SPOTLIGHT ON THE PROVERBS: TIMELESS WISDOM FOR TODAY’S WORLD
When it comes to wisdom, many Christians default to what the apostle James tell us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God … and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). But this does not mean that prayer has replaced study in the New Testament. The book of Proverbs remains a key way in which God does, in fact, give us wisdom – to the degree we study and internalize its principles! Our new e-book will open up your understanding of many of the proverbs, show you some surprising spiritual principles contained in the work, and enrich your knowledge of one of the most practical and helpful books of the Bible.
You can download a free copy of Spotlight on the Proverbs in several formats for reading on computer, e-book reader, or smartphone (without having to register or give an email address) from the download page on our sister site, here.
The Berean Study Bible achieves a successful “word-for-word” and “thought-for-thought” balance in a clear, easy to read translation.
The Berean Study Bible (BSB) is a recent translation of the whole Bible published by the ministry behind the online Bible study site BibleHub.com. According to its website, the Berean Bible consists of four components or “translation tiers,” including the Study Version which is recommended for personal study, public reading, memorization, and evangelism.
The translation of the BSB was accomplished by a team of scholars associated with the Bible Hub ministry, and although the team was relatively small – it was composed of six scholars – this is not necessarily a bad thing, as the translation avoids many of the pitfalls associated with both single-person and large committee translation efforts.
The end result in this case is a version that is internally consistent and nicely positioned on the spectrum running from word-for-word to idea-for-idea translation. Reading the BSB often feels like a comfortable mid-ground between the fairly literal ESV and the somewhat more dynamic NIV. But that is a generalization, and there can be considerable variation in the treatment of words within individual verses. Comparing Acts 17:11 (the BSB’s signature verse) among these three versions provides an example of their respective styles while also showing the variation involved:
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” ( Acts 17:11 ESV).
“Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true” (Acts 17:11 BSB).
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 NIV).
Although there is not a great deal of difference among the three renditions, notice that the BSB is the only one of the three versions that does not say that the “Bereans” were “Berean Jews” – which, while the Bereans in question may have been Jewish, that is not what the text actually says, nonetheless. While the ESV is fairly literal in simply stating that the Bereans were more noble (the Greek primarily means of noble physical birth), the BSB and NIV add “-minded” or “character,” which is the intended sense in this case. And while the NIV adds “what Paul said,” the BSB, like the ESV, is more literal, as Paul is not specifically mentioned in the Greek text.
So the BSB quite effectively utilizes both “word for word” and “thought for thought” approaches – as appropriate – in the translation process. But the very slight lean toward literality in the version is sometimes helpful. The version maintains the original gender designations in Scripture and, as a result, does not compromise accuracy in some translational situations. The BSB is also quite conservative among recent translations in utilizing capitalization for pronouns referring to God and Christ, as with “He,” “Him,” etc. These details will probably only be noticeable to those who usually use the NIV or other similar translation in their study, but the BSB consistently reads smoothly and without any hint of antiquated English.
The electronic versions of the BSB incorporate links to each book of the Bible and to each chapter from the beginning of each book. There are also links from points in the text to the notes at the end of each chapter, and from the notes back to the text.
Like all translations, the BSB is not perfect, but its attempt to faithfully follow the meaning of the underlying Hebrew and Greek text is commendable, and it is a translation that can be trusted for everyday study of the Scriptures.
The publishers of the BSB have generously made the translation available for free in a number of electronic versions suitable for reading on any computer, tablet, e-book reader, or smartphone. So if you have not used the Berean Study Bible, we recommend that you download a free copy in a format of your choice – either from the publisher’s website or from our own sister site, FreeChristianEBooks.org – and that you try it. It is a very worthwhile Bible version to have available for comparison, and one that you may well find yourself using regularly.
UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: THREE STEPS TO ENRICH AND DEEPEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES
By R. Herbert
The Bible is sometimes called “the most-read and least-understood of all books,” and most Christians admit that it does contain many verses that seem confusing or difficult. This new e-book addresses that situation by working through the three steps necessary to better understand almost any Bible verse or to enrich your knowledge of the Scriptures. Whether you are a relatively new Christian or an experienced student of the word of God, this book is sure to increase your comprehension of the Bible.
Like all our e-books, UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLEis free for instant download in the format of your choice here.
There is a language you can learn in order to better understand many verses in the Bible. That language is not Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic – it is simply the “language” of gestures and actions we call “body language.” We are all familiar with body language in our own cultures and absorb it subconsciously as we grow up. We learn from a very early age that if a parent stands with fists on hips as he or she is about to speak to us that we are probably in trouble! As we go through life we routinely “read” the gestures and postures of others without thinking about it, but those same clues are a very real part of our understanding of what is happening in the world around us.
In some cases, the body language mentioned in the Bible is similar or identical to that found in many modern cultures. For example, the act of bowing before important individuals or before God mentioned so often in the Bible is perfectly understandable to us today, and even more subtle gesture expressions make sense to us, as when the book of Proverbs tells us that “Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity; whoever purses their lips is bent on evil” (Proverbs 16:30).
The Bible draws attention to many of these non-verbal forms of expression – especially those involving the hands or feet. For example, the book of Ezekiel records God commanding the prophet Ezekiel to gesture by clapping his hands and stomping his feet regarding sinful Israel (Ezekiel 6:11). Such gestures were commonly used in both ancient Israel and the nations surrounding it. The book of Job mentions pagan worshipers of the sun and moon gesturing by kissing their hands to bless their gods (Job 31:26-28), and in both the Old and New Testaments we see that in blessing a group of people it was common to lift the hands toward them as the blessing was spoken (Leviticus 9:22; Luke 24:50).
But there are some things we should remember in understanding the body language mentioned in the Bible. First, we sometimes find different body gestures being used with the same meaning. The book of Genesis gives several examples of oaths being sworn by a person placing his hand under another’s thigh or hip – as Abraham’s steward is said to have done in promising that he would get a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives (Genesis 24:2, 9), and as Joseph did in swearing not to bury his father Jacob in Egypt (Genesis 47:29-31). But later in the Old Testament references to taking an oath usually show individuals doing so by raising a hand toward heaven (Deuteronomy 32:40; Daniel 12:7; etc.), and in the book of Ezekiel God himself is said to take an oath by raising his hand in this way (Ezekiel 20:5, 15, 23).
Another factor to keep in mind is that many societies assign unique meanings to gestures and postures, and we cannot always assume that a body language “signal” meant the same thing to those in other places or times that it does to us. The gesture of clapping is a good example of this. We usually understand clapping the hands together positively – to signify applause. But in biblical times we see not only that same meaning of this gesture as applause (2 Kings 11:12) and praise (Psalm 47:1), but also clapping was used to signify negative reactions such as anger (Numbers 24:10), revulsion (Ezekiel 22:13), and even contempt or derision (Job 27:23). So when we read of people clapping in a Bible verse (compare for example, Ezekiel 6:11 and 25:6), we should realize that we need to look at the different possible meanings of this gesture to see which best fits the context.
In a similar way, removing one’s shoes was often a gesture of reverence or respect, just as Moses was commanded to do this at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5) and Joshua in the presence of the angel of the Lord (Joshua 5:15). But removing shoes could also be a sign of grief (2 Samuel 15:30), of disrespect (Deuteronomy 25:6-10), or even of sealing an agreement (Ruth 4:7-8). In fact, most gestures mentioned in the Bible have multiple meanings and need to be understood in context. The gesture of throwing dust in the air onto oneself or others was used by those who were grieving (Joshua 7:6, etc.), but also as a gesture indicating scorn or anger – as when the man Shimei did this against David along with cursing him (2 Samuel 16:13). The same gesture is seen in the New Testament when an angry mob responded to Paul’s defense by crying out and tossing dust into the air (Acts 22:22-23).
In the New Testament, bodily gestures and expressions are frequently noted in the Gospels and this is especially true – as we might perhaps expect – in the Gospel of Luke the physician. But body language appears in some form or other in most books of the Bible, and looking out for it and learning to “read” it correctly can often help us to better understand what is happening in the narrative or to notice points that the biblical writers especially wanted to stress.
DISCOVERING THE BIBLE: AN INTRODUCTION TO EACH OF ITS BOOKS By R. Herbert, Tactical Belief Books, 2019 ISBN 978-1-64370-227-8
Our latest free e-book is a straightforward guide giving a brief introduction to each book of the Old and New Testament: who wrote it, why it was written, and what it says. Summary verses and verses to think about are also included. If you are only now beginning to read the Bible – or would like to refresh your knowledge of its individual books – this guide will help you discover, or discover more fully, the individual books that make up the “book of books” – the Bible.
As is the case with all our e-books, Discovering the Bible is completely free and has no advertising. You do not need to register or give an email address to obtain a copy – just click on the link hereto go directly to the download page.
Sooner or later most readers of the Bible want to put the various scriptures on a specific topic together to see what the Bible’s overall teaching is on that subject. The marginal notes in our Bibles might offer a few parallel scriptures, but there are many times when we can see it would be good to get all the relevant scriptures and have the whole picture.
To do this, many people turn to a printed “topical Bible” that groups all the scriptural instances of a given word such as “faith” together. This method works reasonably well, but it has serious drawbacks. The main problem with using a topical Bible for this kind of search is that we can only look up one word at a time. This might get every instance of the specific word we select, but it may miss many scriptures that use other related words. For example, searching “faith” might not get scriptures with the word “belief” or “trust” that are obviously part of what we are looking for. The problem is made worse by the fact that many of the same underlying Greek or Hebrew words may be translated differently in different verses.
The answer to this problem – and others associated with printed topical Bibles – is to conduct a search online using a major Bible website such as BibleGateway.com. An online search of this type allows us to put all the relevant words into the search at the same time instead of having to laboriously search them all individually.
But there are a few things we should remember in order to optimize an online search for a biblical term or concept. The basic method is simple. If you are using BibleGateway.com, just select “keyword search” under the “Bible” tab at the top of the page. Then, after selecting the Bible version you want to use, you can fill in all the words you want to search and, finally, delimit the search parameters by choosing from: [book name] to [same book name] for one book, or [first book in sequence] to [last book in sequence] for whatever range of books or section of the Bible you wish to search.
Notice that when you enter your search word you are given the choice of “Match ALL words,” “Match ANY words,” and “Match EXACT phrase.” This differentiation is very helpful and one of the ways the BibleGateway search shines. For example, if you want to search a single word such as “sin,” it helps to choose “Match EXACT phrase” so that you only get scriptures mentioning sin and not scriptures with words like “since” or “sincerely” in your results. This can save time and avoid frustration.
If you are searching multiple words, selecting “Match ANY word” is usually the best way to get the most complete results regarding a concept found in many scriptures. “Match ALL words” is best for finding a specific scripture you are trying to locate. This is much harder to do with a printed topical Bible where you can only search one of the words in the scripture you want and may have to plow through a great many false matches. With the “Match ALL words” feature you can include any other words that you remember in the verse you want, even if you only have a few of them.
Yet another advantage of online searches is that searching words in a printed book may mean we don’t get the context of surrounding verses – something BibleGateway allows us to do by simply clicking “In Context” or “Whole Chapter” links beneath the verses returned in the search. So, whether you are searching for an individual scripture you know but want to locate or searching for all the scriptures on a given topic, an online search using BibleGateway.com can save a great deal of time over using a printed topical Bible – and can often produce far more relevant and useful results for your study.
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