BIBLE VERSE MAPPING

Bible verse mapping.  This is somewhat of a new thing.  I'm really not sure when it was that someone said, "Hey, I'm going to map this Bible verse."  Some may say it's similar to the Precepts Bible Study method, but probably not quite as in depth, but you could go as deep as you want.

I'm sure there's not been one person who has read any portion of Scripture that hasn't said, "I don't understand what this verse means."  Bible verse mapping will help anyone who takes on the task to learn how to interpret Scripture better and to grow more in their faith.  Another benefit to verse mapping is that you can use it as an opportunity for memorization as you go along.  You can choose either one or two verses to map out each week and learn to memorize it in the process.

What is verse mapping and how do I do it?

Bible verse mapping helps the reader break down and dissect the verse into smaller chunks to help better understand it.  Think back to high school grammar and having to learn sentence diagramming.  It's something similar to that but not quite as complicated.

When mapping a verse you'll need to have access to several resources to help you out.  The good thing is that all of these resources are available for free online.  They are as follows:

*Two to three different Bible translations of your choice
*Commentary
*Bible Dictionary
*Concordance

Here is a list of a few websites where you can find these resources:

www.blueletterbible.org
www.studylight.org
www.biblestudytools.com
www.biblegateway.com
www.biblehub.com

Verse mapping involves at least four processes:

*Keywords
*Context
*Summary
*Application

You may find other processes you could implement in verse mapping to help you understand Scripture.  You can make it all your own.

Here's just a sample of the process you can start with on your journey to understanding Scripture:

1. Pick out the verse(s) you want to map out.  Read it in several different translations, whether it's the KJV, ESV, and NASB, or whatever translation you prefer.

2. Pray to help focus your mind on the task and to ask God to   help you understand what you're reading.

3. Write out your verse(s).

4. Record the author of the book the verse is found in, the date it was written, and the audience the book was written to (for example, Ephesians was written to the church at Ephesus).

5. Pick out keywords in that verse you want to study more in depth.  I use different colored markers to circle each keyword within the verse.

6. Write down each keyword one at a time and look it up in the concordance.  A concordance, specifically an exhaustive one, will give you every Scripture reference where that word is found in the Bible.  Each word is given a number and that number begins with either H for Hebrew or G for Greek.  For example, the word sin is H2403 and G264.  The Hebrew is obviously found in the OT and Greek in the NT.

When you find the word in the concordance, record the one or both of the numbers and the definition for that word.  The resource I use for the concordance is found at the Blue Letter Bible website.  It includes a speaker icon you can click on to hear the Hebrew or Greek word pronounced.

7.  Next, look the verse up in a commentary or two.  Blue Letter Bible also has several commentaries you can choose from.  You can read one or pick as many as you want to read.  By doing this you can get the context of the verse.  Also, reading the verses before and after will help you with the context.

After reading the commentaries, write out a summary of what you just read.  Writing it out helps to get it in your brain easier.

8.  The last process you should consider is the application. 

What is "application"?

Application is taking what you have read and knowing how to live it out.  To properly apply what we read, we must pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance and use the proper hermenuetics (interpretation) of that verse.

It's quite an experience when you do verse mapping and you suddenly have that "light bulb moment" when you finally understand what a Bible verse truly means.  This, along with memorization, helps to get the Word into our hearts and minds so that when we're confronted with people who like twist Scripture or we go through various trials and adversities, we can recall verses to help us refute false teachings or help comfort us in the midst of trials.

Below are links to a couple of Bible Verse Mapping journals I created and put on Amazon.  These will help you in your mapping quest and in your journey to learn more of God's Word.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FC6FBFK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FS9ZMCG