Review of Steps to Studying the Bible
Main question
What did the author intend to communicate to the original readers?
Keep this question in mind throughout the entire study.
Establishing Context
Read the entire letter and write down what you think the big message of the writing is. The big message should be one or two sentences and is inclusive of the entire writing. If there are that do not fit under the big message, there are two possibilities: (1) your big message is not big enough or (2) there is more than one big message. As you study more, you will review this message and change it if necessary.
The Big Message: ________________________________________
The next step is to read the entire writing again and see if you can see how it is organized.
Outline the major sections or major points (link to organizational chart)
Begin by looking at how the writing itself answers the following questions. Then consult other resources put together by Bible scholars to find more information that will help you understand context.
AUTHOR – Who wrote it?
ORIGINAL AUDIENCE – To whom was it written?
GENRE – What type of writing is this?
WHEN WRITTEN – When was it written and what was going on at the time?
AUTHOR’S LOCATION/SITUATION – Where was it written from? What situation was the author in?
AUDIENCE’S LOCATION/SITUATION – Where are the readers? What situation are they in?
PURPOSE OF WRITING – Why is the author writing?
MAJOR RELEVANT FACTORS – What do you think will be important contextual factors?
Use the organizational chart to show how your verses are connected to the rest of the writing.
How are your verses connected to their paragraph or section?
Analyze the structure of your sentence. What is the author trying to emphasize? How do you know? Word order, repetition?
What are some key words or cultural aspects that need to be looked at more closely? Study these words and phrases more.
Look back at all of the information you have gathered from your study so far. What do you think your Bible verses mean IN CONTEXT?