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Sometimes when we read the Bible we bring our own modern-day biases to the text. While there can certainly be a modern-day application for us inside the text, we do not want to start there. It is critical to gather context for the passage we are about to read by taking time to research some background.
Background research enables us to go back and understand the original intention of the author. Specifically, we are looking to determine:
Use a Study Bible
This step will be easiest if you are using a good Study Bible. Do some research if needed, as there are plenty of good options out there. We use the ESV Study Bible, and we love how all of these questions are answered for us in the introduction to each book.
Open to the book of the Bible you are studying. Work your way through each question in our Digital Study using information from your Study Bible. Sometimes you'll find that scholars debate over the exact author of a book or the time frame in which it was written. Make note of that. Dig deeper if you have time and feel so inclined.
Bonus Tip: When it comes to "style," use your Study Bible to determine what genre the book is written in. Is it poetry, historical narrative, prophecy, law, a letter, or something else?
Use an App or Online Search
The alternative to a Study Bible would be an app like Blue Letter Bible. By navigating to "Study" > "Introductions to the Bible," you will find resources to help answer our main background questions.
A basic internet search of "Introduction to (your book of the Bible)" may also lead you to some helpful resources as you dig into background. Just double-check that the source is reliable. If you aren't sure how to check reliability, it may benefit you to invest in a good Study Bible!
Want real training and practice with doing background research? Get both in our "How to Study the Bible" course! Click the link to learn more.
Jason and Kate
If we have houses built on the Rock, the very floods that used to destroy us actually drive us deeper into Him. Not only do we grow more secure and firm, but we actually become indestructible because of His power at work in us. I don't know about you, but that really appeals to me. Especially because I know that the storms of life are inevitable.
Theology isn’t for scholars only — it’s for all of us. The question isn’t whether you have theology. You do. The question is whether it’s good theology or bad theology. The antidote to bad theology isn’t clever arguments or new philosophies. It’s simply more of God’s Word.
This season has sucked. It's been long and so, so painful. I am so tired that saying how tired I am makes me cry. I know that I'm going to be crawling across the "finish line" on surgery day. Barely making it.And yet, somehow thriving. I'll tell you how. My God. I have gotten to know things about Him.