Another Hint on Studying the Bible

Cheryl Craig asked about how to study the Bible itself instead of studying what other people have said about the Bible. I do not think I told Cheryl specifically to TRANSLATE THE PROPER NAMES of the people and places in the stories. You see, while we do not commonly translate proper names, in the original language they did not need to be translated by the readers -- they meant what they meant directly, like when you meet a person named Shell, Star, or Dawn. You might not translate the name of a Peter you meet, but you wouldn't even need to translate the name of a guy named Rock. You can search for the Hebrew meaning of names online. One of my favorite insight sites is abarim-publications.com. It was a great mistake in the first century to not translate the proper name of Jesus, "Yah Saving Us." 

Another item is the first occurance of a word in the Bible. That is key to what it probably means in later occurances. Keep this in mind when litanies form in your thoughts. These things can revolutionize your understanding of what God is saying and is doing.