How to Study the Bible: Lesson Six

I promised you that the next two weeks were going to be exciting and a lot of fun. And that is what we are going to do!

We learned the Router in our bench analogy last week as we went over more study tools. I have one more study tool that would fall under that category; that is Halleys Bible Handbook. Halleys is a great reference book that you will find pastors and Bible Scholars refer to and recommend. It gives miscellaneous Bible information like important dates, world powers of Biblical times, archaeological discoveries, notes on each of the bible books and much more.

Halleys Bible Handbook: page 816 states: Every Christian ought to be a Bible Reader. It is the One Habit, which, if done in the right spirit, more than any other one habit, will make a Christian what he ought to be in every way. If any church could get its people as a whole to be devoted Readers of Gods Word, it would revolutionize the church. If the churches of any community, as a whole, could get their people, as a whole, to be Regular Readers of the Bible, it would Not Only Revolutionize the churches, but it would Purge and Purify the Community as nothing else could do.

We have now covered almost the entire Index of Study Tools in your binder. That is exciting! You are becoming Empowered Women in Bible Study.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB) states: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

We have one last tool to learn to turn our beautiful bench into a masterpiece. We are going to do the scrollwork, which in our study tools would be equal to the grammatical codes and notations as well as learning to read and pronounce Greek words. This is the fine details that will enhance your Bible study.

First we will go through the Grammatical codes and notations and have some hands-on experience, then we will actually learn a little Greek. How fun is that!

You will find the Grammatical Codes and Notations in your Key Word Study Bible page 1702 - 1706; they have also given you a quick reference guide.

The grammatical codes, which appear in the New Testament text, explain structures in simple terms which, while common in Greek, are difficult or impossible to convey in any English translation. We will explain this as we go along. The small codes at the upper left of words in the text refer to the grammatical codes which you will find on page 1702. In parentheses after each code are numbers referring to one or more of the grammatical notations pages 1703-1706.

*An example of this would be Philippians 4:6. Be pim anxious for

nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be pim made known to God.

Notice the small letters next to the word anxious (pim) that is the grammatical code. Now look at either your quick reference guide or the codes listed on page 1702 in your Key Word Study Bible.

See the letters: pim, the codes are listed in alphabetical order. pim stands for: present imperative (37). The number in parentheses after the code is the grammatical notation. Pages 1703-1706 list the definitions of the grammatical notations.

Look up #37 The Present Imperative (pim) under the definitions. States: is a command to do something in the future and involves continuous or repeated action. When it is negative and prohibits an action, it usually carries with it the implication of stopping an action which has been taking place.

So in other words, this is telling you that in the Greek it shows you that this is a command to do something that involves continuous or repeated action and that in the negative it carries the implication of stopping an action which has been taking place. Now lets reread that part of the verse: Be anxious for nothing With the Greek grammatical notations: I command you to continually stop being anxious for not one thing Makes a huge difference doesnt it. God is not only telling us to not be anxious but He is commanding us to continually stop being anxious. That is a Huge difference.

Lets look up Matthew 6:25 in the Key Word Study Bible.

For this reason I say to you, pim do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall asba eat, or what you shall asba drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall asbm put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? (NASB)

This is the same word Greek word (#3309) for anxious Transliteration: merimna, in Philippians 4:6 and also notice the grammatical code: pim present imperative used in both verses.

Whenever you see the Imperative mode, you know it is a command.

Now I would like to show you another grammatical code. This particular verse does not show the code in the Key Word Study Bible, so I have copied the verse from the Complete Word Study Bible. Please see Philippians 1:5

For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until art,ad now; Phil 1:5 (CWSB)

Notice the grammatical code art in front of now at the end of the verse. Look up art in the grammatical codes: art..article (definite) (17). Then look up the number 17 for the grammatical notation definition.

17: The Definite Article the (art) is found in Greek, but there is no indefinite article, a or an as in English. There are many reasons in Greek why a definite article may or may not be used. And these uses of the article often do not parallel English usage. In Greek its presence or absence is often critical to the understanding of a passage.

To illustrate the importance of the definite article I would like to read to you from Kenneth Wuests Word studies:

In the Greek text the definite article the occurs before the adverb now, which is a construction that we do not find in the English language. The definite article in Greek points out individual identity. It makes the thing referred to stand out in contrast to other things. Paul said that the Philippians had helped him in his missionary work from the first day until the now. The word now refers to the time at which Paul wrote, but the article particularized that time as being characterized by the receipt of the gift. Now is not a mere point in time, but a point in time whose character was marked by the receipt of the gift. The article is a delicate finger pointing to the gift without referring to it in so many words. Kenneth Wuest Word Studies Treasures from the Greek New Testament pg 55

Paul indicates his gratitude without mentioning the specific gift. He does not want to appear as if in thanking them he is looking for another gift. So he thanks God for their joint participation in the progress of the gospel from the first day when Lydia, the purple dye seller, opened her home as a meeting place where Paul could preach the Word until that present moment. Kenneth Wuest Word Studies Golden Nuggets page 116

The Greek Alphabet

Capitals Small Name Equivalent alpha a beta b gamma g delta d epsilon e (short) zeta z (dz) eta e (long) theta th iota i kappa k lambda l mu m nu n xi x omicron o (short) pi pi p rho r sigma s tau t upsilon u phi ph chi ch (hard) psi ps omega o (long)

Reading English words in Greek

The words on this page are English words, but they are written in Greek letters.

Instructions: Read all three words written in Greek letters, then circle the word that corresponds to the English word given on the left.

1. bed

______________________________

2. bat

______________________________

3. cat

_____________________________

4. cab

_____________________5. dot

There is no c in the Greek alphabet, so we must use the letter k.

Note the two kinds of o:

as in log

as in pope

More English words in Greek Letters.

This page introduces four Greek letters that do not look like English letters. See pronunciation guide.

Instructions: Read all three words written in Greek letters, then circle the word that corresponds to the English word given on the left.

1. top pipi

pi

________________________

2. tip pipi

pi_________________________

3. boat pipipipi

_________________________

4. coat

__________________________

5. rabbit pi

Pronunciation Guide:

pi = p

= r

= long o

= n

Names from the Bible:

These are spelled as they appear in the Greek New Testament. Match the Greek to the English equivalent.

____ a. Abel____ b. Adam ____ c. Anna____ d. Barabbas____ e. Barnabas____ f. Nicodemus____ g. Peter____ h. Rebecca____ pi i. Simon

____ pi a. agapas (Agape Love)____ b. Phileo (Love)

Fill in the blanks with the English equivalent of the Greek word:

John 21:15 (NASB) So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to ______________ pi ______________, "Simon, son of John, do you pi _______________ Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I _______________You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs.