Choosing Scripture For Beginner Bible Study
The Bible, a collection of sixty-six distinct books, is known in Greek as Biblia, meaning "books" [2]. These books were written by numerous authors from diverse backgrounds over many centuries, yet Christians consider them to be the inspired Word of God [2, 3, 12]. For those new to Bible study, selecting appropriate scriptures can be a crucial first step.
Patristic writers emphasized the importance of diligent study. Origen, for instance, urged his readers to "study first of all the divine Scriptures," emphasizing the need for deep engagement to avoid speaking about them too quickly [4]. Augustine similarly advised that those who "fear God and are of a meek and pious disposition" should seek God's will in these books, starting by committing the plainly laid down matters to memory [5].
While the entire Bible is considered authoritative by many traditions [6], certain books are often recommended for beginners due to their accessibility or foundational nature. The book of Genesis, for example, means "beginning" [1], and provides foundational narratives for understanding the rest of Scripture [9, 10, 11]. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are central to Christian faith as they recount the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Psalms offer a rich collection of prayers and songs that express a wide range of human emotions and theological truths.
Protestant traditions, particularly Reformed theology, emphasize the perspicuity of Scripture, meaning that the Bible is generally plain and intelligible to ordinary people [8]. This view encourages individuals to read and interpret the Bible for themselves, allowing their faith to rest on the testimony of the Scriptures rather than solely on ecclesiastical authority [8]. However, it is also acknowledged that some passages are "hard to be understood" and require diligent study and the guidance of the Holy Spirit [8].
Jewish tradition also places a high value on early engagement with Scripture. Maimonides, for example, states that a father is obligated to teach his son Torah as soon as the child begins to speak, starting with fundamental verses like "The Torah Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" [7]. This highlights a long-standing emphasis on early and continuous scriptural learning.
Sources
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Genesis — beginning”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Bible — Bible, the English form of the Greek name Biblia, meaning "books," the name which in the fifth century began to be given to the entire collection of sacred books, the "Library of Divine Revelation." The name Bible was adopted by Wickliffe, and came gradually into use in our English language. The Bible consists of sixty-six different books, composed by many different writers, in three different languages, under different circumstances; writers of almost every social rank, statesmen and peasants, kings, herdsmen, fishermen, priests, tax-gatherers, tentmakers; e”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Scriptures, The — Given by inspiration of God -- 2Ti 3:16. Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- Ac 1:16; Heb 3:7; 2Pe 1:21. Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them -- Mt 4:4; Mr 12:10; Joh 7:42. Christ taught out of -- Lu 24:27. Are called the Word. -- Jas 1:21-23; 1Pe 2:2. Word of God. -- Lu 11:28; Heb 4:12. Word of Christ. -- Col 3:16. Word of truth. -- Jas 1:18. Holy Scriptures. -- Ro 1:2; 2Ti 3:15. Scripture of truth. -- Da 10:21. Book. -- Ps 40:7; Re 22:19. Book of the Lord. -- Isa 34:16. Book of the law. -- Ne 8:3; Ga 3:10. Law of the Lord. -- Ps 1:2; Isa”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 9: Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Origen's Commentaries — 3. PERSONAL APPEAL.: Do you then, sir, my son, study first of all the divine Scriptures. Study them I say. For we require to study the divine writings deeply, lest we should speak of them faster than we think; and while you study these divine works with a believing and God-pleasing intention, knock at that which is closed in them, and it shall be opened to thee by the porter, of whom Jesus says,(1) "To him the porter openeth." While you attend to this divine reading seek aright and with unwavering faith in God the hidden sense wh”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 9.--HOW WE SHOULD PROCEED IN STUDYING SCRIPTURE.: 14. In all these books those who fear God and are of a meek and pious disposition seek the will of God. And in pursuing this search the first rule to be observed is, as I said, to know these books, if not yet with the understanding, still to read them so as to commit them to memory, or at least so as not to remain wholly ignorant of them. Next, those matters that are plainly laid down in them, whether rules of life or rules of faith, are to be searched into more carefully and more”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 40: Word of God. When we refer to the Bible as 153 of divine authority, we refer to it as a volume and recognize all the writings which it contains as given by the inspiration of the Spirit. In like manner when Christ or his Apostles quote the “Scriptures,” or the “law and the prophets,” and speak of the volume then so called, they give their sanction to the divine authority of all the books which that volume contained. All, therefore, that is necessary to determine for Christians the canon of the Old Testament, is to ascertain what books wer”
- Mishneh Torah (Maimonides) (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah%2C Torah Study 1:6: At what age is a father obligated to teach [his son] 1 Though Avot 5:22 states: "At five, one should begin the study of Scripture," the Rambam, based on Sukkah 42a, explains that certain elements of a child's study must begin earlier. Torah? When he 2 the child begins to speak, he 3 the father should teach him 4 how to use that potential for Torah study. Two verses are selected as being of fundamental importance. Torah tzivah lanu Moshe... 5 "The Torah Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob." This verse e”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 44: § 5. Perspicuity of the Scriptures. The Right of Private Judgment. The Bible is a plain book. It is intelligible by the people. And they have the right, and are bound to read and interpret it for themselves; so that their faith may rest on the testimony of the Scriptures, and not on that of the Church. Such is the doctrine of Protestants on this subject. It is not denied that the Scriptures contain many things hard to be understood; that they require diligent study; that all men need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to right knowl”
- CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 105: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:3 1:5 1:5 1:6 1:6-7 1:8 1:8 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:14 1:22 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:27 1:28 1:31 1:31 1:31 2 2:2 2:8 2:9 2:9 2:10 2:16 2:16 2:17 2:23 2:25 3 3:1 3:7 3:9 4:1 4:7 4:19 5:3 6:13 6:17 6:18 7:1 7:17 8:11 8:16 8:21 9:3-5 9:6 9:6 11:7 14:18 14:19 15:6 15:16 16:9-10 16:13 17:10 17:12 17:19-20 18:1 18:1 18:10 18:13-14 18:17 18:20 18:20-21 18:25 18:25 18:25-26 19:1 19:1-2 19:24 19:24 19:24 21:1-2 21:17-18 22:12 22:12 22:12 32:26 35:1 35:1 ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 109: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:2 1:26 1:27 1:31 2:7 2:7 2:17 2:18 2:23 2:23 3:7 3:9 3:12 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:22 4:4 4:7 4:10 4:13 6:3 6:5 6:6 6:18 7:21 8:21 9:6 12:12 12:17 14:18 14:18 15:1 15:1 15:5 15:17 16:9 17:7 17:7 17:10 17:10 17:13 17:15 17:27 18:2 18:23 20:3 20:7 21:1 21:12 21:24 22:1 22:8 22:16-18 23:4 23:19 24:7 24:10 26:27 27:28 27:38-39 28:12 28:20 29 30:2 31:19 31:20 31:40-41 32 32:10 32:13 32:29-30 33 34 36:22 37:18 37:28 37:33 38:18 42 43 43:14 45:5 47:9 47:9 47:29-30 48:14 48:16 49:5-6 49:18 Exodus 2:12 3:2 3”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 144: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:26 1:26-27 1:27 2:7 2:7 3:1 3:6 3:15 3:15 3:19 3:22 3:22 6:3 6:5 6:5-6 8:21 8:21 10:15-18 15:18 17:13 21:27 37:35 46:15 46:18 46:22 46:25 Exodus 4:16 7:1 10:17 30:12-16 30:15 31:3-4 32:30 32:32 34:6-7 34:7 Leviticus 4:2 4:3 4:20 4:26 5:1 5:6-7 5:16 5:16 5:17 7:1 7:18 16:6 17:10 17:11 17:16 19:8 20:17 22:9 Numbers 6:11 9:1-23 9:13 10:1-36 11:17 14:33 14:34 16:22 18:22 18:32 19:1-22 21:1-36 24:1-25 24:17 27:18 35:31 Deuteronomy 1:39 8:18 10:16 18:18-19 30:6 30:6 Joshua 24:25 Judges 3:10 16:31 1 Samue”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 41: § 2. The Scriptures are Infallible, i. e., given by Inspiration of God. The infallibility and divine authority of the Scriptures are due to the fact that they are the word of God; and they are the word of God because they were given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. A. The Nature of Inspiration. Definition. The nature of inspiration is to be learnt from the Scriptures; from their didactic statements, and from their phenomena. There are certain general facts or principles which underlie the Bible, which are assumed in all its teachings”