Beyond Devotions
In moving towards spiritual maturity, Christians should learn to study the Bible with both our hearts and our minds. In the practice of devotions, Christians read the Bible and seek to meditate on it in such a way as to understand its practical significance for their relationship with God and the world around them; devotions reflect the passion of our heart to know God through a message to us. But Christians are also called to meditate on the Bible with their mind and so seek to increase their overall ability to understand the language, meaning, form, genre, and structure of the Bible; this type of study reflects our passion to know God through the message as it was originally given. By applying the mind to concentrated study of the Bible, Christians inevitably support and strengthen their devotions because they improve on the intellectual skill set through which the Holy Spirit can guide their reading and understanding of the Bible. "Beyond Devotions" seeks to provide you with the tools and resources that can help you take your study of the Bible beyond devotions.
Bibles
| In Translation |
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 For most interpreters, the English Bible of choice is the NRSV. It is gender inclusive, balances sense of meaning with literal meaning and boasts perhaps the best translation team in the world. Read More... |
 The TANAKH, a translation of the Hebrew Bible (OT only), is one of my personal favourites. It is beautifully and faithfully translated by members of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS). Read More... |
| Original Languages |
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 Biblia Sacra includes in one hardcover editions the two foundational critical texts of every modern Bible translation: the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Greek New Testament. It includes the all-important text critical notes, variant readings, and an informative introduction to the textual apparatus used by the editors. Read More... |
As with devotions, the most important resource for biblical interpretation is the Bible itself. Therefore, choosing a Bible is the first step. While many of you undoubtedly possess a Bible, it is important to know the difference between different versions so as to recognize their respective value and usefulness. Without getting overly academic, versions essentially differ according to their mode of translation (remember, English Bibles are translated from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts). Translations fall anywhere along a continuum ranging from paraphrase to dynamic equivalency to literal translations. The move along this continuum goes from an emphasis on sense of meaning to word for word translation; that is, Bibles in paraphrase seek to elucidate the meaning to a contemporary English reader whereas Bibles in literal translation seek to translate word for word. Dynamic equivalency seeks a balance between the paraphrase and the literal translations. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages but, as a general principle for biblical interpretation, dynamic equivalency is the preferred translation method. Visit BibleFinder at Christianbook.com for a helpful guide to choosing your next Bible.
Especially if you can not read the original texts, it is important to have at least three different translations at your disposable. So, in addition to the NRSV and JPS, I would recommend the NAB, NAS, TNIV, NJB, and NLT. Translations to avoid include the NWT and the KJV. Despite its continuing support, the KJV is not a good Bible for interpretation purposes. It is based on a weaker manuscript tradition and uses Shakespearean English (which requires additional, unnecessary work in the interpretive task). It is still a great translation for devotions, apologetics and literary analysis.
Primary References
Just as we need aids in every other subject of study, biblical study aids are indispensable resources. Biblical study aids are often your initial source of information on a selected topic that you are investigating. They will help in your research by providing basic definitions, background, word studies, cross-references, bibliographies, or other critical information. For the sake of brevity, I'll cover perhaps the two most basic and important biblical study aids: Bible dictionaries and concordances/lexicons.
The Anchor Bible Dictionary requires a significant investment. It is worth it but if you don't have the money to invest in this dictionary, you may want to consider the more affordable four volume International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, which rivals the Anchor Bible Dictionary in its own right, or the one volume Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, edited by ABD's editor David Noel Freedman. There are many more Bible dictionaries available too. Browse more Bible dictionaries...
| Concordances and Lexicons |
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Choosing either a concordance or a lexicon depends on whether or not you read the original languages. For students without Greek and Hebrew, you will need a comprehensive concordance. For students with Greek and Hebrew, you will need a Greek and a Hebrew Lexicon. These tools are used for word studies but a certain amount of discernment needs to be observed; there is no substitute for learning the original languages. Also, it should be noted that in the case of lexicons, there are two types. One type provides only definitions, or glosses, for all or most words appearing in the Bible in their respective languages (BDB, DCH, HALOT, BDAG, Liddell-Scott, Louw-Nida). The other type is an exegetical or theological lexicon that provides expansive discussions of words but discusses only a few, select words that appear in the text (NIDOTTE, TLOT, NIDNTTE, TLNT).
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 The Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament Based on HALOT, the standard, comprehensive lexicon for the Hebrew Bible, this concise edition is unintimidating and very helpful.
I also recommend BDB, DCH, HALOT, NIDOTTE, and TLOT. |
 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG) The standard Greek-English lexicon for the New Testament!
I also recommend Liddell-Scott, Louw-Nida, NIDNTTE, and TLNT. |
Unfortunately, there are presently no comprehensive concordances available for the NRSV translation. Alternatively, you might consider the Concise Concordance to the New Revised Standard Version, which covers the most significant words, or the Analytical Concordance to the New Revised Standard Version of the New Testament; no comparable analytical concordance exists for the Old Testament NRSV as of yet. Bible software programs, such as those mentioned below, may also help you accomplish the same ends.
Secondary Resources
There many different types of secondary resources. For the sake of brevity, I will concentrate on three: introductions, commentaries and what I'll call, foundations.
Introductions
Introductions to the testaments of the Bible provide a good overview of themes, content, structure and scholarly issues that relate to the interpretation of each book of the Bible. They can be fundamentalist, conservative or liberal in their orientation. In my opinion, however, it is best to use an introduction that surveys all the issues, provides important bibliographic citations and leaves you to evaluate and research contentious topics. I highly recommend the following titles:
Commentaries
Commentaries vary greatly in quality and purpose. Some commentaries aim to be devotional helps, others emphasize textual criticism and still others aim for a comprehensive, balanced approach of all relevant issues. As we are moving beyond devotions, we will not consider devotional commentaries. Commentaries focusing on text critical issues require knowledge of the original languages. The foremost series of this type is Hermeneia. The last type of commentaries, which provide a balance of critical and theological issues, are the most common in biblical interpretation. Here is a list of the most recognized of these type:
Learn more about commentaries...
Foundations
Foundations are books that explore method and technique in biblical interpretation. As with commentaries, there are many and they vary both in quality and purpose. I recommend the following books:
Browse for more books on method...
Computer Bible Software
Many of the aforementioned Bibles, aids and resources can also be accessed through Bible software programs. Generally, Bible software features a basic interface program with options to unlock specific books and titles at an extra cost. At retail, the basic interface program is generally bundled with some of these books already unlocked. The three products I recommend are Logos Bible Software Series and BibleWorks for the PC and Accordance Bible Software for the Mac. Both programs are extremely usable, guaranteed to enhance your productivity, and certain to save you money (eBooks are sometimes considerably cheaper than their tangible counterparts). Read my somewhat dated review of Bible Software and Internet resources, which was initially published in the Canadian Evangelical magazine Faith Today in 2004.
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The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 Volumes
