Biblical Person Study

(1) Research a Person.

Studying a person from the Bible can be an extremely meaningful way to gain insight about God and his relationship with humanity. The Bible presents story after story that centers around people’s interactions with God and their response to God’s call on their lives. Sometimes those people are models of godly living that we should aspire to emulate. Other times people’s behavior and attitude toward God reveal the fallenness of the world and the negative effects sin can have on our lives.   

What role does the person play in biblical events?

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(2) Locate related Bible verses.

Locate Bible passages relevant to the person you are studying. Reading over this selection of verses can help you begin to get a feel for the person’s attitude and behavior.

 Read each key verse and describe the passage’s relevance for the person you are studying.

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(3) Research original language words related to the person.

Understanding and evaluating the original language terminology behind a translation of a name or word referring to a person is important to tracking the ways the person is referred to in the original languages.

After the person’s proper name, what are the most common words used to label that person? What do those labels tell you about the person’s roles in society or about how they view themselves? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(4) Research a person in dictionaries.

While it is important to start with the biblical text when learning about a biblical person, it can be challenging to bring all the pieces from the biblical portrait together to get a detailed picture of the person’s life and character. Dictionary articles and other Bible study reference works can help you organize and understand the relevant biblical information.

Review at least two entries from Bible dictionaries relevant to the person you are studying. What are two important facts about the person that you learned from the articles?

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(5) Identify and evaluate a person’s character qualities.

Once you have reviewed key events related to the person, read the important biblical passages describing the person’s actions and attitudes, and research dictionaries for more details on the person, then you are in a better position to draw conclusions about the person’s character.

Record your observations about how these passages portray the person you are studying. What are they like? How do they respond to other people? How do they respond to God? Is their behavior something to emulate or avoid?

(6) Share insights from your study.

What have you learned that you should share with others? Your insight could be valuable to   others; sharing about it may encourage and enlighten your friends. Don’t forget to include what steps you might plan to take in response to what you’ve learned. The ultimate goal of our learning and study of the Scriptures should be a changed life, not merely acquiring more information.

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