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This phase of the R³ Bible Study Process is where the hard work ² is done – it informs us.  The goal here is to answer the question:

What did the passage mean
to the people in its day?

(Semantic Meanings)

There are several things we can do to answer this question.

First, we need to understand that studying the Word of God is done in partnership: Holy Spirit sheds light on the Word as we examine the Scriptures every day.

Second, and most important, we must pray that God’s Holy Spirit will guide us. After all, He is the author of God’s word (2 Peter 1:20–21). Who would know better than Him what every passage in the Bible meant to the people of its day?

Third, we must remember that this is a study, not a survey or reading assignment. The more time and effort you put into relating to the study passage, the more you will get out of it.  You need to be:

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The Relate Phase Process

Visual Investigation

(In four parts: Text, Context, Cross-references, Resources.)

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Part 1a: Text Content

This is like a detective identifying and inventorying witnesses and physical evidence at a crime scene.

Focus: The Bible passage that you are studying. It includes ONLY the word of God – nothing else; no titles, cross-references, notes, commentaries, etc.

► Read the study passage. Ask, explore, and document questions like these, and their answers within the study passage:

• Who? (Questions/Statements of Identity)
  • Who is mentioned or referred to in this passage?
  • Participants (Who’s involved with the action of the passage? What was their role? Primary or Secondary role? Protagonist or Antagonist?)
  • Persons Quoted (Who and what did they say?)
  • Persons mentioned (Who and why were they mentioned?)
  • Are they an example of someone I should follow or avoid? Why? How?
• What? (Questions/Statements of Definition or Description)
  • What did each person say or do?
  • Other things, actions, or events mentioned, referenced, or described.
• When? (Questions/Statements of Time, Timing, Sequence)
  • When did this happen?
  • What other precise or relative time periods are mentioned?
  • In what order did the events occur?
• Where? (Questions/Statements of Location)
  • Where did this happen?
  • What other locations are mentioned or referred to?

If anyone or anything seems to be missing from the passage, make a note of that, and watch for it as you continue your study.

(NOTE: “Why” and “How” questions will be addressed in the Respond phase of the R³ Bible Study Process.)

Part 1b: Text Structure

All documents are arranged in a way to convey their intended message. The same principle applies to God’s Word. The most effective way to know what a passage says and to understand its message is to see its structure.

The process of segmentation helps you accomplish this. See HERE how to segment a passage, then return here to continue your RELATE study of the passage.

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Part 2: Context

This is like a detective surveying the area around the crime scene to understand the setting and context of the crime.

Focus: The survey covers the literary context; the word of God in the pericopes ⁴ before and after the study passage. They teach you about the setting and flow of the study passage, and may help answer some questions from your inventory above.

► Read the passages before and after the study passage, looking for information that helps you find answers to the Inventory questions above, and to have a clearer understanding of the study passage.

NOTE: Other types of context, including historical, grammatical, and cultural, are covered below in Part 4: Resources.

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Part 3: Footnotes

This is like a detective following a hot lead based on what he learned from his inventory and survey.

Focus: Information in your Bible that is related to the study passage, but is not part of the study passage or its literary context.

► Use the following resources in your study text to find passages related to your study passage:

Footnotes 

• Usually marked with a number, asterisk, or letter next to a word or verse.
• Provides an alternate translation for a word or phrase, or background information, to help the reader understand the passage.

Cross References 

• Usually marked with a letter, number, or asterisk next to a word or verse.
• Provides one or more references to other Bible passages that are related to the study passage.
• Look up the Bible passages that are listed in the cross references of the study passage and consider only those passages that help you understand the study passage (not just mention or repeat the same information you already learned in the study passage).
• WARNING: Not all cross references are helpful.  Some are listed only because the same word, person, or place is mentioned in both places. These cross references don’t add anything significant to your understanding of the study passage. Don’t let these cross references distract you or tempt you to chase a rabbit trail that takes you away from your work on the study passage.
• A helpful resource: New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Jerome Smith) [Amazon] [Logos] (An earlier version of this is included in the free version of Logos Bible Software.)

NOTE: Notes and articles in study Bibles are not included in this part of your study. They are included below in Part 4: Resources.

Part 4: Resources

This is like a detective validating the witness statements and examining/testing the physical evidence.

IMPORTANT: In Bible study, you use the Bible to validate the resources – Not the other way around.

WARNING:

Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, BSB)

• Don’t skip the previous steps in the study process and jump directly to these resources. Without knowing what the passage says (Read), what the passage contains (text), the setting of the passage (context), and the Biblical references to the passage (cross references), you will end up with unverified information that may or may not be accurate.
• Not all resources are 100% accurate. Some have more opinion than fact. Any specific resources listed on this website have been checked and have a high level of accuracy, reliability, and relevance.

The types of resources listed below provide information to help you better understand your study passage. Go HERE for lists of specific, named resources I have checked out and recommend. A good place to start is to build your own, personal Bible study library. See the library recommendations HERE.

Study Bible Notes 

• Study Bibles go beyond the footnotes and cross-references. They provide commentary that explains the passage, along with helpful maps, diagrams, charts, and articles.
• Read the introductory and background information about the Bible book you are studying.  Since you already have done the READ study, you’ll know what information is helpful to your understanding of the study passage, and what isn’t. (You usually only need to do this once when you begin your study in that book of the Bible.)
• Read the study notes associated with the study passage. Also check to see if any of the maps, diagrams, charts, or articles in the study Bible have information that helps you understand the study passage. (They are usually mentioned or referenced in the study notes.)

See HERE for recommended Study Bibles.

Bible Commentary

A good commentary can help you understand facts that are not apparent in the passage, such as historical and cultural information that is not mentioned or explained in the study passage.

See HERE for recommended commentaries.

Additional Study Tools and Resources are listed HERE.

Once you complete the Relate study phase above, go to the Respond phase of the R³ Bible Study Process.

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Notes:

• Links to Amazon.com and Logos.com are offered as a convenience to the student for the purposes of product descriptions, price comparisons and availability.  Their use here does not constitute agreement with or indorsement of their policies, philosophies, practices or theology. These resources can also be found at and are available from other sources (except Logos products which are only available from Logos.com and other Faithlife websites).
• Be sure to compare products and prices to make sure you are getting what you need and for the best price.
• Purchase only those books that you can understand and will use. Please reports errors, typos or broken links to tim@thessalonianfaith.org.