Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.
Cicero
This quote just makes me laugh every time I hear it. Even two millennia later, times are indeed still bad. Children do indeed still disobey. And everyone is still considering their opinions and ideas worthy of the permanence of print.
Into the vast ocean of tomes, I tossed my contribution this week.
This book, Biblical Word Study took at least a decade to come to the fore. First I had to learn the processes and procedures of word study. Then I had to show it to others. And lastly, I had to write it all out.
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A New Thing
Although the ocean of books covers every topic and every conceivable idea, I like to think mine is somewhat unique. It talks about something I have never seen taught anywhere.
Sure. There are many books which refer to the practice of Biblical word study. And there are many books devoted to the origins of words. But there are not any books which teach the regular Bible student how to do Biblical Word Study.
Ages ago, when I began devoting a good portion of my life to Bible study, I would read in various Bible studies the instruction: “Do a word study of ____.” Each of these instructions had almost no follow-up of how one should or could go about this.
Through my Bible study friends, I discovered a series of resources one could go to in order to practice Biblical word study. But still, there was no instruction regarding how to use these resources. The dictionaries and concordances had various codes and sections. They required lots of cross-referencing. And the process of studying one word from the Bible was intense – requiring so much time I had little time for the rest of the Bible study.
Digging for Treasures
Having the resources in my hands for Biblical word study did not insure I knew how to use them. Rather the opposite. I would spend hours trying to figure out what each of the sections in each of the books I had meant. I would look up word meanings, then verb tenses (even for words that weren’t verbs), then track down other places the word had been used in Scripture – hours and hours of study each week.
I wasn’t exactly floundering in my Bible study. But I was expending a great amount of effort to get at the gems and jewels of the Word.
Those gems and jewels were what kept me digging, despite the inept manner in which I was digging.
One day, I looked up from my digging and realized I had better form, was working more efficiently, and was finding treasures faster than I did when I started. Through my failings at first, I had discovered the “right” way to do Biblical word study.
Sharing Treasures
Because of Biblical word study, my absolute favorite thing about corporate Bible studies is the time where we come together and talk about the meanings of words.
{Did I tell you I am a nerd?}
Seriously, there is something so special about discussing the treasures mined through diligent Biblical word study. When my Bible study friends and I would come together and talk about what we discovered through our word studies, we would just marvel at God’s precision. We would celebrate His perfection as Author not only of all creation, but as Author of all truth.
What I came to learn in my years in Bible study – personal and corporate – was the learning was not complete until it was shared. The truth did not become something personal until I took it into my brain, processed it, and then was able to push it back out through my mouth. When I had a relationship with the word in this way, it became a treasure to me all the more.
The Reason for Biblical Word Study
As a result of Biblical word study, I can with the psalmists speak of the wonders of the Word of God:
- His Word heals (Ps. 107:20)
- The Word is worthy of praise (Ps. 56:10)
- The Word of the Lord is upright (Ps. 33:4)
- His Word formed the heavens and the earth (Ps. 33:6)
- His counsel stands forever, from generation to generation (Ps. 33:11)
- The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul (Ps. 19:7)
- His precepts are more desirable than gold (Ps. 19:10); sweeter than honey (Ps. 19:10)
I could go on and I haven’t even touched Psalm 119. The reason I can speak of the Word of God in such a manner is that I have tasted of its goodness. I have tried it, tested it under the microscope and found its inherent beauty. It is – as God is – altogether lovely.
Why I wrote Biblical Word Study
I wanted to pass the love of the words of the Word of God to others. The only way I knew to do that was to teach the process of Biblical word study.
Through my book Biblical Word Study, I teach others how to do this beautiful practice of digging for treasures in the Word. In it, I take you step-by-step through the procedure of Biblical word study. In the book you will learn how to:
- use context to determine word meaning (never leaving the Word of God) – using Scripture to illuminate Scripture.
- use Strong’s numbers to identify the original language words God used when He breathed out His Word
- discover the denotative and connotative meaning of the original words
- uncover hints of meaning in Greek verbs obfuscated by centuries of translation
- learn how to process all this to interpret and apply the truth of Scripture to your life
Along the way in the book, I hope you will get a glimpse of my heart for the Word of God. In fact, there are some real vulnerable spots in this book.
Where You Can Get Biblical Word Study
Currently Biblical Word Study is available in three modes.
- Here on my website. Easy peasy. That version is a PDF document you can use on any device.
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- The Kindle version of Biblical Word Study is also available for order right now!
- A print on demand version is now available, too! This is the way I envision others taking in this book. I hope it is a blessing to you!
If you are interested in receiving a preview chapter of my book, you can sign up here for updates about my book. Don’t worry if you are already on my mailing list, you will not get double the emails.
