four-Part Compendium related to basic principles of Bible study.  This is a concise but detailed outline of the basic principles.  It is not exhaustive and in places it will introduce several terms that are not defined.  Hopefully, it will help direct you in the right direction to research and formulate your own methods of Bible study.

Laying the Foundation for Bible Study: Understanding Terms 

      Bible (Principles of Bible Study) – This is the most common name used to identify the accepted sacred scriptures of the Christian Church.

• The Christian Bible consists of an Old Testament and a New Testament. The Old Testament is the Jewish Scripture (Canon) and the New Testament is the accepted Scripture (Canon) of the Christian Church.  Together they are the foundation for our Judeo-Christian belief.
• The New Testament completes the Old Testament and the Old Testament provides context and substance to the New Testament.
• Together they are one unified work consisting of 66 separate books, written over approximately 1600 years by approximately 40 different authors.
• Miraculously, the Bible is internally consistent.  No one can postulate an inconsistency within the Scriptures that cannot at least equally be explained in a consistent context. 3. 

      What Does the Bible Say about the Word of God? (Principles of Bible Study)

2 Timothy 3: 14-17 – 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  NKJV

Psalms 12:6 – 6 The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.  NKJV

Psalms 119:89 – 89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.  NKJV

2 Peter 1:20-21 – 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.  NKJV

Hebrews 4:12 – 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  NKJV

Romans 15:4 – 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.  NKJV

Romans 10:17 – 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  NKJV

John 17:17 – 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.  NKJV

John 8:31-32 – 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  NKJV

Joshua 1:8 – 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  NKJV

Proverbs 30:5-6 – 5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.  NKJV

Jeremiah 23:29 – 29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?  NKJV

John 12:48 – 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him–the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  NKJV

Matthew 4:1-4 – 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”  NKJV

John 6:63 – 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  NKJV

     Infallible: Unmistaken Word of God (Principles of Bible Study)

The Bible is accepted by the Christian Church as being God inspired and infallible. This means that God divinely inspired men through dreams, visions and direct contact to write the Word of God for all mankind and to preserve its accuracy.  The words themselves originate from the truth spoken by God to trusted authors and reveal His nature, character and will for Mankind.  The Bible is infallible in that it is without fault and is the absolute, unmistaken, true Word of God spoken to Mankind.

• Although the Bible is heavily debated, whether on a small level as between denominations or on a larger level as between a Christian believer and an atheist, agnostic or cynic, the Scriptures speak the absolute truth of God.
• The fact that the 66 books of the Bible were written by approximately 40 authors, over a 1600-year period, from different cultures, geographical locations and languages, and contains a non-contradicting message of God’s plan for mankind demonstrates that the Bible is infallible and should be believed. The Bible is the only complete account of God’s plan for man from beginning to end.
• It is up to each individual to seek after the truth with an open and honest mind and to find it.

     Inspiration: God’s Spoken Truth to Man  (Principles of Bible Study) 

The Scriptures are God inspired. However, they did not just drop out of heaven in the form of the Bible that we have today.

• God spoke and demonstrated his word to his chosen authors.
• God’s Word then went through a process of oral tradition, written text, Canonization, and printing presses. In other words, some of the Scripture was initially passed down orally through family tradition and teaching.  The Scriptures were ultimately written onto scrolls.  The New Testament Church then went through a process of accepting and rejecting manuscripts as divinely inspired and the infallible Word of God.  This process culminated in A.D. 397 when Church leaders met in the town of Carthage in Africa to determine the official Scripture of the Christian Church, which included the 66 books of our current Bible.  Upon the invention of the printing press in the Seventeen Hundreds, the Scripture/Canon was mass produced with consistent accuracy.   God established and protected the truth of his Word through this entire process.

     Oral Tradition

At least the first five books of the Old Testament were passed down orally from Adam through Noah to Moses. Moses is credited with writing the first five books of the Old Testament and they are referred to as the Law or Torah.

     Written Text 

Once the Word of God was written, it was copied by Scribes onto scrolls and passed down through the generations. As manuscripts became worn, they were recopied by Scribes.  Scribes were very meticulous and detail oriented.  However, Scribes did occasionally take liberty to explain meanings, and some made errors such as leaving out portions.  In determining the Canon as set forth below, the Church leaders reviewed all known manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts to determine the most accurate manuscripts to use in defining the accepted Scriptures of the Church.

     Canon 

Canon comes from the Greek and means “to rule” or “the standard”. A writing accepted by the Church to be Canon is considered and accepted as the authoritative, divinely inspired, infallible, God-breathed Word.

• The Canons of the Old Testament and New Testament are accepted by the Church fathers as divinely authoritative. It is true and without fault or inconsistency.  This was the result of the Third Counsel of Carthage in A.D. 397 as described above.
• The Canon of the Old Testament was passed down through the Jews and is the Canon accepted and used by Jesus. In John 10:32-36, Jesus cited Psalm 82:6 in stating that Scripture could not be broken or nullified.
• The Canon of the New Testament was finally established as we have it today at the Third Council of Carthage in A.D. 397.

 **The Protestant Church accepts the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.

**The Roman Catholic Church accepts the same 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, but they also accept the 13 books of the Apocrypha.  (The books of the Apocrypha were written during the 400 years between the writing of the Old Testament and the writing of the New Testament.  Historically, they have been accepted as useful, non-heretical, non-authoritative, non-canon writings.)

     Modern Translations (Principles of Bible Study)

(1)     Formal Equivalence or Word for Word

Examples are the King James Version, New American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version.

(2)     Dynamic Equivalence or Parallel Idiom

This version will deviate from word for word only for the purpose of making the meaning more accurate for our modern society.

• To illustrate this, if I wrote, “I was fired today”, you would probably understand that my employment was terminated by my employer.  If we went back in time to Old Testament times and translated this word for word, the reader may think that I was set on fire.  For the translator to deviate from word for word and state that my employer terminated my employment would be accurate in meaning but not a formal equivalence, i.e., not a word for word translation.
• Examples of these versions are the New International Version and the New Living Version.

(3)     Paraphrase

This is a version where the editor is not concerned with performing a true translation as he/she is with telling the same message to people in an easy-to-read modern language.  Examples of this are The Living Bible, Good News for Modern Man, and the Passion Translation Bible.

(4)     Which is best?

The Word for Word versions are the most accurate.  They require the reader to have the literary and theological skills necessary to understand the meaning.  The Parallel Idiom versions are the second most accurate which require some theological and literary skills, but not to the technical level required in the word for word versions because of their ease of reading.  The Paraphrased versions are the easiest to read, but are the least accurate.  They are appropriate for those who have little or no theological or literary skills, but are not as useful in theological debates.

(5)     The simplest test to apply in choosing the right translation for you is as follows:  “The Bible you need is the Bible you will read.”  The Bible is limited in its ability to change your life for the good if you will not read it.

Fun Facts about the Bible (Principles of bible Study)

Books = 66

Old Testament = 39

New Testament = 27

Easy way to remember?

• Old Testament – Three (3) letters exist in the word “OLD” and nine letters in the word “TESTAMENT”.  Place the numbers side by side and you get 39, which is the number of books in the Old Testament.
• New Testament – Three (3) letters exist in the word “OLD” and nine letters in the word “TESTAMENT” just like for the Old Testament.  If you multiply the numbers, the sum is 27 (3 X 9 =27), which is the number of books in the New Testament.
• Entire Bible  – Add the number of Old Testament to New Testament to get the total of sixty six (66) books (39 + 27 = 66).
• Authors = At least 40 authors wrote the Bible, who were from about 20 occupations (shepherds, farmers, tent makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings), living in 10 countries spanning about 6000 miles.
• Written between approximately 1450 BC (the time of Moses) or 1500 BC as estimated for the Book of Job and about 100 A.D. = approximately 1500-1600 years.
• The Bible was written in three languages:  Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek.
• Moses wrote the first five books – the Pentateuch.
• The Book of Job is typically credited with being written about 50 or more years prior to the Pentateuch.
• The Book of Malachi is the youngest Old Testament book written around 400 BC and closes out the New Testament.
• An approximate 400-year period existed between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  This is known as the Maccabean Period.  It was during this time that the Apocrypha was written and contains the history during this time.
• The word Bible comes from the Greek word Biblia, meaning book.
• 2,930 different characters are featured in the Bible.
• Over 5600 copies of manuscripts of the New Testament exist and the accuracy among them is 99.5%.  The differences would fill about ½ of a page.  They were written in the first century AD and the time between the writing and the earliest copies is less than 100 years.
• Homer (Illiad) is the next most copies of historical works at 643 copies.  It was written about 900 BC and the earliest copy is about 400 BC (500 years).  These copies are about 95% accurate.
• Sophocles is next with 193 manuscripts.  He wrote eight plays with his most famous being Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex).  He wrote them between 496 and 406 BC and the earliest copy is 1100 AD (1400 years).
• Aristotle is next with 49 copies.  He was a student of Plato and was a Greek Philosopher. His writings are between 384-322 BC and the earliest copy is 1100 AD. (1400 years).
• Plato only has 7 copies.  Plato was a Greek Philosopher and his writings showcased his metaphysical theory.  His writings were between 427 – 347 BC and the earliest copy is 900 AD (1200 years).
• Two earliest copies of the entire Christian New Testament were written in the fourth century AD.  The Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sianaticus.
• Canon – To have the Bible canonized meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority.  It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian Church as a basis for Christian belief.
• The first translation of the Bible into English was 1382 AD by John Wycliffe.
• The first printed Bible was in 1454 AD by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the “Type Mold” for the printing press.  It was the first book ever printed.
• The Gutenberg Bible was 1,272 pages and over 150 copies were printed.  49 of them exist today.  This was probably the single most important invention of the modern world and it was inspired by the Bible.
• The Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations for unwritten languages.  In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.
• The Bible is the best-selling book in the world.