Your Bible Study Toolbox

Once you've selected a translation and a study bible, you can begin to read and study your new Bible. But soon, you'll find that the study bible is lacking in some feature you wish you had; or, while you were selecting your study bible you saw a feature in another bible that you think would be beneficial. So do you go buy another study bible? Probably not. Almost all the features of a good study bible can be found in single volume books dedicated to such things.

For instance, if the introductory matter for each book seems lacking, you can find this in a good Bible Handbook. If your concordance seems to be limited in the number of entries or verses for each entry, that is typical of the condensed information that would be found in the appendix of your study bible. Maps seem to be small and limited; look to a good atlas. The list goes on and on and on some more.

So what types of books are the most helpful? It depends on what your interests in study are. I relate well to where things are geographically. After two trips to Israel, I have a sense for the lay of the land, so putting things in place geographically helps me to visualize what I'm studying. I also have an interest in the history and archaeology of the land as well as exegetical commentaries. But that's me. Where are your interests and needs?

In my last post, So What About Study Bibles?, I pointed you to a handy guide at Zondervan for some pointers on choosing a study Bible. If you dig deeper on this site, they also have suggestions for building a core library and for expanding your library. I'm not certain that I would make a distinction between the two, but rather would point you to the types of references that meet your needs. One thing I have found is that if you are studying your bible and think, "I wish there was a reference on . . ." there probably is.

So what are the different types of references?

Bible Handbook – Bible handbooks provide background notes regarding each book of the Bible, the author, date and place of writing, purpose of the book and its intended audience, outline, commentary and illustrations.

Concordance – A concordance lists common words found in the Bible and lists verses where the word is found. Concordances come in a variety of versions: concise, compact, complete, unabridged and exhaustive; and are version specific. With the number of bible search engines such as Search God's Word, Bible Gateway and others, access to the world-wide web almost makes concordances obsolete.

Topical Bible – A topical bible is similar to a concordance, but rather than providing information by word, the information is categorized by topic.

Bible Dictionary – Bible Dictionaries provide detailed information about people, places, words, and events in the Bible. Bible dictionaries are similar to single-volume encyclopedias.

Commentary – Commentaries are single- or multi-volume works that explain the meaning of specific Bible passages. Commentaries are written for a number of different audiences and purposes from devotional to exegetical uses and everywhere in between. Commentaries will generally support the theological position of the series editor or author.

Atlas – Atlases provide information regarding the culture, climate, geography, geology, etc. for the bible lands. Typically an atlas will include interpretations of major military campaigns, emigration routes, ancient borders, timelines and archaeological information.

History and Biography – History books by ancient authors such as Josephus, Philo as well as more modern historians such as Alfred Edersheim, Walter Kaiser, Eugene Merrill, Emil Schurer and Philip Schaff provide excellent background information on the political and social climate of a specific location at a specific time. Biographies will provide information about both the life and times of specific individuals.

Theological Works – Theological texts and doctrinal books help clarify the finer points of what the Scriptures teach.

Language Guides – Yes, language. There are language helps for the novice which help explain the words of Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek. You don't have to know the language to use the helps. An example of such a work is William Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words; another is the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible which is available in a variety of bindings and transations including the KJV, NASB and NIV. These type of references will help in understanding the reasons for the variations in English translations and the background of the original language words. Just remember, a little knowledge can be dangerous.

Software – There are several very good programs available for Bible study. Some have relatively simple capabilities such as limited bible versions and rudimentary search capabilities and others are high end, high cost tools which include hundreds of books and tools that include language studies complete with syntax and grammar. These tools are availble for PCs, Macs and PDAs (including some phones and Blackberrys).

A word of warning, though. There are a lot of reference works available. Some are worth their weight in gold while others are, to my way of thinking, not worth the paper they're written on. The old adage that "you can't judge a book by its cover" is particularly important when selecting a reference work. Do your homework; don't impulse buy; and find out what others are saying about what they use and what they don't.