Bible Commentaries & Versions

I enjoy reading the Bible, but I realized that while reading a One Year Bible may have the advantage of taking me through the entire Bible in one year, it did not enable me to remember obscure references to characters like Achan or places like Timnath Seres.

In addition, I got really tired of people telling me about what the Bible said, especially when I was relatively certain that the person was quoting the passage out of context to fit whatever topic he or she was discussing, but I could not refute the person because of my own ignorance. (Slightly embarassing considering that I have been a Christian since I was 3 years old.)

So I decided to deviate from the One Year Bible and create a personal Bible Study regimen for the intellectual Northeast blue state Bible believer. I decided to read slower.

Let me digress by explaining that I am a book addict. I cannot go into bookstores unsupervised, and I no longer visit libraries because it is so hard to part with my precious book after finishing it. Also when I used to go to libraries, I would go on author sprees. I would choose a prolific author then take out every book by that author. I imagine that was quite frustrating for my fellow patrons who were wondering why there was suddenly a dearth of John Irving books a few years ago at Widener library. Sorry.

So when I decided to read slower, it was not only counterintuitive. It was absolute torture. I always want to move forward and devour whatever I am reading. At times, it was agonizing, but in the end, I think that it was the right thing for me to do. I have been using this procedure for 1 year and ended 2004 by finishing the Pentateuch. I recently finished Joshua and am currently reading Judges, which is anything but dull. (Word to the wise: Leviticus is difficult.)

What did I do? First, I gathered four Bible translations: King James (because of the poetic language), New International paperback edition (because commonly used, but I prefer my older version with the navy blue cover), The Message (because it is hilarious and in contemporary language) and another version which I would not recommend but I like the study notes and application exercises in that version.

Second, I bought a Bible commentary for whatever book I was reading. My favorite commentary is the New International Commentary on the Old Testament and The New Testament (NICOT and NICNT); however, the editor, Eerdmans Publishing Co., does not have a commentary for every book in the Bible. Someone suggested using the appendix of How To Read The Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart to find a commentary. I have not tried using it yet, but I noticed that the appendix recommended NICOT and NICNT so I am inclined to use their suggestions in the future.

Of course, there are some great online commentaries and Bible translations, but you can use google to find them.

Third, I have an old fashioned marble cover Composition notebook--just like the ones that I used in grammar school. I use that book to write down my questions and comments for each chapter. I also copy the chapter in my book then use different pens to jot down notes from different commentaries so I can distinguish my thoughts from those of another author's. I like these books because they have hard covers, are easy to store on a book shelf and are not as vulnerable to paper tears as wireless notebooks or looseleaf three-ring binders.

Finally, I make a schedule and do my best to stick to it. I plan to read a chapter a day. I go through each translation, then write out the chapter in my notebook with my comments and questions, then read the commentary while adding notes next to my earlier entry.

I would also suggest getting a good Bible dictionary or concordance. I have not found a Bible dictionary that I love, but I do use Nelson's Quick Reference Bible Dictionary. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible is the definitive source to use if you want to find every Biblical reference for a word.

Ultimately, I prefer going through the Bible book by book. Then I have fewer questions as I move forward. I come from a heavy New Testament tradition, so it is nice to get reacquainted with the stories in the Old Testament. In addition, Sunday school really sanitized and in some ways, did a bad thing by simplifying the Bible and making everyone seem so nice. Regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof, it is interesting to know that the people in the Bible are just as messed up as they are today.