If you are new to being a Christian or simply new to independent Bible study, it can feel quite overwhelming. After all, the Bible entails over 60 books and some pretty abstract content at first glance.
Don’t get overwhelmed by all the choices and let that be a barrier between you and God.
There are two main approaches to studying the Bible and you can choose either one or both. Whichever suits you best. There is no right or wrong way, the Bible is for YOU.
Exegetical Bible Study
Quickly See 6000 Years of Bible and World History Together
This is reading the Bible verse by verse, understanding the audience of the passage, looking for connecting themes, and exploring the intent of each passage as you read it.
This is called exegesis, or exegetical study, and is commonly accepted as foundational to understanding Scripture. The literal definition of exegesis is to “pull meaning from.” Exegesis extracts meaning from the passage you are reading by studying verses in context and examining the original meaning of the author to his intended audience.
If you’re new to the Bible, in the beginning this will just be reading the Bible itself and either a commentary or study Bible notes to help you learn more about the historical and cultural context of what you’re reading. Along with this method, utilizing the Bible Timeline would be great!
The more you read and the more Biblical knowledge you gain, the more you’ll start to see connections and patterns and relationships between what you are currently reading and other passages for yourself. The Bible Timeline will help you have a visual for those connections. This is a method that becomes more powerful the longer you do it.
Eisegetical Bible Study
This method is reading the Bible and thinking about what a verse means to YOU. This type of study is very different and somewhat contrary to the exegetical study method. Where exegesis is extracting understanding from the verse, eisegesis is introducing your own understanding into a verse or passage.
This happens way more often than you might realize and is a major reason you need to not solely rely on teachers, but understand the Word for yourself so you can recognize the Word of Truth and its importance. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for your own knowledge profit. Remember, there is no right or wrong way, just getting started with baby steps is already a step toward knowing more.
- Unique circular format - over 1,000 references at your fingertips on this wonderful study companion
- Discover interesting facts - Biblical events with scripture references plotted alongside world history showcase fun chronological relationships
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Thank you for this great explanation of the difference between exegetical Bible study and eisegetical Bible study.