Category: Bible Study

From the German Bible Society's http://www.academic-bible.com/ at their page Online Bibles

Our online Bibles are the official Internet editions of individual academic biblical texts. They are always the most up to date versions. This is only possible because the German Bible Society oversees these editions itself as publisher.

The following editions are currently available:

• Hebrew Old Testament following the text of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
• Greek New Testament following the text of the Novum Testamentum Graece (ed. Nestle-Aland), 27. Edition
• Greek Old Testament following the text of the Septuagint (ed. Rahlfs/Hanhart)
• Latin Bible following the text of the Vulgate (ed. Weber/Gryson)

This is big news as there have only been the less official versions available online until now or you could buy them with Bible software. 

See other resources at:

http://www.biblegateway.com/

and

Duke professor Mark Goodacre's http://www.ntgateway.com/

The letter from the German Bible Society just came in the mail yesterday announcing this. 

All pastors should put a blurb about Biblegateway.com in the bulletin or show their congregations on the screen how to use it.  It is a basic 21st century discipleship tool. 

• There should be no excuse why worship leaders cannot find Scripture verses that go with the song they are singing any longer.  They can use Biblegateway. 
• PowerPoint slides should never have typing errors in the Scripture verses.  Just cut and paste from Biblegateway.com
• Bible Study leaders need not use only one version in their preparation.  They can easily paste two versions in a table so that people can compare them.

I have taught my Biblical Literature II and Program and Curriculum Development students how to use Biblegateway.com this week.   

See also my post: The Best Bible Study Tools on the Web

What everyone needs to know about Biblegateway.com. 

1. It is free.  No registration.  No login.  Free.   
2. Go to http://www.biblegateway.com/
3. You can search for a word or a passage on the home page.  In other words, if you put in salvation, it will know to look for that keyword.  If you put in 1 Corinthians 13, it will take you to that chapter of the Bible.  It is smart.   
4. You can also change which version you are searching.  You can also look up a passage in five versions at a time on the Passage Lookup page.  I recommend TNIV, ESV, NLT, The Message (paraphrase), and NIRV (for kids).  See more about Bible Versions at my post The Best Bible Study Tools on the Web.   
5. You can also go to Keyword Search and look up how often words occur.  Yes, this is a basic concordance.   
6. You can also listen to chapters that are read aloud online.  Look up a verse in the TNIV and then click “Listen to this passage” or the icon.  You can listen to it in RealPlayer.  I tell my students to listen to one chapter while getting dressed in the morning.  (Sorry you can’t download it or listen to more than a chapter at a time).   There are a number of audio versions available on the Audio Bible page. 
7. You can change your default bible in Preferences on the home page. 

I have pasted below my handout in class which has page views. 

Download Biblegateway.doc 

I have posted below the textbooks I am requiring for BIB 210: Biblical Literature II (New Testament Survey) which starts next Wednesday.  Both this and OT survey "Bib Lit I" are required for all Taylor University students. 

I have 45 students in the course.  I have 30 freshmen, 8 sophomores and 7 juniors.  They represent 17 different majors including accounting, chemistry, economics, engineering, environmental science, sociology, and visual arts.  (Reminds me of a church).  There are 15 different states and three countries represented.

1.     Elwell, Walter A. and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. 2d ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.   I assigned a different book last semester but I used this one for lecture preparation. What I most appreciate about the book is its scholarly simplifying.  Elwell and Yarbrough weigh issues as they are normally weighed in recent scholarship.  For example, the four-source vs. two-source synoptic gospel hypotheses are not given much time at all.  This is not crucial information for undergraduates nor is there a particularly helpful scholarship consensus to pass on to them.  This was a huge question in the 1960’s when source criticism was at its height.  Furthermore this is an incredibly well-organized and well-written work.  It is colorful and has great summaries.    

2.     Fee, Gordon and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3d ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.  Make sure you get the third edition. Though not always crystal clear, this book engages the difficult questions about reading the Bible that trip up the sharpest readers.  Later in life, students who wrestle with this material will be much better Bible study leaders and lay church leaders because they have wrestled with some important hermeneutical issues.  

3.     Bible. If you do not yet have a study Bible, I recommend the Zondervan TNIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.  (It costs $24.99-79.99 on Zondervan.com depending on the size and cover you choose among 9 choices).  The TNIV is the updated version of the 1978-1984 NIV.  It includes a number of improvements based on 25 years of scholarship since the NIV was published. I really think it has made the NIV obsolete though many churches are slow to change.  It is famous or infamous for its inclusive language.  I think they have been responsible and judicious in their use of inclusive language in the TNIV (see here) but there are definitely some conservative evangelicals who beg to differ. I recommend it to my students as an outstanding version to use in their reading through the New Testament during the semester.  In my sermon preparation, besides consulting the original languages, I will consult the ESV, NRSV, NLT, The Message, and HCSB.  See my description of the best Bible study tools on the web and more about Bible versions at my post here. 

Download BIB 210 Syllabus.doc