Manuscript Bible Study Method

Manuscript bible study method is one of the most effective way of studying bible. You can really dig deeper into the word of God and find many treasures. In the next few paragraphs, I will show you how to use this method.

Things you need:

• Wide-margin manuscript of biblical book (You can print the bible passage with wide margin on both sides, if you don’t want to write in your bible.)
• Colored pencils or pen
• Bible dictionary (If available) (Free Bible Resources Online)
• Bible concordance (If available)

Observation:

• Read the passage 2-3 times as you start marking.
• Observe and Markdown
  • Repeated words (Highlight using different colors, symbols.)
  • Repeated themes (‘Son of God’ etc)
  • Contrasts
  • Metaphors
  • Key words such as ‘therefore’, ‘but’, ‘then’, ‘because’ etc.
  • Setting of writing or event
  • Time of day, month or year
  • Different characters
• Use Bible dictionary when words, places or peoples identities or customs are unclear.

Interpretation:

• Make connections of the things you have highlighted.
• Write down your ideas.
• Ask yourself why the author decided to tell the details.
• Feel free to draw lines, arrows between different words.
• Find out the main message of the passage.
• Give few interesting titles for the passage.

Application:

• How can you apply what you have learned in your daily life?
• How can you relate to the event or teaching in the passage?
• There can be many applications depending upon the passage you are studying. I will post some of my manuscript bible study. This is the basic method for the manuscript study, you can also add many more things to it.

Also check out: Inductive Bible Study Method