What resources does Ben use for his personal study of scripture?
QUESTION:
What commentary or study resources does Ben use personally? I want to make sure what I’m using is trustworthy. What do you suggest?
ANSWER:
Finding trustworthy resources for the accurate and thorough study of God’s word is a daunting task for sure. Many believers find it so vast and complicated they seem to settle for letting others do the heavy lifting of scholarship. The Bible Collective’s purpose is to help believers understand God’s word and provide resources that enhance your personal Bible study. In light of that, we suggest using some of the time-tried and true resources when it comes to understanding what you are reading in Scripture. There are thousands of titles and countless authors each with their own set of lenses. Ultimately it would be great if every believer was able to read and speak Greek and Hebrew. This is just not able to happen for most. The good news is we have MANY wonderful resources to help us parse every word in the original texts penned by the first author. In ALL cases, it is most important to start with the Bible first, resources second.
Ben follows an inductive study approach that uses scripture to interpret scripture and he relies heavily on a knowledge of history to follow a literal, historical hermeneutic (a method or theory of interpretation).
Ben uses two questions/approaches in his personal study and preparation for teaching.
1) Historical Context
2) Theological reflection
Although Ben does use a library of physical and digital works authored by pastors, theologians, and famous writers his number one suggestion is to instead invest in historical works secular and non-secular. These works are valuable while understanding #1. for example, “The Works of Flavius Josephus” or “Religion of Babylonia and Assyria”
To answer #2 this is where commentary can inform and inspire. Remember, commentary is NOT INSPIRED SCRIPTURE. Every single believer is capable of coming to the true meaning of the text we have in our hands known as the Bible. Through thorough study, God has equipped us with the minds, to understand and ultimately be led by The Holy Spirit to reveal the revelation of Jesus Christ. Remember, the entire work of the Bible - the most incredible written document in all of history and human civilization - is ALL ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.
Here is a list of some of the written resources Ben uses in his personal study:
Bible:
Ben primarily uses New American Standard version, 1995 edition
Dictionaries:
- Dictionary of Biblical Theology
- Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary
- NAS Hebrew Dictionary
- Kohlenberger/Mounce Concise Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of The Old Testament
- Dictionary of Place Names
- Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon
Systematic Theologies:
- Ryrie’s
- Fruchtenbaum’s
- Hodge’s
- Strongs
Historical Works:
- Sketches of Church History
- Early Christian Biographies
- Sketches of Church History
- History of American Christianity
- Religions of Babylonia and Assyria
- Bible History of the Old Testament
- Sketches of Jewish Social Life - Edersheim
- Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah - Edersheim
- Manners and Customs in the Bible - Matthews
- St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen - Ramsay
- The Works of Flavius Josephus
Misc:
- Spurgeon’s Commentary
- Calvin’s Institues
- Constable’s Notes https://planobiblechapel.org/constable-notes/
- The works of Arnold Fruchtenbaum
- Works of Luther, Milton, Murry, Pink, Whitefield, Edersheim
Ben has included a public list on Amazon if you are interested: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2WH6WRM2LIJOD?ref_=wl_share
There are many great online Bible study programs that can help you keep organized in your study. Here are a few to try out:
https://www.blueletterbible.org (free)
https://netbible.org (free)
https://www.accordancebible.com (paid)
Also check out https://www.crossway.org they have a vast library of quality printed Scripture and study tools.
As always, if you have questions email us at 402bible@gmail.com