Learning to Study the Bible guides your tween students through eight weeks of Bible discovery. They’ll explore the wonders of biblical geography and archaeology. They’ll compare and contrast biblical genres. They’ll learn the history of biblical interpretation, and discover that they are Bible interpreters too! Students will become familiar with Bible dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, maps, and more. Best of all, they’ll practice sharing their Bible knowledge with others each week. Session Outline and Learning Goals: Who? Author and Audience Spark curiosity about the authors and original audiences of the Bible Introduce and use Bible dictionaries and commentaries Sharpen deductive reasoning skills in biblical interpretation What? Genre Introduce and explore biblical genres Learn to use Bible commentaries and apps to identify possible genres of texts Explore the significance of genre for biblical interpretation When? Context Investigate the connection between context and meaning Spark curiosity about biblical and modern cultural contexts Use Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and handbooks to research biblical context Where? Geography Spark curiosity about the biblical landscape Prompt reflection on the relationship between land and daily life Use biblical maps and archaeological research to explore biblical geography Why? Interpretation Create awareness of interpretive lenses and layers Spark curiosity about our own and others’ interpretive lenses Use a concordance and various translations to compare meanings How? Read Closely Cultivate appreciation for the way our ancestors preserved the biblical text Practice reading carefully and paying attention Discover the four meanings of Scripture and practice interpreting them How? Reread Create awareness of our own role in making meaning Prompt reflection on the nature of Scripture as the “living word of God” Practice the ancient tradition of divine reading How? Read Together Create awareness of the diversity of voices within the canon Inspire students to enter into the centuries-long biblical conversation Practice reading the Bible inter-canonically L.J. holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Before coming to the United Methodist Publishing House, L.J. served as a Christian educator and minister to children, youth and adults in various congregations. She is the writer and editor of Submerge. L.J. enjoys connecting with the children and youth in her local Quaker meeting. She also loves biking around Nashville, knitting sweaters, and hiking with her dog. Learning to Study the Bible Leader Guide For Tweens By L. J. Zimmerman Abingdon Press Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5018-5628-0 Contents How to Use Learning to Study the Bible, Bible Study Resources, Preparing to Teach, Session 1: Who? Author and Audience, Session 2: What? Genre, Session 3: When? Context, Session 4: Where? Geography, Session 5: Why? Interpretation, Session 6: How? Read Closely, Session 7: How? Reread, Session 8: How? Read Together, CHAPTER 1 Who? Author and Audience Why does this matter? Some Bibles for sale on amazon.com list their author as "God." This reference to the divine inspiration of the sacred Scriptures is amusing, but it clouds an important reality. God's word comes to us through real people. The people who created the Scriptures as we know them were humans like us: people who told the stories of their faith, wrote them down, edited them, compiled them, and painstakingly copied them over the centuries. The people who created the Bible were deeply invested in their own faith, and in passing on their traditions to others. What we find in the Bible is the embodied Word of God — embodied by those who originally spoke and wrote the words. God's truth comes to us in human-shaped containers. The humans bearing God's word spoke certain languages, had particular beliefs about the world, and had relationships with their original audiences. Much of that information is lost to us. But what we can discover about the authors of the Scriptures enriches our understanding of the words. Sometimes the Bible itself tells us about its authors. Psalm 51 is attributed to King David, for example. This psalm of contrition is much more meaningful because we can read up on the back-story (2 Samuel 11-12). Paul's letter to the Philippians is made richer by knowing the story of Paul founding the Philippian church with Lydia (Acts 16:11-40). In other instances, our ability to get to know the author is guesswork based on the text itself. The Book of Isaiah, for example, is suspected to be composed by three different individuals, then compiled into one prophetic book. Biblical scholars identify these three "Isaiahs" by their writing style, the historical re