RLGN 325 Bible Study Assignment 2
RLGN 325 Bible Study Assignment 2
Assignment 9-1: Word Study Exercise: Use the WORDsearch web tool (https://www.mywsb.com/reader)
- Use the WORDsearch web tool to answer the following questions about Acts 1:8.
- Write out the English transliterated (not translated) form of the word translated “power” in Acts 1:8.
- How many times does the word occur in the New Testament?
- List the passages in Acts that translate this word as “power.”
- List the passages in Acts that translate this word as “miracles.”
- The NASB uses the word “examined” in 1 Corinthians 4:3, “judgment” in 1 Cor. 4:5, and “decide” in 1 Cor. 6:5. Are these the same Greek words? Bold either “Yes” or “No.” Write out the English transliteration (not translation) of the three Greek words translated as “examined,” “judgment,” and “decide” in these three passages.
- 1st Word –
- 2nd Word –
- 3rd Word –
Assignment 9-2: Word Study Exercise
You are studying the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) and the word “worried” in chapter 6 catches your eye. You decide to study the word “worried” more in depth. Use the WORDsearch word study tool (https://www.mywsb.com/reader) to complete the following:
- What is the Strong’s number of the word translated “worried” in Matthew 6:25?
- Write out the English transliteration of this Greek word. (Don’t worry about spelling.)
How many times is it used in the New Testament?
- Make a list of the different ways the NASB translates this particular Greek word, along with all the corresponding verses:
For Example: “merimnao is translated as ‘worry’ in Matthew 6:31…”
- Now that you know how the NASB translates the word and where it is found in the New Testament, examine each occurrence in context as a means of identifying the word’s range of meaning. All this is part of determining what the word could mean before you decide what is does mean in Matthew 6:25. This step is probably the most important, but also the most difficult. There is an art to identifying a word’s semantic range. Don’t give up. Keep working at it and you’ll find that it gets easier with practice. Answer the following questions about how the word is used in each context as a way of getting at its range of meaning:
- a) What things are we told not to worry about in Matthew 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34; Luke 12:22, 25, 26?
- b) What is the context in Matthew 10:19 and Luke 12:11? Is this a different kind of worry than that prohibited in Matthew 6:25?
- c) What stands in contrast to Martha’s worry (Luke 10:41)?
How does this contrast help to define Martha’s worry?
- d) In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul uses the word four times (vv. 32, 33 and 34 two times). Describe the context of this usage.
- e) What do the contexts of 1 Corinthians 12 and Philippians 2 have in common?
- f) What kind of worry is Paul describing in Philippians 4?
How do you know?
- Based on your brief study of the word as used in context, describe as best you can the semantic range of the word. There are at least two major senses of the word and perhaps a couple more.
- Now decide what the Greek word used in Matthew 6:25 translated as “worried” actually means in Matthew 6:25. Select one of the semantic-range options that you identified in step 6 and explain why you think the word carries that meaning in Matthew 6:25.
Assignment 10-1: Explain the Difference Between Reader Response and Authorial Intent.
Make sure you include in your explanation what you have to take into account when trying to get to the authorial intent and what is neglected when one takes on the reader response approach. Also, explain the difference in terms of what this means for how we study God’s Word and what presuppositions about the Bible each approach starts with.
Assignment 10-2: Why is the issue of communication important in our understanding and interpretation of Scripture and in the discussion of authorial intent?
Assignment 12-2: Select one of the following passages and walk through the lectio divina exercise described in this chapter. Write a 1–2-page (double-spaced) reflection of what this experience meant to you.
Worship: Psalm 100
Worry: Matthew 6:31–33 or 1 Peter 5:6–7
Sin and confession: Psalm 51:1–10
Freedom from condemnation: Romans 8:1–4
Abiding: John 15:1–5
Rest: Psalm 62:5–8
Renewing of the mind: Romans 12:1–2