Basic Study Tools for a Beginner

[Myshkin]

I'd like to ask for some guidance towards what materials should I invest in this summer to begin a more in-depth practice of bible study, in distinction from a strictly theological book study or even a bible study with just a concordance.

Scripture - I have the ESV, NASB, NKJV Reformation Study Bible, and the NIV Spirit of Reformation Study Bible.

Commentary - I have the footnotes in the aforementioned study bibles, M. Henry's concise commentary, and all of Calvin's commentaries.

Systematics - I have R. Reymond's, James Boice's, and Louis Berkhof's.

Concordance - I only have Nelson's Three in One Companion, and the concordances in the back of my bibles.

Confessions - I have the WCF and catechisms, the four ecumenical creeds, and the 3 Forms

Besides these what other materials do I need? I do not know Greek or Hebrew as of yet, so I am looking for basic stuff on a level between a simple concordance/bible study on one hand, and introductory seminary level greek and hebrew translation on the other.

I am assuming I need a greek-interlinear bible, a comprehensive concordance, and an expository word dictionary. What of these would you recommend, and what other tools do I need, if any?

I'd also like to learn a little bit about everyone's study method when using these tools. How does one go about using all these tools in a logical, faithful, and personally applicable manner? What does a structured study time look like at this level?

Thank you.

[Edited on 6-1-2005 by RAS]

 

[sastark]

I would recommend Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for word studies. It is unmatched, in my opinion.

You may want to consider picking up a copy of Haley's Bible Handbook. It's full of great information.




PS- Are you looking for books only? Or would you be open to using online resources? I've got a lot of great links that could help in Bible study on my website (http://www.geocities.com/crusader1517/) if you are interested. I'm sure others on this board could recommend even more links.

 

[Robin]

Allan,

The 3 Forms (which should arrive any moment).

Robin

 

[Myshkin]

Originally posted by sastark
I would recommend Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for word studies. It is unmatched, in my opinion.

You may want to consider picking up a copy of Haley's Bible Handbook. It's full of great information.




PS- Are you looking for books only? Or would you be open to using online resources? I've got a lot of great links that could help in Bible study on my website (http://www.geocities.com/crusader1517/) if you are interested. I'm sure others on this board could recommend even more links.

How usable is it with other bible translations? I think I noticed that Strong's is referenced to KJV vocabulary. Are there any others for say, the ESV, or can I use Strong's with any version?

Also, not interested in online tools at this time. But thanks anyways.

Robin-
Thanks for the package (check your u2u)

 

[RamistThomist]

And I know Robin will second this recommendation, you also need the Theonomist's Manual for Dominion, if it exists! Just kidding! I would always have a good biblical theology and systematic theology with you at all times. If not that, the Confessiosn and 3FU should suffice. I always try to have a pocket copy of the Shorter Catechism with me at all times. Having a good church history manaul, like Gonzalez, Latourette, or Shelly should be helpful

 

[Robin]

Originally posted by Draught Horse
And I know Robin will second this recommendation, you also need the Theonomist's Manual for Dominion, if it exists! Just kidding! I would always have a good biblical theology and systematic theology with you at all times. If not that, the Confessiosn and 3FU should suffice. I always try to have a pocket copy of the Shorter Catechism with me at all times. Having a good church history manaul, like Gonzalez, Latourette, or Shelly should be helpful

Sans the Theonomist's Manual....the rest are very good...plus, Berkoff's "Summary of Christian Doctrine" (more digestable than his ST); Ursinus' "Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism." (Did you know that Ursinus' Large and Small Catechisms w/ the Heidelberg are free to download here:

http://www.christreformed.org/doctrinevision/ursinus_project.pdf

This will print 185 pages...then you can get it spiral bound at the office-store.

Enjoy your studies, Allan!

R.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Allan,

Besides the excellent suggestions which precede this post, I would propose just a few additional selections to your basic Christian study library:

* Scripture -- King James Version

Also, I highly recommend having a Psalter. There are different versions available. The 1650 Scottish Psalter is the gold standard, in my opinion, but there are modern editions such as the Book of Psalms for Singing and the Trinity Psalter too.

The Trinitarian Bible Society is a good resource (for the KJV and 1650 Scottish Psalter in particular) and so is Crown & Covenant and this link.

A parallel Bible or English Hexapla is a good resource to have too.

* Commentary -- Matthew Poole's Commentary

* Concordance -- Concordance on the Psalms in Metre (for the 1650 Scottish Psalter)

Nave's Topical Bible

* Confessions -- The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has an edition of the 1646 Westminster Confession which includes all of the documents produced by the Assembly, such as the Directory for Publick Worship, as well as the Scottish Covenants. In particular, I commend the Directory for Family Worship, which is a great help to Christians in this important but often neglected aspect of worship.

Robert Shaw's Exposition on the Westminster Confession is a good complement to the WCF too.

I heartily second the recommendation to obtain Ursinus' Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism.

Also, Phillip Schaff's Creeds of Christendom is an invaluable resource.

Additionally, it is helpful in my experience to have a good Bible Atlas.

Church history is an important supplement to Biblical study too. I recommend having Phillip Schaff's History of the Christian Church on your bookshelf.

Finally, I recommend using M'Cheyne's Bible Reading Plan.

Hope this helps! God bless your studies, brother.

[Edited on 6-1-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

 

[crhoades]

Hmmm...theonomist's manual for dominion...what's wrong with looking at how to apply God's righteous law systematically as we seek to fill the great commission and the cultural mandate?

Somebody's law will be legislated, why not God's?

[note: this post was to be taken as a lighthearted comment to follow Jacob's and Robin's. Not wanting to hijack this thread and turn it into yet another thread on theonomy.]

A great resource is http://www.reformed.org

 

[wsw201]

Allen,

You also might try and get a good book on basic hermaneutics.

 

[RamistThomist]

Originally posted by wsw201
Allen,

You also might try and get a good book on basic hermaneutics.

Sproul's Knowing Scripture is pretty good.

For a free resource--and this is not a theonomy hijack--check out Greg Bahnsen's outline for free on hermeneutics

Hermeneutics Outline

BTW, Bahnsen's outline is not meant to be a stand-alone, as he makes clear.

[Edited on 6--1-05 by Draught Horse]

 

[wsw201]

Originally posted by Draught Horse

Originally posted by wsw201
Allen,

You also might try and get a good book on basic hermaneutics.

Sproul's Knowing Scripture is pretty good.

For a free resource--and this is not a theonomy hijack--check out Greg Bahnsen's outline for free on hermeneutics

Hermeneutics Outline

BTW, Bahnsen's outline is not meant to be a stand-alone, as he makes clear.

[Edited on 6--1-05 by Draught Horse]

Bahnsen's good but he's pretty heavy duty. You might try something a bit more basic like Daniel Doriani's book "Getting the Message".

 

[RamistThomist]

Originally posted by wsw201

Originally posted by Draught Horse

Originally posted by wsw201
Allen,

You also might try and get a good book on basic hermaneutics.

Sproul's Knowing Scripture is pretty good.

For a free resource--and this is not a theonomy hijack--check out Greg Bahnsen's outline for free on hermeneutics

Hermeneutics Outline

BTW, Bahnsen's outline is not meant to be a stand-alone, as he makes clear.

[Edited on 6--1-05 by Draught Horse]

Bahnsen's good but he's pretty heavy duty. You might try something a bit more basic like Daniel Doriani's book "Getting the Message".

Right, and Bahnsen's was kind of meant for going along with his tape series on hermeneutics, which is good. I have the first one in the series and he really hits some of his fellow-reconstructionists hard for engaging in "interpretive maximalism" (ie, Jim Jordan and David Chilton).

Bahnsen was heavy-duty. He told his seminary students (one who studied under him relayed this message to me) that a graduate level student ought to be able to read 1 1/2 - 2 pages per minute on theology.

 

[crhoades]

Bahnsen was heavy-duty. He told his seminary students (one who studied under him relayed this message to me) that a graduate level student ought to be able to read 1 1/2 - 2 pages per minute on theology.

That's nothing! I can read 4 pages per minute on theology...of course the pages measure 2 in. X 2 in.!!!!

 

[Robin]

Originally posted by crhoades

Bahnsen was heavy-duty. He told his seminary students (one who studied under him relayed this message to me) that a graduate level student ought to be able to read 1 1/2 - 2 pages per minute on theology.

That's nothing! I can read 4 pages per minute on theology...of course the pages measure 2 in. X 2 in.!!!!

Comprehension?

Just kidding....

R.

 

[Robin]

Another, very useful volume, is "Know the Truth" revised edition by Bruce Milne - a handbook for Christian belief. It's got it all...quite digestible -- and for a Baptist, charitable towards the infant baptism question....what a guy!

R.

 

[RamistThomist]

What about Graeme Goldsworthy?

 

[Robin]

Originally posted by Draught Horse
What about Graeme Goldsworthy?

What about him?

R.

 

[RamistThomist]

Originally posted by Robin

Originally posted by Draught Horse
What about Graeme Goldsworthy?

What about him?

R.

Well, what's he like? Good, bad, nay-say? What approach does he take?

 

[Rich Barcellos]

Berkhof's History of Christian Doctrine is excellent. Goldsworhty's According to Plan is an introudction to Biblical Theology. It is very helpful but also has its short-falls. Machen's The New Testament is good for an introductory NTI.

 

[Myshkin]

I think I need to clarify or reask my first post. I mentioned the materials I do have to show that I do not need any other materials from those categories. I am not asking for basic theology materials, I have all those and more so (I didn't list everything). What I am asking for is basic bible study materials. Since I have been a christian I have spent more time reading theology books and confessions than I have actually reading the scriptures themselves for interpretation. Outside of my usual reading the scriptures, the overwhelming majority of my studying the bible is in the form of reading theology books and their references to scripture. Now I'd like to learn exegetical skills of the scripture itself, that go beyond just a simple concordance. Partly for my growth and maturity in handling the scriptures rightly, and partly for preparing myself for seminary in the future.

And I also wanted to know if anyone would share an example of what a structured study of this kind would look like? If it helps, pretend I am your teenage son who is ready to go beyond simply being taught through others and is ready to interpret the scriptures on his own also. What materials would you give him as foundational and what method would you teach him in how to use these materials?

What is the best concordance? Is it usable with the ESV and NKJV?
Someone suggested Strong's. There are several versions of Strong's, so which one should I get? The exhaustive, the new exhaustive, the strongest strong's, etc.?

What is the best interlinear bible? Is there one for the ESV?

Is an expository dictionary the same as a lexicon? What is the best one to have?

What is the best book for beginner's greek?

Are there any other materials in this category that I have not thought to ask about?

Jacob- the history volumes you mentioned. Is that Justo Gonzalez, and Kenneth Latourette? Any caveats about them? I'll add them to my list. Thanks. I have Knowing Scripture, very helpful book. Wish he would update it.

Andrew- what is Nave's topical bible?

Wayne - is Doriani's book acceptable, despite his being in the more liberal EPC? What about "Introduction to Biblical Heremeneutics", by Kaiser and Silva? or Berkhof's "Principles of Biblical Interpretation"? Are these all from the redemptive-historical perspective? What are some basic hermeneutic books that take the historical-grammatical method?

Sorry for my lack of clarity.

 

[wsw201]

Wayne - is Doriani's book acceptable, despite his being in the more liberal EPC? What about "Introduction to Biblical Heremeneutics", by Kaiser and Silva? or Berkhof's "Principles of Biblical Interpretation"? Are these all from the redemptive-historical perspective? What are some basic hermeneutic books that take the historical-grammatical method?

I think Doriani's book is acceptable. It does not get into any theology but attempts to give the reader some basic tools and examples. It does not appear to me that Doriani is taking a particular slant regarding interpretation. He just give the basics on how the Bible should be read, ie; historical context, who is the writer writing to, what is the theme of the passage, chapter, book, the use of grammar, writing style of the author. I don't know about Kaiser and Silva. You can't go wrong with Berkhof, but considering his systematic, I doubt his book is basic.

 

[Myshkin]

Thanks Wayne. I'll add Doriani's book to my list. I'll probably get Berkhof's too. For some reason I have never found Berkhof to be difficult.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Originally posted by RAS
Andrew- what is Nave's topical bible?

Publisher Comments:
"Nave's Topical Bible, " the best known of all topical bibles, has been a valuable Bible-study reference and a best-seller for more than 75 years. It is a comprehensive digest of over 20,000 topics and subtopics with more than 100,000 associated Scripture references. The most significant references for each topic actually include the full text of the verse cited--saving the need to separately look up each verse.

Because "Nave's "groups verses by "idea" (or "topic"), it offers a better overview of relevant Scriptures than a concordance, which only lists or indexes verses according to specific words. This edition also includes the helpful Scripture index (left out of some other editions), which makes it possible for the reader studying a particular biblical text to locate every topic and grouping of Scripture in "Nave's "whenever a particular verse is included. That way, it is possible for the reader to study either all the verses related to a particular topic "or" all the topics related to a particular verse--it works both ways.

For the pastor or teacher interested in saving hours of time but not willing to give their second best, and for anyone wanting to be challenged by what God has to say about a given subject, "Nave's Topical Bible" is the passport that will allow immediate and successful entry to the many points of interest.

Synopsis:
A comprehensive digest of over 20,000 topics and subtopics with more than 100,000 associated Scripture references
Features "Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary, " which contains more than 5,000 entries and 700 images that embrace the complete spectrum of biblical concerns
1,616 pp.

Orville J. Nave, A.M., D.D., LL.D., compiled this magnificient reference work while serving as a Chaplain in the United States Army. He referred to his work as "the result of fourteen years of delightful and untiring study of the Word of God."

 

[Myshkin]

Thanks Andrew. Adding it to my list

 

[Robin]

Originally posted by Draught Horse

Originally posted by Robin

Originally posted by Draught Horse
What about Graeme Goldsworthy?

What about him?

R.

Well, what's he like? Good, bad, nay-say? What approach does he take?

J,

I've seen his stuff in our church book store (which is screened by our pastors)....so, not having read him, yet...it would seem he is somewhat safe. ??? Good? Perhaps...I don't personally know, yet.

R.

[Edited on 6-7-2005 by Robin]