Baptist Bible Study Bulletin (No. 8; Vol.

1; 2019) Word Studies & Hermeneutics (Bible Interpretation)

Word Studies – a reference tool containing extensive notes/articles/entries related to a word or a phrase in the Bible.

A. Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and Christianity– Published by Way of Life Publishers, 2011, 6th Edition. By David
Cloud (1949 – present) - an Independent Baptist missionary and prolific writer. He honors the KJV and holds to a classic
dispensationalist position. One can look up not only words but also phrases for clarification on meaning (blood guiltiness,
superfluity of naughtiness, etc.).

B. The Complete Word Study Old Testament (Word Study Series) – Published by AMG Publishers, 1994. Edited by Spiros
Zodhiates (1922-2009) – was a Greek-American Bible scholar, and author. This tool is based on the KJV.

C. The Complete Word Study New Testament (Word Study Series) – Published by AMG Publishers, 1991. Also, by Spiros
Zodhiates. Also check out Complete Word Study New Testament w/ Parallel Greek: KJV Edition (Word Study Series) – this tool
features the Greek Received Text and a limited parsing guide to the KJV text.

D. Word Pictures in the New Testament (6 vols.) – Published by Baker, 1982. Edited by A.T. Robertson (Archibald Thomas
Robertson, 1863-1934) – was a Southern Baptist preacher and scholar. A revised and updated set was published by Kregel,
2004.

E. Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament (4 vols.) – Published by Hendrickson, 1985. By Marvin R. Vincent (Marvin
Richardson Vincent, 1834-1922) – was Presbyterian Minister, and professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York City
(1888).

F. Word Studies in the Greek New Testament (3 vols.) – Published by Eerdmans, 1984. By Kenneth S. Wuest (1893-1961) –
an Evangelical Biblical Greek scholar, served as professor of New Testament Greek at Moody Bible Institute (1929). He was
one of the original translators of the NASB. Besides Bible commentaries, Mr. Wuest has smaller books but are worth reading:
Bypaths in the Greek New Testament and Golden Nuggets from the Greek New Testament.

Hermeneutics (Bible Interpretation) – here are some books that can help guide the Bible student with the basics of Biblical
Interpretation.

A. Expository Bible Teaching – Published by Bible Baptist Church Publications, 1999. By Robert J. Sargent – Pastor of Bible
Baptist Church, Oak Harbor, WA. This spiral bound book is a comprehensive study in Bible Interpretation from an Independent
Baptist pastor. Based on the KJV.

B. The Effectual Bible Student – Published by Way of Life Literature, 2015. By David W. Cloud. This book is free to download
at (www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks) and look for the listing of books and click on The Effectual Bible Student pdf.

C. Bible Explorer’s Guide – Published by Kregel, 2002. By John Phillips (1927-2010) was a prolific writer. He authored over
fifty books, some commentaries of Old Testament books, and a complete commentary of the New Testament books. This
book was one of the earliest books I personally read as a young Christian convert.

D. Living by the Book – Published by Moody Publishers, 2007. (Revised and Update) by Howard G. Hendricks and William D.
Hendricks (father and son work). Subtitle: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible. The book follows the simple steps:
observe, interpret, and apply. Written for the popular audience.

D. Basic Bible Interpretation – Published by Cook, 1991. By Roy B. Zuck (1932-2013) was a Christian author and educator,
and former faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX.

E. Understanding and Applying the Bible – Published by Moody Press, 2009 (revised and expanded). By J. Robertson
McQuilkin (1928-2016) – served as the third president of Columbia International University, Columbia, SC.

➢ Good Bible interpretation will help the Bible student to set aside subjective opinions for Biblical objectivity.
➢ Historical knowledge or context of the Scriptures enlightens the reader concerning the circumstances in which the
Bible was given/written. However, history is at times incomplete and at times inaccurate; the student must
remember that the Bible, as divine revelation, remains above history.
➢ We interpret the Bible in a normal, customary, or literal method. This also includes eschatological (prophetic)
passages. A literal hermeneutic recognizes both ordinary and figurative language.
➢ Grammatical relationships are also important to study because words stand in relationship to one another.
➢ When interpreting a passage of Scripture remember: “Context is king.”