Your choice of passage is an important first step in beginning the research process.  As with any research, you should choose a passage of personal interest because your own interest helps to drive the research process. You can choose a passage you like or one that features a concept in which you are interested.

Your passage also needs to meet the parameters of the assignment.  The passage must be of sufficient size and complexity to be covered in the required page length of your paper.  For example, you could not interpret an entire chapter of Genesis and its Creation themes in a five-page paper. Your passage should also be a section that can be interpreted as a whole.  Do not arbitrarily cut off a portion of the scripture because it fits a particular size.  Rather, select a passage that represents a complete thought, argument, or story which can yield a complete interpretation.

• Start with prayer
• Read on your own 
• Read different English translations 
• Read the passage in other languages, if you know them.
• Read the entire book in which your passage is found
• Ask: 
  • What does the author seem to be saying? 
  • What is your initial understanding?
  • What are the main themes? What feelings are being conveyed? 
  • What are the key words?
  • What are some questions you have?

Remember to note potential key words to use in searching the library catalog and databases for information about your passage. 

A concordance is a tool that lets you look up a word, and see that word in its context in every place it occurs in the Bible. A concordance can be especially helpful if you want to find Biblical passages that relate to a particular concept.  Since English versions of the Bible differ sometimes in how they translate words, you need to pick a concordance that matches your Bible version.  The library's reference section has a range of concordances for many different versions of the Bible.