How to Study the Scriptures

Three quick notes before we start:

  • I’ll be quoting from the World English Bible version unless where otherwise noted.

  • I generally switch out “Jesus Christ” for “Yeshua Messiah” in the verses I quote because it is closer to the actual pronunciation in the Aramaic language in which they spoke at the time of Messiah’s physical, earthly ministry. I don’t do that for other names in the Bible except in regard to God and his Son because they matter most, and because it would be too arduous a task to do that for everyone.

  • Also, I may switch out the occasional word in a verse quoted here to reflect more accurately the original word in its closest original language. For example, when the New Testament quotes a verse from the Old Testament but it replaces “Yahweh” with “kurios” in the Greek and “the Lord” in English, I may switch it back to “Yahweh” as was originally intended in the Old Testament.   

How the Bible Interprets Itself

It should be without saying that the original intent of Scripture is best studied as close as possible to the writer of each book in question - as close as possible to the wet ink gliding across that blank scroll in the first place. We cannot go back in time to sit next to the prophet or saint as he was writing Scripture, but we can get as close as possible.

And I would recommend using the BibleHub app on your phone, or BibleHub.com on your desktop. There, you can find almost every English translation available, along with the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Concordance. Back in the day, I was using the Young’s and the Strong’s Concordances in book form. I still use them. They’re each as heavy and as thick as a telephone book! Remember those?

Let’s begin.

First and foremost, take a look at this scripture:

. . . knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the holy spirit.
2 Peter 1:20-21

Therefore, we can only conclude that Scripture interprets itself.

Some falsely believe that this means that the holy spirit within each individual interprets the Bible for them as they read it, even if they are reading it for the first time. A lot of people claim to interpret the Bible in this way, but the only problem is that they often disagree with one another. So, they can’t all be right because truth cannot contradict itself.

Yes, the holy spirit has its place on many levels. When it comes to biblical interpretation, it can remind you of relevant verses which often help you to see how and where Scripture interprets itself. And I’ll point to this verse to prove that:

“And the comforter, the holy spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you.”
John 14:26

Some might say, “See? It is the holy spirit that teaches you all things. So, why do we need the Bible at all?” Read it again. How does the holy spirit teach you all things? By reminding you of all things which Messiah said to you. Messiah himself is referred to as the Word in the flesh. See John 1:14. Need I point out that one cannot be reminded of something which he has not heard in the first place?

So, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Romans 10:17

So, you must become acquainted with the Word of God if you expect the holy spirit gift to remind you of things you’ve read in the past, so you can see how the Bible interprets itself.

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
Isaiah 28:10

The bottom line, again, is that Scripture interprets itself.

One last quote from Yeshua Messiah to share at this juncture, and let it marinate in your mind:

"I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10

Think about how that applies to your biblical research efforts. Start with an intelligent question, research it thoroughly, and eventually, you will find an intelligent answer.

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

Then next question is this:

The English translation of the Bible which you hold in your hand, is it the unadulterated, pure, reliable Word of God?

The answer may shock you. The answer is no. But, the pure Word of God is still available to you with some extra effort on your part. Don’t get me wrong. You can still learn a lot of truth just from the English version you hold in your hand, but some of the translation is incorrect, or fuzzy, or just not clear. And there are many words, and in a few instances, entire verses, that were inserted after the fact, but which were not in the original, ancient texts. That’s not just me saying that, the foot notes of your own Bible say that. The truth is there, but you must work harder to uncover it.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

The King James version uses the word “study”, “Study to show thyself approved unto God . . .” And it continues: “. . . a workman that needeth not to be ashamed . . .” Why are the workers not ashamed? Because they are being diligent in their studies. In what work are they being diligent? In the work of “rightly dividing the word of truth.”

What does “dividing” mean exactly in this context, “rightly dividing the word of truth”? The answer is common sense. Look at all the ways it can be divided. Punctuation is one.

Did you know that the original Hebrew Old Testament, and Greek and Aramaic New Testament had no punctuation? That’s right. Keep that in mind when you are reading Scripture. Any punctuation you see are mere suggestions. Sometimes, one comma in the wrong position can distort the original intent completely.

For example, which punctuation is more accurate, the one which reads:

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:43b

Or this version with the comma moved one word to the right:

“Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:43b

What’s the difference? One little comma can change the whole meaning. Was the man with Yeshua in paradise on the same day they were crucified, or was Messiah talking about a future time, like after the general resurrection of the dead as described in the Book of Revelation? We are not going to go down a doctrinal rabbit hole here. The point is that all punctuation in our modern Bibles are based solely on conjecture and may not always be accurate to the original intent of any given passage, because there was no punctuation in Scripture when they were originally written.

What other ways can the word of truth be rightly divided? We see that the Bible is divided into two main sections: the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Between the two, there was 400 years of silence after the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, died. There was also the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. There are different administrations within the ages of human history, like the administration of the law, as was administered under the leadership of Moses, and then we entered the administration of grace as administered by Yeshua Messiah.

. . . if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you . . .
Ephesians 3:2

Why is it so important to consider these different periods, ages and administrations when you are reading your Bible? Because, otherwise, you will be reading Numbers 15:32-36, for example, where a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath was sentenced by Moses to be stoned to death, you might think that applies to us in our present age. It does not:

For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law.
Hebrews 7:12

The death sentence described in Numbers seems harsh to us today, but this is a question we can dig into at some other juncture.

Context

As we have just seen above, there are different covenants and administrations within the ages of human history, even some to come in the near or distant future. So, when reading and understanding Scripture, the first thing you must ask is: to whom is this certain section written? Because what you are reading may not apply to you directly, as we have seen in Numbers 15:32-36, you might, otherwise, think it’s okay to stone someone to death for picking up sticks on the Sabbath day.

To reiterate, because this is a vital building block to biblical understanding and research: Not every Bible book, section, chapter and verse is specifically written to you.

When Bible students don’t understand this point, they can find themselves getting confused. Why does one place in Scripture say that we are saved by grace, not by works, while in the Book of Revelation it says this?

The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:12b

The answer is that this does not apply to believers in the grace administration. It applies to unbelievers. There are two resurrections. This is about the dead who were raised after the second resurrection, but before the second death. There is still hope for unbelievers before the final, last, ultimate death. Why? Because Yahweh’s mercy endures forever.

See an earlier verse from that same chapter:

They lived, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead didn't live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.
Revelation 20:4b-6

All this may seem complicated to a new student of Scripture, but the simple conclusion is that the Word of God does not contradict itself, it’s just speaking to different audiences at different times, or speaking of a different group of people who are experiencing something in a different age.

Biblical Usage of a Word or Phrase

Another way the Bible interprets itself is in the way it uses a word or a phrase. If you have ten clear verses in the Bible detailing a certain principal, doctrine, prophesy or whatever, but there is one outlier that seems to contradict, obviously, your first order of business would be to dissect the one outlier. Same would hold true if you had 40 clear verses, and five outliers, you would dissect the five outliers first. But how do you dissect a verse or a sentence in the Bible?

First, you must come to terms with the fact that the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Aramaic and ancient Greek. Very little of the original Aramaic has survived for general referencing and study, so the closest we can come to studying the original New Testament texts would be to access the ancient Greek texts, which one can gain obtain through the Young’s and the Strong’s Concordances, which also includes the Hebrew Old Testament. While there are certain advantages to the Young’s, the Strong’s is the most comprehensive and the most useful.

Let’s look into an example of a certain verse that seems to contradict Scripture on a given topic. We’ll dissect that verse and compare its words to the way the Bible uses those words in general. And we’ll see if it really contradicts, or if it was just in the way it was translated.

In Matthew 5:22b Yeshua says:

"Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”

But in Matthew 23:17a Yeshua says:

“You blind fools!”

Isn’t that a contradiction? No, because in Matthew 5:22b, the Greek word translated into “fool” is “mōre”, and it only has one occurrence in the Bible. No other verse to compare to. But in Matthew 23:17a, the Greek word for “fool” is “mōroi” which literally means “dull, stupid, foolish”, not just “fool”. It occurs 12 times in Scripture, translated into English as fool (1), foolish (7), foolish things (1), foolishness (1), fools (2). Predominantly, it was translated as foolish and foolishness.

Simply put, it’s the difference between whether you are calling someone “a fool”, or if you are just saying, “You are acting foolishly.” No contradiction there at all.

But the above example shows the basic method of examining biblical usage of a word to sort out what otherwise might seem like a contradiction. It serves to reveal the original intent of the text you’re looking at, and to establish firmly original doctrine as taught by the original writers of all the books of the Bible.

Take a Fresh Look at Doctrine Without Petty Disputes

We encourage Bible students to take a fresh look at Scripture and be flexible on common doctrines we’ve been raised to believe. Should you find that a certain, beloved doctrine you were taught from childhood, under closer scrutiny, no longer appears to be supported by Scripture, have the mental fortitude to be prepared to let it go. True, original biblical doctrines from antiquity, are generally simple and easy to understand, even simple enough for children:

“Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”
Mark 10:15

We don’t want to become like corrupt scribes and Pharisees of Yeshua’s day, where he said of them:

“Blind guides, who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel!”
Matthew 23:24

Meaning that they have no problem incorporating difficult and convoluted things but have difficulty accepting simple truths.

But biblical doctrine is easy to be intreated, that is, reasonable, simple, easily persuadable, and without contradiction.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17

What I don’t want to get into here on this site is a lot of complicated arguments over prophesies and convoluted doctrines, especially relating to concepts that are not essential to salvation.

Shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Titus 3:9

If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Yeshua Messiah, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, insulting, evil suspicions, constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
1 Timothy 6:3-5

On the other hand, simple, sound doctrine relating to salvation should be thoroughly researched and fervently defended.

I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not listen to sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables.
2 Timothy 4:1-4

Okay, so we’ve established the first and most important part of our mission here on YahMyGod.com, to teach the commonsense principals of biblical interpretation, so that each of us can research on our own to enhance our understanding without contradicting Scripture (or each other, for that matter).

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