Daily Bible Nugget #230, Acts 17:11

The Nugget:

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

My Comment:

The Scriptures should be searched daily. The Scriptures should be searched daily by everyone. In the previous two Daily Nuggets I shared a total of 22 benefits of searching the Scriptures. In yesterday’s post I shared just how to use cross references. There are many different ways to incorporate cross reference Bible study into your Bible reading. I like the idea of taking note of a verse that I encounter in my Bible reading any given day. I then make use of the cross references for that verse and look them up one at a time. I find it “sinks in” better for me if I use actual printed Bibles, a larger one to read from, and a smaller one to turn to the passages given by the cross references. That is a slower process than just hovering a mouse pointer over the reference in a Bible software program like the free e-Sword Bible software available from www.e-sword.net which contains the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or the Logos 5 software which has both the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and my expanded and corrected edition of that work called The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, but the Logos software program is not free. Another possibility is to read one chapter of the book of Proverbs each day, reading the chapter that corresponds to that day’s date. Today as I write this is April 17, 2014, so the chapter to read would be Proverbs chapter 17, for example. Then select one of the verses that most interests you and look up the references for that verse. I followed this process through until I had looked up all the cross references given in the book of Proverbs. I always knew where I left off because I marked the cross references by underlining them carefully with a fine point Parker ball point pen. I double-underlined those verses that were especially clear or critically important to understand the subject of the verse or word or phrase or clause. I always arrived at school early, so before the school day began I usually had time enough to look up the cross references for one verse. Yet another idea is to spend some time studying Psalm 119. That is the longest chapter in the Bible. It contains 176 verses. If you read one verse from Psalm 119 each day in succession, you would go through the chapter two times in a year. If you looked up the cross references for that verse each day you would find that to be a delightful continuing study of the Bible. I went through Psalm 119 myself quite recently, spending two months just on that chapter, studying the cross references and finding additional cross references. Few people could do that, unless you are now retired like me. It is also delightful to go off on a “rabbit trail” as you study verses and subjects of interest to you in the Bible. Just start with the references at a verse that interests you. You will no doubt encounter other verses that are most interesting. Look up the cross references for them too. Doing such studies as these will surprise you just how other passages explain the verse you started from. However you manage to do it, seek out time when you can search the Scriptures daily, whatever Bible study method or whatever Bible study tools you choose to utilize.

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1250 for Acts 17:11.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on pages 1270-1271 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Acts 17:11.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

Acts 17:11. more noble. or, well-born. Gr. eugenēs (S#2104g). High in rank, hence they were more courteous (CB). T#1099. *Ac 13:7. Ge 34:19. 1 Ch 4:9. *Pr 1:5. 9:9. Je 2:21. Lk 19:12g. Jn 1:46-49. 1 Cor 1:26g. Thessalonica. ver. +Ac 17:1. 1 Th 1:1. 2 Tim 4:10. they received. *Ac 2:41. 8:14. 10:33. 11:1. Ne 8:3. +*Jb 23:12. *Pr 2:1-5. **Pr 4:7, 20-22. 8:10. Ec 5:1. SongS 8:2. Je 6:16. *Mt 13:11, 23. Mk 4:8. Lk 10:38, 39. 2 Cor 8:5. 1 Th 1:6. **1 Th 2:13. *2 Th 2:10. **James 1:21. **1 P 2:2. the word. Gr. logos, Mk 9:32n. +Ac 8:4. 10:36. *Lk 16:29. readiness of mind. Ac 10:33. %Ac 14:2. 16:14. %+*1 S 25:17. **Ps 25:9. Mk 12:37. *S#4288g: Ac 17:11. 2 Cor 8:11, 12 (willing mind), 2 Cor 8:19 (ready mind). 2 Cor 9:2 (forwardness). This word is used in the New Testament (1) of a ready desire to hear God’s word, and (2) of a ready desire to give to God’s work (Thomas Walker). and searched. or, examined. Gr. anakrinō, *S#350g. Rendered (1) examine: Ac 4:9. 12:19. 24:8. 28:18. Lk 23:14. 1 Cor 9:3. (2) judge: 1 Cor 2:15, 15. 4:3, 3, 4. 14:24. (3) ask question: 1 Cor 10:25, 27. (4) search: Ac 17:11. (5) discern: **1 Cor 2:14. Thayer defines this word “By looking through a series (ana) of objects or particulars to distinguish (krino) or search after. Hence, to investigate, examine, inquire into, scrutinize, sift, question” (Lexicon, p. 39). Compare “search” at Jn 5:39, the same English but a different Greek word (*S#2045g). T#1069. Le 11:3. 1 Ch 28:8. **Ps 1:2, 3. 119:18, 97-100, *Ps 119:148. Pr 2:2. +*Pr 8:9. *Pr 15:14. +**Is 8:20n. *Is 34:16. *Lk 16:29. *Lk 24:44. *Jn 3:21. +**Jn 5:39n, 40. 1 Cor 2:14g. 1 Tim 4:13. +**2 Tim 3:15-16. *1 P 1:10-12. +*2 P 1:19-21. *1 J 4:5, 6. the scriptures. ver. Ac 17:2. Ac 8:28. 26:22, 23. *Ps 119:105. *Ps 138:2. +*Je 15:16. +*Je 23:18, 22, 28, 29. +Mt 21:42. +*Mk 12:24. +*Ro 15:4. 2 Tim 2:15. daily. Ac 16:5. Ex 16:4. *Dt 17:18-20. +*Jsh 1:8. 2 Ch 8:14. Ezr 3:4. *Ne 8:18. +*Ps 1:2. Pr 8:34. Lk 11:3. +*Lk 21:36. +**Col 1:10. +*He 3:13. *He 11:6. *1 P 2:2. *2 P 3:18. whether. or, if. FS184D1, +Lk 22:67. A. T. Robertson notes that the Bereans “were eagerly interested in the new message of Paul and Silas but they wanted to see it for themselves. What a noble attitude. Paul’s preaching made Bible students of them. The duty of private interpretation is thus made plain (Hovey)” (Word Pictures, vol. 3, p. 275). T#1059, T#1121. Ac 8:31n. Dt 13:3. +**Pr 14:15. 15:14. *Pr 18:1n, +*Pr 18:17. +**Is 8:20n. Ezk 14:10n. +*Da 11:30. Ho 6:3. +*Mk 4:24. +*Lk 8:18. Jn 4:42. 7:17. **Ro 14:12. 1 Cor 10:15. +*1 Cor 14:29. *2 Cor 4:2. +*Ga 1:8n, 9. **1 Th 5:21. 1 Tim 4:1. James 1:19. *2 P 3:16, 17. **1 J 4:1.