Tools for Bible Study

Utuna · Feb 26, 2013

That thread is for lurkers and us all so that we may easily find useful Bible study aids. Please, if you know other places where we can find useful and interesting tools, help me make that thread grow and also tell us when links get dead !

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Here is a working link to the Emphatic Diaglott.

http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/...lott_index.htm

The same in PDF version (63 Mo)

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/..._Diaglott_Wilson_Early_Watchtower_Edition.pdf

Utuna · Feb 26, 2013

Kingdom Interlinear Translation

KIT:

http://www.soundwitness.org/jw/kit_download.htm (click on the provided links in order to start the download of the pdf file, which is voluminous (209 Mo)).

If you're still an active JW, you can get that Bible at the publication stand of your own congregation. That's where I got mine.

Hope it helps !

Utuna · Feb 26, 2013

Interlinear Bible :

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm

Encyclopaedia Catholica :

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/

Jewish Encyclopedia :

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/

Encyclopaedia Judaica (PDF) :

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/infomark...aboutBook&version=1.0&authCount=1&u=imcpl1111

I've checked only a handful of the links of the EJ but they were all working ! A bit long to load though...

Utuna · Feb 28, 2013

Another interesting link provided by LS :

http://www.olivetree.com/bible-study-apps/

Utuna · Feb 28, 2013

At last, I've retrieved the old thread in which I knew that useful links had been posted !!!

By Tsaphah :

I can't really, in all honesty recommend one over another. They all have some good points and all have bad points. It would also depend on the writers style. That is why I have several. Actually, you could save your money and use those online. I bought mine back before computers and the Internet. As I've said before, you have to look at the motives of the writers. What was their purpose in writing those commentaries? Money? Fame? Peer recognition? Required by the academic or religious organization? And remember this main question, Do they understand what Jehovah God has planned for mankind? Do they understand the realities of the Kingdom? Many of the commentaries are full of false doctrine and you will have to sift through them. You will have to rely on the teachings and illustrations used by Jesus Christ. Being able to find those hidden treasures in some commentaries is like the illustration that Jesus gave at Mt. 13:44. It's also like looking for the best apples in the box at the farmers market. The more I consider it, save your money. Use the internet. Go here http://biblecommenter.com/ or here http://www.studylight.org/com/ You can take your pick. Then again, it's always nice to swing your chair around and reach for a book you become familiar with.

Happy hunting,
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By SlaveforJah :

I know these aren't quite "books" in the sense that you're looking for, but they've proved an invaluable tool for me.

Strong's Concordance

Agape

SlaveForJah
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By Peter :

Try using e-sword, its as good as it gets and it's free

http://www.e-sword.net/

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By TheWay :

Sounds like you're really looking for "Word Studies". A few classic "Word Studies" for the New Testament are:

* Marvin Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament

http://www.godrules.net/library/vincent/vincent.htm

* Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest

"A commentary on the New Testament books of Mark, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Hebrews, The Pastoral Epistles, First Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John and Jude. The word studies are designed to help English Bible students understand the depth of meaning found in the original Greek Text.
This book was released as three volumes in print and includes a number of Articles: Golden Nuggets from the Greek New Testament, Bypaths in the Greek New Testament, Treasures from the Greek New Testament, Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament, Studies in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament and Great Truths to Live By."

* Roberson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/
Or here: http://www.godrules.net/library/robert/robert.htm

* You may also take a look at The Nazarene Commentary. The approach and design of this personal bible study project look appealing. (Former JW)

Online: http://www.nazarene-friends.org/nazcomm/
Download: http://www.nazarene-friends.org/get/getnc2000.asp

Some classic commentaries offering fairly detailed word info:

* Expositor's Greek Testament (editor: W. Robertson Nicoll)

Online: http://levendwater.org/overzicht_gre...vend_water.htm
Download: on archive.org

* Expositor's Bible Commentary - The New Testament (editor: Frank E. Gaebelein)

Evangelical reference written by seventy-eight contributors from many denominations, including Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, and Reformed. Text of the NIV.

* (JFB ) Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Robert Jamieson - Fausset - Brown)

http://www.studylight.org/com/jfb/
Or here: http://www.godrules.net/library/jfbcomm/jfbcomm.htm

Other "reference bibles" that might be interesting:

* A peculiar work is E.W. Bullinger's The Companion Bible. Text of the King James Version in one column and notes in the other column. 198 appendices with some very interesting stuff.

Online: http://www.levendwater.org/companion/The Companion Bible - Bullinger/index.htm
Download: http://www.archive.org/details/Compa...1-Haywood.2005

* The NET Bible offers extensive translators' notes with lots of factual information, also when word meanings and textual variants are "difficult". The final translation given with its translational-interpretational choices is another matter, sometimes very good, sometimes not my taste, and sometimes too many liberties are taken with the original text IMO.

net.bible.org

I have used these reference works to some extent and have found SOME useful info there. But I regard pure commentaries as nothing more than the OPINION of one person. So you have to separate the facts from the opinion yourself and critically weigh the reasonings, their strength, their merit. What is technical data, reliable, verifiable facts? And what is conjectural, what are the assumptions, what are the lines of reasoning used and are the conclusions - again, opinions - of the author?

So you would like to have one big book as a companion to the bible, treating, verse by verse, all nuances of the original text and all the answers to your questions? Me too.

Perhaps the best bible commentary is the one you write yourself, using only the bible (several bible translations, an interlinear), prayer, meditation and holy spirit. To allow yourself to be formed by God's word, in an unbiased way, starting from tabula rasa, as far as that's possible. You only get one, unique chance to let God's word make such an impression upon your mind.
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Utuna · Feb 28, 2013

Good and wise advice provided by Tsaphah :

Well, imjustasking, there you go. Probably more than you could use at one time. If you really want just a few good sources, in hard cover books, try the "Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words" by W.E. Vine, and "Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon" by Gesenius. Of these, I have found Gesenius to be the best because most of what is in the Greek, has been translated from Hebrew and Aramaic. There is also "The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon" by B. Davidson. This one is available online through Google books. And as suggested by SlaveForJah, "Strong's Analytical Concordance". But, and this is a big BUT, you must be very careful when looking for original meanings. It is a tedious and exacting process. You MUST CHECK ALL scriptural references given. This will give you a better idea as to the usage and meaning in context.

For example, if we look at a few English words we can see how they can be misapplied. "He rifled through the magazines to find were to best look for his prey. He then rifled through the bushes. He saw the prey through his rifle sights, and prayed for a hit, he then shot. The prey kicked the bucket." Was the magazine a part of the rifle? Did it hold bullets? Or, was he using a rifle to look through a paper magazine? Can you see how confusing it can be if you are not an English speaking person? Did the prey actually kick a bucket? Now consider not being a Hebrew or Greek speaking person.

In Hebrew, one letter can completely change the idea and meaning, and the word is different. It can also be a very subtle change in meaning." This understanding takes patience and time. You will also have to look at the Hebrew to Greek translation to understand why a certain word was used in one place and another in a different place. On top of that, you have to have a pretty good grasp of the English language, as far as sentence structure in the written word. In the example above, if I misspelled "shot" as shout, not only would in not make sense, the meaning would change. The other example of a euphemism, "to kick the bucket", means to die. If you are a non English speaker, and didn't understand that term, you would not understand the meaning.

Greek and Hebrew are considered "foreign languages" to English speaking peoples. Therefore, the verb-noun placement is considered "backwards" by some English speakers. Actually, English is "backwards", when compared to all other languages. Another thing to remember with Hebrew. It is written from right to left, along with the verb-noun placements. There is also the fact that Hebrew lack vowels used in English. It uses 14 different vowel marks, that are used in combination with seven different regular verb tenses such as Hiphal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, etc. Then there are the irregular verbs along with guttural verb sounds. It will take a while to get there, but stick with it.

Good hunting imjustasking,
Tsaphah

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Utuna · Feb 28, 2013

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) :

http://www.catholic.org/bible/

Westcott & Hort :

http://www.westcotthort.com/

http://www.bible-researcher.com/kutilek1.html

http://www.wayoflife.org/database/westcotthort.html

Tsaphah · Mar 3, 2013

Thanks Utuna,
I have forgotten some of what I had written. It also reminds me of the quote, "So many books, so little time!"
I'm also waiting for my backup drive to be restored. It failed, and it had all my digital reference material on it.

Tsaphah

Utuna · Mar 15, 2013

Tsaphah said: ↑

Thanks Utuna,
I have forgotten some of what I had written. It also reminds me of the quote, "So many books, so little time!"
I'm also waiting for my backup drive to be restored. It failed, and it had all my digital reference material on it.

Tsaphah
Click to expand...

Yes, data can be lost.... I lost so many of them after HDs crashed... that's why I use that forum also a little bit like a cloud... Whenever I need to retrieve an idea or a thought, I know that it is here on the db... somewhere...

Utuna · Mar 15, 2013

The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures

http://www.jhsonline.org/

Ancient Near East Archives

http://www.etana.org/

wallflower · Mar 15, 2013

Thanks, Utuna, for reposting this thread - much appreciated.

Utuna · Mar 16, 2013

You're welcome, my dear sister !!! Hope that it'll be useful to you as much as it is for me !

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Codex Sinaiticus

http://www.codex-sinaiticus.net/en/

Fordham University - The Jesuit University of NewYork

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/asbook06.asp

Utuna · Mar 29, 2013

The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls

http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/

A Historical Timeline of the Bible

http://www.texdawg.com/

The Codex Bezae

http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NN-00002-00041/1

and about other manuscripts

http://www.bible-researcher.com/bib.html

Utuna · Mar 29, 2013

Bible maps

http://www.searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/free_bible_land_maps.htm

http://www.bible.ca/maps/

http://www.kadingirra.com/introduction.html

Utuna · Apr 26, 2013

Very interesting website about God's name

http://www.tetragrammaton.org/

Utuna · May 4, 2013

Oxford Biblical Studies Online

Please click here.

Well, here I'm not sure of what can be freely accessed or not but it may be useful anyway.

Utuna · Jun 18, 2013

For those who want to type in Greek

http://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/greek_ancient.htm

For example, in order to obtain this : ἀρχηγὸν

=> Copy/paste the word from "Lexilogos" to here and then select the "System" font along with the desired size (4 in this case).

That's it !

Utuna · Jun 28, 2013

Interesting study about John 1:1 (PDF files to download)

http://www.forananswer.org/Top_JW/dixon.pdf

and miscellaneous stuff :

http://media.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/9780310292081_samptxt.pdf

Warning: the zondervan link is currently dead.

jehovahisgod · Jun 30, 2013

I've got to mention this here because it totally cool! go to the android market place and get the great apps for the serious but lazy man! they read the lessons for you as you follow along and sing the songs and the bible is enhanced with apostles voices dramatised wow so much better than the monotone platform readings .

Utuna · Jul 3, 2013

Useful link :

http://www.theasciicode.com.ar/

I wish there was the Greek alphabet available...

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