Читать книгу Learning and Living Scripture - Geoffrey D Lentz - Страница 14

Getting a quick overview is accomplished by reading a passage through at least once, but preferably three times, and in exceptional cases up to 12 times. Don’t feel bad about how many times you read. Choose a number that seems reasonable to you. If you start reading the third time, and it feels like a burden, move on. This is part of lectio but only a part. You will learn to read in other ways in different phases of your study.

Once you have read the passage through several times, read one or two of the following :

1 The entry on the book of the Bible in which your passage occurs in a Bible handbook, such as Zondervan’s

2 The entry on the book of the Bible in a Bible dictionary.

3 The introductory note on that book or section in your study Bible. Many study Bibles include introductions to subsections of the Bible books. These can be very helpful when studying a short passage, but you will normally need to read the introduction to the whole book first.

4 The introductory section of a good commentary on the book.

Here is where we introduce historical elements into your study. Don’t imagine that God cannot talk to you through this text because you are so far separated from the people who wrote it. They were people like you who had hopes, dreams, gifts, and failings. Study the background to help you connect to them. Christianity is a community that includes those who have gone before us in the communion of the saints.