How to Study WITHOUT a Computer

Believe it or not, Bible study and study of all kinds existed long before computers or the internet. In fact, the Apostle Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) used a writing utensil and some type of paper, and the concepts the Lord had taught him out in the dessert of Arabia (can you guess the cross-reference???). Like you, or your children, Paul also would have memorized A LOT of Hebrew Bible, which likely served him quite well.

Paul didn't have the Strong's concordance or Easton's dictionary. He didn't have BlueLetterBible or even Google. Shocking! Bible students throughout the ages have studied the Word of God without AI, Quizlet, Blooket, or even spreadsheets. And we can do it, too!

I won't get into the reasons WHY a person would want to learn how to study the Bible without using a computer. We do live in a computer age and using one is a useful and necessary skill. I use a computer every day, and some days my "off-line" studying is a bit hybrid because I will sometimes pull up a definition or a word on my phone because all of the books are taking over my work space.

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to move your studying away from the computer, I have some resources to share with you. Please know that this is a pretty short list and there are many more resources out there. Also, there are no affiliate links in this post. If I link to a product it is simply for your convenience.

Study Bible

The first and most important resource, in my opinion, is a good study Bible. I use the Ryrie Study Bible in NASB95. Our family memorizes in NKJV for Bible Bee, but none of us have a problem studying from our study Bibles.

Commentary

It is easy to go crazy with commentaries. We are slowly building up a library of commentaries on specific books of the Bible as we study them for Bible Bee. I also like to utilize our church's library. There are many resources there, and it gives me an opportunity to see which commentaries have been most useful for us so that I can purchase those.

I highly recommend The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck. We found each of our volumes on either ThriftBooks or Amazon (used). I like to buy books that way!

What I like about The Bible Knowledge Commentary is that it is pretty concise without skimping on content. It includes original language terms, cross-references, and historical background. Overall, I feel like it could fill in for a stand-alone commentary of a single book.

The Outline Bible

The Outline Bible by Harold Willmington contains very detailed outlines, which are really good for in-depth study and random access. It gives a good framework for developing your own outlines, too! I find it to be more detailed than what I want for my Primary kiddos, but it is very helpful to have a good place to start and offers good insights into the contents of each book.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

This is THE cross-reference source on BlueLetterBible. When you click that little "Tools" button and select "Cross References" you are reading a list directly from The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. This book takes some getting used to. I probably should have included a photo of one of the pages, but if you decide to purchase this, you'll see what I mean!

Once you get the hang of it, this is a one-stop shop for cross-references. Just be sure to have your Bible handy because unlike when you access this on BlueLetterBible, the text for each reference is not included. An added bonus is the summary at the beginning of each chapter.

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary

I checked this one out from our church library, but I am on the hunt for a used one (or a good sale). Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary includes most of the original language terms that you want to learn. It is organized in alphabetical order by the English translation, which makes it easy to use. The definitions are very good and I like that you can easily find other references where the exact same word is used.

BlueLetterBible Inline Linear Text

This is a great option for finding the original language terms. It is easy to access this online, print it out, and then use the paper copy for your own notes and learning. Here is my attempt at making a video of the steps!

Taking Notes and Staying Organized

I like to print out the study passage text for each of my kids so that they can mark it up without ruining their Bibles. We have a couple of different formats that I have designed on my own to meet varying needs and preferences. Yes, I did use a computer to make these, but once I print them out, I can pull out my pens and get to work *without* the computer, if that's how I want to do it that day.

I like to use this version for taking notes, particularly for cross-reference study:

I highly recommend a good notebook. I use this one, which is flexible and allows me to fold it back, saving table space. Also, don't forget about the sticky notes. You will want somewhere to write down all of the cool things you are discovering.

At the end of the day, I don't do all of my studying without a computer, and neither do most of my kids. However, I mostly work away from the computer when I am gathering material. Then I can go to the computer to create printable flashcards, lists, or Bingo cards that my younger kids will use.

Our teens and middle-schoolers will mostly use a computer to compile study material. They do not typically use the books I listed here, because they feel like they can find what they need faster using BlueLetterBible. We are fine with that, knowing that they are using their time wisely. They tend to put material together into study documents that they print out to read and study from.

Yes, there is still Quizlet going on in our house, and I mentioned Kahoot earlier, which is online. As I said in the beginning of this post, we live in a computer age. It is very nice to have options to reduce screen time, though!

Blessings in your studies!