Grasping God's Word

Things to Look for in Sentences 1. Repetition of Words

In Step 2 you will take a good hard look at the river and determine just how wide it is for the passage you are studying. In this step you look for significant differences between our situation today and the situation of the biblical audience. If you are studying an Old Testament passage, also be sure to identify those significant theological diffe

Word-Count Fallacy

As you can tell, there is some agreement about how the book should be divided, but the translations are certainly not all uniform. Remember that editorial decisions such as dividing the book into units are intended to help the reader, but they are not inspired. If you want to do the work yourself, you need to look for changes in the text as clues t

Introduction

Because the Bible was not originally written in English, it must be translated into English from the original biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek.

the text. Thus, it would be incorrect for us to ask in a Bible study, “What does this passage mean to you?” The correct question sequence is, “What does this passage mean? How should you apply this meaning to your life?” This may seem picky at

Figures of speech – Identify expressions that convey an image, using words in a sense other than the normal literal sense. Conjunctions – Notice terms that join units, like “and,” “but,” “for.” Note what they are connecting. Verbs – Note whether a verb is past, present, or future; active or passive; and the like. Pronouns – Identify the antecedent

The basic Interpretive Journey involves five steps: