Does The Book Help Us Understand The Language?

              There are many books out there for sale and in libraries that help us to understand language. Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, the Thesaurus, Hebrew and Greek Lexicons, Study Bibles, etc. Remember what we said in an earlier chapter, the bible was not written in English so some of the English words may not have the exact meaning of the word being studied.

Dictionary: A listing of words of a language, usually in alphabetical order but sometimes also by topic, with their meanings or their equivalents and Etymology. You will probably need two different types of dictionaries.

1.  The Unabridged English dictionary

2.  A Biblical Etymological Dictionary

The English dictionary will give you the meaning of the English word used in the text. Whereas the Biblical dictionary will give you the origin of the word and other possible translations. It will also give you both the conventional definition and the biblical definition. You will find in some cases the English definitions fall short of the Etymological definitions.

Encyclopedias: A  reference work offering comprehensive information on all or specialized areas of knowledge. Encyclopedias contain current and sometimes ancient maps depicting the location of cities/areas, historic archeological facts, and other pertinent information.

As a general rule, the larger the set of encyclopedias the more information they contain. Again, that does not make them the best. A smaller set may contain information more relevant to your study than the larger set.

Thesaurus: I can’t find a definition, let’s just say it is a book of big words. The Thesaurus will especially help when using a commentary. I don’t know why but many of the biblical scholars feel the larger their education the larger the words they must use. What the Thesaurus does is break down the language. When you look up the large colorful word used by the writer it will give you other word options that are usually more easily understood.

Hebrew and Greek Lexicons: Unless you have studied the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek languages these will be of little use to you unless they are keyed to the particular bible translation you are using. Even with some college study in these languages, I don’t recommend their use.

Concordances: For someone who is just beginning to study the bible, the concordance is invaluable. When you look up a word, the concordance will not only give you the Etymology but will also list the different places in the bible where the word is used. This will be a great help in determining the correct context for the word. I once did a word study using only a King James Bible and a concordance for the word “blessed.” It took 8 hours and you wouldn’t believe the blessing I received from the study.

Commentaries: A series of notes explaining or interpreting a written text. These are wonderful books. Be careful they also contain disciplines. A discipline is a specific way of interpreting the bible. There are many disciplines and each has a particular (ism) they are concerned with. There is a way around this. Find three different commentaries written by three different writers from three different disciplines. Read all three and they will have most things in common. Throw away all the non common statements and you will have an honest interpretation. You will be amazed at how much help these books can be.

Commentaries are usually written by people who have been studying the bible for years and know what they are talking about. The disciplines are the result of denominationalism and are taught in the Seminaries. Most of these people are God called and can be trusted.

Bible Translations: The first cannon of the bible occurred about two hundred B.C. This first cannon only contained the Old Testament and was in two parts called by the Jewish community “The Torah” and “The Ta Biblia.” After the life of Christ the New Testament books were written and circulated in the first century A.D. It took about 350 years for the writing and canonization of the NT. The cannon of the OT and the NT together occurred in 397 A.D. This first cannon was still in three languages. In the four century A.D. Jerome translated the cannon into Latin and called it the Vulgate. This soon became the most popular version in the English speaking world because it only required learning one language. The Latin version was sanctioned by the early church as authentic at the Council of Trent.

In 1611 the first English translation of the bible was completed by a group of scholars (not all Christians) commissioned by King James 1. There is no record of this translation ever being sanctioned by the early church. The scholars commissioned by King James 1 did not use the original documents for translation, they used the Latin Vulgate. There are several of the more conservative denominations that say the 1611 King James Version is the only authorized version. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Today there are many translations of the bible. Most of these translation were done for ease of reading and understanding. The modern translations all say the same thing, they just use different terminology. I personally have 16 different translations of the bible. I find it fascinating to read scriptures in the different translations just to see how many different ways you can say the same thing.

Not all these so called translations are bibles. Some of them are paraphrased and are more commentaries than bibles. Be careful when using them. I’m not saying they’re wrong, they’re just one man’s opinion and they’re not the scriptures inspired by God.

God is not dead. If God allows you to feel comfortable with a certain translation, then that is the bible for you. Remember, you don’t need the churches permission or a preacher’s permission, just God’s permission.

Study Bibles: There are almost as many Study Bibles as there are translations. In fact 7 of my 16 bibles are Study Bibles. What the study bible accomplishes for you is to put some of the reference material together for you in one binder.

Let me give you some of the features of a good study bible.

1.  Center reference.  The center reference will refer you to other scriptures in the bible that are related to the one you are reading. This allows you to read several different scriptures on the same subject before you form your analysis of its meaning. Start at 8am with John 3:16 and just keep using the center reference as long as they last. Be sure to set an alarm so you don’t miss your lunch.

2. Concordance:  Most study bibles have a small concordance in the back. These concordances only have about 1000 words, but you will find they are usually the ones you are looking for.

3. Both Hebrew and Greek Dictionary:  There is usually a dictionary in the back of a study bible that contain key words from the bible. The dictionary usually only contain suggested translation words, but some do have short definitions.

4. Maps: Most study bibles have a few maps of the region where Jesus ministry took place. These maps are important for your study.

5. Book Introduction:  Most study bibles have a synopsis of the book on the first pages. They give you valuable information like who the author is, information about the primary characters, location, any information about when the book was written, etc.

6. Commentaries: Most of these study bibles have a short commentary, usually at the bottom of the page. You will find these short commentaries more to the point than the large commentary books. I find they leave out most of the (isms).

7. The Apocrypha: These books are not part of the bible. However, they are historical books that cover the 450 years when God was silent between Malachi and Matthew. You will find they are very good reading and some important information about changing customs, leadership, etc.

Just as the “Family Bibles,” you will find study bibles are large, heavy, and bulky. You might want to use them at home and carry a smaller bible when you go to church.

As I said before, God is not dead. God has not become silent. He still inspires men to write and still speaks to us when we need Him to. Having a library as extensive as I have given you is good, but it is worthless without God. If you don’t pray for God’s help with your studies, you will never understand the bible. Not even with all these books.