How to take notes while reading the Bible

[Naomanos]

I was never any good at taking notes in school, so I never did and just relied on my memory for testing. Now that I am older, not taking notes is coming back to bite me in the rear.

I would like to take notes when reading the Bible, but I just do not know how to do so.

I am going to keep a separate notebook for my note taking. I am not one to mark up my Bible for anything...lol.

I am also reading from the ESV Study Bible which has it's on notes, but I would prefer to take my own rather than relying on someone else's.

Can someone give me some pointers on how best to take notes and what to take notes on?

 

[InfinityandBeyond]

So at church camp we learned this way to take notes called SOAP, and I'll try to explain it to you.

So first you choose some scripture. Like John 1:1 for example

Then you read it, and O is for observations. Basically you sum up what the verse is about, and any extra notes you have.

Then A stands for Apply. How would this be applied to the life of someone today? How does this passage make you feel? What did you gain from reading/studying this.

Then P is for...I think something like Praise, but it's more like mantra. You make a mantra that you write down about the verse. You try to keep it pretty basic like "I will honor God's creations". Then you say it and remind yourself of it for that day.

Then you do it every day and so on.

Not sure if thats what you're looking for, thats more of an interpret the scripture type of thing.

 

[Naomanos]

So at church camp we learned this way to take notes called SOAP, and I'll try to explain it to you.

So first you choose some scripture. Like John 1:1 for example

Then you read it, and O is for observations. Basically you sum up what the verse is about, and any extra notes you have.

Then A stands for Apply. How would this be applied to the life of someone today? How does this passage make you feel? What did you gain from reading/studying this.

Then P is for...I think something like Praise, but it's more like mantra. You make a mantra that you write down about the verse. You try to keep it pretty basic like "I will honor God's creations". Then you say it and remind yourself of it for that day.

Then you do it every day and so on.

Not sure if thats what you're looking for, thats more of an interpret the scripture type of thing.

Yeah, I'm not looking to interpret scripture, just take notes.

Thank you though.

 

[InfinityandBeyond]

To take notes most people I know write in their bibles.
I would never do that though.
I think certain study bibles come with some sort of note taking plan or something to take notes in.

 

[food4thought]

A couple pointers from someone who has always been a notetaker:

1) don't try to take a note on every verse, especially if you are not seeking to do a lot of interpretation. Read a section of the Bible and then try to see where one thought ends and another thought begins, and then take notes on that overall thought. This will help you to not take a single verse out of context, and also gives you a nice summary of what the passage means to you.

2) In order to take good notes, you'll need to do SOME interpretation. I would recommend Bible software. I HIGHLY recommend the e-Sword program. It is free and provides you with a large selection of free dictionaries, commentaries, and Bible versions (including the ESV). The best free feature is the KJV w/ Strong's Dictionary numbers interspersed in the text. All you do is hover your mouse over the number and the Greek or Hebrew word with it's definition pops up in a little window for you to read. This is very helpful when studying a difficult to understand verse. There is a similar feature available using the NASB, but it costs you money to download. You can download the free e-Sword here:

e-Sword - the Sword of the LORD with an electronic edge

And get extra modules by clicking on "download" at the top of the page once you've installed and opened the program.

 

[JHM]

The method I used was to start reading the Bible cover to cover, and whenever I found a topic of interest to me : E.G. Urim and Thummin, Darkness during daytime, Earthquake, The destruction of Babylon, GOD'S Children, Isaac, GOD in Man, Description of GOD, Giants, etc -- anything that interested me, - I put a heading at the top of a blank page in my notebook, Naming the topic and the chapter and verse it was in, - then any subsequent references to that topic, or closely related topics got their chapter and verse entered on that page of my notebook. Till I had read the entire Bible and had notes on where to find everything I had found interesting and everything connected with those topics.