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The Delight of Bible Study

One of the great blessings of modern technology is in relation to Bible study!

The word “study” only occurs in the King James Version three times and in the “old days” to get more information about this word, its meaning and alternative ways in which the original Hebrew or Greek equivalent word was translated required the use of a number of books. Now Bible study is made so much easier with electronic Bibles and reference books.

For one whose knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is very limited indeed I find that software such as Libronix is now an indispensable resource when doing Bible study.

For example, when drilling down into the word “study” and starting with Paul’s encouraging words to Timothy “Study to shew thyself approved unto God” (2 Tim 2:15 KJV) he is not simply talking about Bible study in the sense of reading the Old Testament and any New Testament writings that were available at that time. Using inline Strongs numbers and Englishman’s Concordance the first task is to see how the Greek word “spoudazō” is translated elsewhere in the New Testament. It is soon clear that the meaning of the word is not simply “study” in the book sense; it is translated as “be diligent” or “let us labour” plus in a number of other ways. Then with a right click over the Strong’s number and quickly referring to Greek resources, it is easy to find out more about the original Greek word. Quite simply, it means that “study” is doing something eagerly and diligently.

Another great resource when going beyond a simple reading of one translation is with the click of the mouse calling up the same verse (or verses) in as many parallel versions as you might choose. In a matter of a few seconds a dozen or more translations are on the screen!

I find the greatest pleasure in electronic Bible study is that you can be so delighted at what you learn and how quickly it pops up! With the click of a mouse hundreds or even thousands of resources are accessible in Libronix. A generation ago, students of the word of God would have “given their eye teeth” to have such convenience when doing their Bible Study!

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent (that’s our word “study”, or to put it another way “be eager”) to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Submitted by Martin Webster