In
this section we introduce a number of Bible reading and study
tools which are available to help us read and understand the
Bible. These range from simple tools like Bible dictionaries
to more complicated tools such as concordances and lexicons.
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Bible
dictionaries and encyclopedias
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Dictionaries
of the Bible give information about a wide range of Bible
subjects arranged alphabetically. Suppose you just read
about King Darius in Daniel and you want to know more about
him. Your Bible dictionary will have an article about Darius
including the verses you have just read and other Bible
references. It will probably introduce information from
history and archaeology as well.
A
Bible encyclopedia is similar except it usually has more
detailed articles about more subjects and is published in
several volumes.
Remember
that dictionaries and encyclopedias are the work of uninspired
men and women commenting about inspired Scripture passages.
Such reference books are very useful, but they should always
be read carefully with an eye toward scepticism. Verify
or disprove what they suggest for yourself, from the Scriptures.
Case
study: 1 Kings 15:9-14
Use
a Bible dictionary, footnotes and/or cross-references
to answer the following questions.
1.
What was an Asherah pole?
2. Where was the Kidron Valley?
3. What were "high places"?
4. What other Bible passages record the reign of Asa?
5. How can we explain the apparent contradiction between
1 Kings 15:14 and 2 Chronicles 14:3?
6. What lessons are there for us in this passage?
A
commentary is a book which follows the Bible order exactly,
and adds comment on the interpretation of the text, historical
details, etc., as it proceeds. Commentaries are certainly
helpful in finding out how other people have understood
the Bible. There are many commentaries available on the
Bible from single books to sets of commentaries each consisting
of many volumes.
When
a passage is unclear to us, and following cross-references
or words in a concordance has not shed any light on the
passage, it is sometimes useful to consult a commentary
to see how other Bible readers have interpreted the passage.
Example:
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus
said:
Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light.
From
the Bible Background Commentary:
When
a man carried a yoke he would carry it on his shoulders
(cf., e.g., Jer 27:2); Judaism applied this image of subjection
to obedience. Jewish people spoke of carrying the yoke
of God's law and the yoke of his kingdom, which one accepted
by acknowledging that God was one and by keeping his commandments.
Matthew intends Jesus' words about rest as a contrast
with Pharisaic Sabbath rules.
From
the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries:
The
yoke was sometimes in the Old Testament a symbol of oppression
(Isa. 9:4; 58:6; Jer. 27-28), but was also used in a good
sense of the service of God (Jer. 2:20; Lam. 3:27). Later
it came to be used commonly in Jewish writings for obedience
to the law-the 'yoke of the law' is one every Jew should
be proud to carry. Such a yoke should not be oppressive,
for after all the function of a yoke is to make a burden
easier to carry. But ... the law itself had become a burden,
and a new yoke was needed to lighten the load. Jesus'
yoke is easy, not because it makes lighter demands,
but because it represents entering a disciple-relationship
with one who is gentle and lowly in heart... This
attractive aspect of Jesus is a vital counterbalance to
the sterner side seen in Matthew 7:13-27; 10:34-39; etc.
To emphasise either to the exclusion of the other is to
miss the real Jesus.
