1. Read the passage before the tools
Open the public demo and choose Passage. It displays World English Bible (WEB) Genesis 1:1-4. The demo receives one real Genesis 1 chapter, but the visible reading panel is a four-verse preview, not the full chapter. Keep that limit in mind before drawing conclusions about the whole creation account.
Read the four verses twice. First follow the sequence; then note the actions, contrasts and repeated terms you can point to in the text. Keep an observation separate from an explanation: what is written, what you infer, and what you still need to check are different kinds of notes.
For a first study question, try: What changes between verses 2 and 3, and what does verse 4 add to the sequence? Return to the passage to support your observations rather than looking for an instant answer.
Record the edition and verse range with your notes. WEB, KJV, ASV and YLT are four distinct English editions in the full study space; the public demo is WEB only. Comparing wording can raise a useful question, but choosing another edition does not turn it into a new translation or settle the question by itself.
Check the World English Bible source and public-domain notice
2. Explore the independent Hebrew layer
Choose Original to see STEP Bible TAHOT Hebrew tokens for Genesis 1:1-3. A token is a word occurrence in this source dataset; its English gloss is a short study aid, not a replacement for the published English verse. The STEP layer is independent and is not aligned word by word to WEB. Its references and the WEB wording should not be treated as interchangeable.
Select the highlighted word associated with beginning in verse 1 (H7225), then the word associated with spirit in verse 2 (H7307). These are the two lexical entries exposed by the public sample, not a complete Hebrew dictionary. A Strong identifier connects a token with a lexical entry; it is not a theological conclusion.
Use Definition to inspect the entry from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project and Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. Keep this longer lexical definition separate from the short STEP gloss shown beside a token. A dictionary's range of meanings does not mean that every meaning applies to this occurrence.
Use Occurrences to inspect the six source-token samples supplied for each entry. A source token is not necessarily a unique verse, and these first samples are not a complete concordance. Ask what differs in each context before transferring a meaning back to Genesis 1; the source references may differ from WEB.
For example, record the identifier, the gloss, and a question about the occurrence in verse 2. Do not treat a word's possible meanings or its root as proof of a particular reading of this verse. The tool gives you evidence to investigate, not a shortcut around context or language study.
3. Compare the three credited sources
Choose Sources and use the numbered controls to inspect the fixed excerpts from Tyndale Open Study Notes, Biblica Open Study Bible and Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Each card identifies its source and license. These are selected excerpts for the sample, not an exhaustive survey, a search result for your question, or an AI-generated explanation.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale Open Study Notes provides a study-note source. Identify the question the excerpt addresses and the part of the passage it discusses before treating it as support for your own explanation.
Biblica Open Study Bible
Biblica Open Study Bible provides another identified study resource. Compare what the excerpt emphasizes with the Tyndale note, keeping each source's wording and attribution distinct rather than merging them into a single authoritative answer.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is a historical cross-reference resource. Follow a reference as an invitation to read another passage in context, not as proof that two passages must have the same meaning. The imported TSK module is distinct from the modern Enhanced TSK.
For each excerpt, write down the work, the passage or topic it addresses, and what it leaves unanswered. Use View source and License to inspect the linked provenance. The short demo excerpts may omit surrounding arguments; consult the fuller source before quoting it or relying on a claim.
The imported Tyndale and Biblica resources retain CC BY-SA 4.0 attribution and share-alike terms. The specific historical CrossWire TSK module is public domain. Those notices apply to the identified resources, not to every edition or to the guide as a whole.
4. Know what source search and AI can check
In the full study space, Find sources retrieves local library evidence through passage links and work or entry titles and metadata, then reads selected excerpts. It does not run a global semantic search across every library text. Try a focused question tied to the chapter, inspect the result's scope, and revise your terms if the results miss the topic.
A result linked to Genesis 1 may still fail to address your specific question. No result is not evidence that the question has no answer. The selected Bible passage supplies context for research, but it is not automatically one of the retrieved library sources.
Ask AI is a separate, optional action that requires a configured provider. The public demo does not generate answers. Without a provider, the study space reports that AI generation is unavailable while local source search remains available; no provider response is substituted.
When an AI-assisted answer is available, citation checks establish that an identifier belongs to the retrieved sources, not that the cited excerpt supports each claim. Open the source, read the surrounding context, and distinguish its argument from the generated explanation. Leave a question unresolved when the evidence does not support an answer.
5. Keep a small, checkable study record
You can make this record on paper while using the read-only demo. Personal notes and saved reading progress belong to the full study space, not the public sample.
- Passage: WEB Genesis 1:1-4. Write one observation that you can locate in a particular verse and one question that needs wider chapter context.
- Word tool: STEP Genesis 1:1-3, H7225 or H7307. Record whether your evidence is a token gloss, a lexical definition, or an occurrence sample; do not collapse them into one kind of evidence.
- Library source: name the work and the excerpt you inspected. Record what it supports, what remains unclear, and any fuller context you need to read.
- Next step: reread the whole chapter in the study space, check a related passage, or consult a fuller source. Keep your provisional interpretation distinct from the published text and from any generated answer.
Continue with the passage in view
Use the demo to practice moving between reading, the independent Hebrew layer and the three credited sources. For other chapters, edition comparison, fuller library reading and personal study tools, open the study space with a verified account and active access.