"Study To Show Yourself Approved Unto God,"  2 Timothy 2:15
J. Deering, AncientPath.net

Lesson 6 - Research The Word

• 1.  Look up the cross-references in the margin of your bible, what do they mean, how do they relate to the verse in question? Be aware that there are reference numbers and letters in each verse that direct you to matching numbers and letters in the marginal reference.  Often these references send you to other verses that, at first, seem to have little, if anything, to do with the verse you're studying. Sometimes cross references lead you to words that are used differently in different verses, sometimes to words that are used the same in different verses. Sometimes they lead you to wonderful relationships and truths that perhaps you had not considered before.
• 2.  Read the Chapter from other versions and translations and consider the differences.
• 3.  Read the Paragraph several times in each version or translation, and make notes about the possible differences.
• 4.  Find other Bibles and look up the cross-references in their margins, what do they mean, how do they relate to the verse in question?
• 5.  Think about what you might have missed and make further notes in the margins.
• 6.  If you're adventurous you can do a word study from a word study book, or if you have some original language (Hebrew or Greek) tools use them to further define what the author meant with his words.
• 7.  Take each word in the paragraph and find what questions can be asked about that word, its place in the sentence, why the writer chose that word. On a separate piece of paper write a list of questions that each word or phrase brings to mind.
• 8.  Answer the questions brought up by the words.

Sample page of Margin Cross References

Move to the Next Lesson: Lesson 7 - "Chart the Word"

2021-08-11