Divinity: Biblical Studies
Guide to Resources in Divinity
Contents
Getting started
Good places to begin research on a topic or get a feel for a subject
- reference works
- introductory works
- e-books
Searching with Atla Religion Database
Using the primary online tool for discovering resources in Biblical Studies
Internet resources
Links to websites and online tools - particularly helpful for working with biblical languages
Going further
Suggestions for resources for more in-depth study
Biblical languages resources
Dictionaries, grammars, study tools as well as texts of the Old and New Testaments
Major reference works
Multi-volume theological dictionaries and encyclopedias
Bibledex videos
A series of short videos on every book of the Bible.
Search the Library
Bible versions
English Translation
The translation recommended by the School of Divinity is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
- Print copies are in St Mary's College Library at BS195.N48F95
- e-book of the NRSV (annotated edition)
- Online versions are also available, e.g. at BibleGateway
Hebrew Bible texts
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible (online)
- Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) various editions, e.g. BS15.F78 / BS715.E6F67
- Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) BS715.B5 (NB: In preparation)
- (English translation) The Jewish Study Bible [NJV/JPS version] BS895.J4F99G14
Greek New Testament texts
- SBL Greek New Testament (online)
- Nestle & Aland, Novum Testamentum graece, 28th ed. Online and at BS1965.G12
- Aland et al. [United Bible Societies] Greek New Testament, 4th rev ed BS1965.A6
- Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior - NB only the volumes for Acts 1-14 and Catholic Epistles have been published to date (other vols in preparation)
Getting started - reference works
Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide short helpful summaries and useful bibliographies. These can be found in the Reference sections of St Mary's Library (next to Library service desk) and in the Main Library (top floor). A number are also available online. Some key titles are:
The Anchor Bible dictionaryThis is a great place to start. Its 6 volumes contain more than 6,000 articles written by leading scholars. As well as being very thorough it is also extremely accessible. Many of the articles include helpful bibliographies to point you in the right direction for further study.
IVP Dictionary seriesAn excellent range of dictionaries covering the whole Bible:
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
Dictionary of Paul and his Letters
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments
Dictionary of New Testament Background
New International Dictionary of New Testament TheologyConcise discussions of the major theological terms of the New Testament. As entries are arranged in English alphabetical order, it is particularly useful for those who don't have a background in Greek.
New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and ExegesisThe companion set for the Old Testament is extremely useful in getting a clear understanding of the meaning of Hebrew and Aramaic words.
Getting started 2 - introductory works
The library has a number of very useful introductory works to help you find your way around the Old and New Testaments and point you in the right direction for further study. These include the following.
Exploring the Old TestamentGreat introductions to the various parts of the Old Testament with volumes on:
- The Pentateuch
- The History books
- The Psalms and Wisdom Literature
- The Prophets
Exploring the New TestamentOverviews of the NT literature with separate volumes on:
- The Gospels and Acts
- The Letters and Revelation
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible - John J. CollinsOther good introductions for Old Testament study include:
- Frick: A Journey through the Hebrew Scriptures BS1140.2F8G03
- Soggin: Introduction to the Old Testament BS1140.2S7B7F89
- Rogerson & Davies: The Old Testament World BS1171.2R7D2G05
- Barton & Bowden: The Original Story BS1171.3B2
Introducing the New Testament - Mark Allan PowellJust one of a number of very useful introductions. Others include:
- Carson & Moo: An Introduction to the New Testament BS2330.3C2
- Duling: The New Testament BS2350.P4F94
- Achtemeier, Green & Thompson: Introducing the New Testament : its literature and theology BS2330.3A3
Getting started 3 - e-books
Cambridge Companions seriesCambridge Companions are one-volume introductions to major topics and figures. They include key articles written by leading scholars in the field and provide an excellent way into a subject. The series includes volumes on Jesus, Paul, the Gospels and Biblical Interpretation.
Oxford Companion to the BibleA helpful one-volume reference to the people, places, events, books, institutions, religious belief, and secular influence of the Bible.
Searching Atla Religion Database for Biblical Studies resources
Atla RDB is the most comprehensive resource for finding Biblical Studies materials. As well as general searches using keywords (see guide here), it also has the facility to search for articles and books on specific chapters and verses in the Bible.
E.g. to find articles on Genesis
| Click the "Scriptures" tab at the top of the page. | .jpg) |
| Click on Genesis to display a list of articles and books on the whole of Genesis |  |
| OR click on [Expand] for a list of chapters - clicking one of these will display a list of articles on that particular chapter |  |
| OR click on [Expand] for a list of verses in that chapter - clicking one of these will display a list of articles on that verse. |  |
You may well get a large number of results from your search, some of which will be more relevant than others. To find the most useful results, see the information on Refining your search in the guide to searching with Atla RDB.
Going further
Here are some resources you may useful for advanced study:
Reference worksThe Library has print versions of most of the major Biblical Studies dictionaries and encyclopedias. Some - such as Encyclopedia Judaica are also available in digital format. Significant multi-volume works are listed in the Reference works box below.
Commentary seriesThe Library has a huge number of biblical commentaries in print. Some of these are in the Library store, but can be found and requested via Library search. If you need to locate commentaries on a particular book of the Bible, a list of the major series is available at http://bestcommentaries.com/
JournalsWe have online access to a large number of Biblical Studies journals - search for articles using Library search or Atla Religion Database. Print journals can be found in the Main Library, mostly at per BS classmarks.
Sources for Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds to the study of the New TestamentAn extensive reading list of sources and reference works
Biblical languages resources: Old Testament / Hebrew Bible
Dictionaries, grammars and study aids
- Brown, Driver & Briggs, A Hebrew and English lexicon of the Old Testament Ref PJ4833.B68G10 (plus index at Ref BS443.G3E5)
- Koehler & Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament Ref BS443.K7B2R5
- Hatch & Redpath, A concordance to the Septuagint and the other Greek versions of the Old Testament Ref BS422.H2F98
- Owens, Analytical key to the Old Testament (4 vols) Ref BS1235.O8F89
- Weingreen, A practical grammar for classical Hebrew PJ4564.W4F59
- Davidson, An introductory Hebrew grammar PJ4564.D2F66
- Davidson, Hebrew syntax PJ4564.D2S9F89
- Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics - available online (NB: in preparation)
Biblical languages resources: New Testament
Dictionaries, grammars and study aids
- Bauer, A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament Ref BS2312.A8G00
- Decker, Reading Koine Greek: an introduction and integrated workbook PA817.D4
- Kubo, A reader's Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament PA881.K8
- Liddell, Scott & Jones, A Greek-English lexicon PA445.E6L5F68
- Mounce, Basics of biblical Greek grammar PA817.M7G8 (plus workbook at PA817.M7)
- Van Voorst, Building your New Testament Greek vocabulary PA881.V2
- Zerwick & Grosvenor, A grammatical analysis of the Greek New Testament BS2325.Z4
- Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics [online]
Major reference works
In addition to those listed in 'Getting Started' above, here are some dictionaries and encyclopedias which are good information sources for studying Theology.
Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation by This two-volume set contains essays on the history of the interpretation of the various biblical books, ancient and modern individuals who have made significant contributions, and the numerous methods and movements related to biblical interpretation. Also useful is the older one-volume Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation (eds. Coggins & Houlden) at Ref BS440.C7.
Theological Lexicon of the New TestamentThis lexicon makes use of a vast array of resources from papyri to classical writings to uncover the theological meaning of words in the Greek New Testament.
Theological Lexicon of the Old TestamentIn-depth and wide-ranging investigations of the historical, semantic, and theological meanings of Old Testament concepts. The Lexicon evaluates each term’s theological relevance by clearly describing its actual usage in the language.
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea scrollsCall Number: Ref BM487.E6 (also online)With contributions from 100 distinguished scholars, this is the most comprehensive critical synthesis of recent knowledge about the Dead Sea scrolls, and their historical, archaeological, linguistic and religious contexts. Available in print and online.
Encyclopedia of the Bible and its receptionCall Number: Main Library BS440.E63A major new reference work which is set to become the standard resource for reception history scholarship as well as for work on the origins and development of the Bible. The first few of a projected 30 volumes have been published to date.
Theological Dictionary of the New TestamentExtremely useful if you have a reasonable level of Greek, this 10 volume dictionary has entries for every significant Greek word of the NT featuring highly detailed articles along with bibliographies.
Theological Dictionary of the Old TestamentThe TDOT is widely acknowledged as one of the most important reference tools for the study of the Bible. Each entry provides a thorough etymological analysis of the Hebrew roots and their derivatives within the context of Semitic and cognate languages, as well as Septuagint, New Testament, and extracanonical usages.
Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics onlineThe Encyclopedia offers a systematic and comprehensive treatment of all aspects of the history and study of the Hebrew language from its earliest attested form to the present day. The online version features advanced search options, as well as extensive cross-references and full-text search functionality using the Hebrew character set.
[N.B. For correct display of diacritics download the Brill Truetype font Brill and for correct display of Hebrew download SBL Hebrew]
Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics onlineThe Encyclopedia brings together the latest research from a range of disciplines which contribute to the knowledge of Ancient Greek. Full-text articles cover a wide-range of topics such as the Greek of various sources (texts, manuscripts, inscriptions, reading traditions), major grammatical features (phonology, morphology, and syntax), lexicon, script and paleography, theoretical linguistic approaches, etc.
[NB: for the correct display of diacritics download the Brill Truetype font Brill]
New Pauly onlineThis is the primary reference resource for scholars of the ancient world, providing authorative entries on all aspects of classical antiquity. There are a large number of entries on Christianity and Judaism as well as other religions and philiosophies of the Graeco-Roman world in the period from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe.
Sources for Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds to the study of the New Testament (bibliography)This is an annotated online bibliography which will be helpful for anyone undertaking research work in the area of backgrounds to the New Testament. It includes links to records for the works listed and direct access to online publications.
- Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library - Biblical Texts This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive online tool for the study of the biblical texts found at Qumran and related sites in the Judean Desert. It offers transcriptions (texts), translations, images, an inventory, and tools for carrying out searches and viewing the images of the Dead Sea Scrolls biblical texts.
- Textual History of the Bible Online This link opens in a new windowA cross-searchable platform containing all available information regarding the textual history, textual character, translation techniques, manuscripts, and the importance of each textual witness for each book of the Hebrew Bible.
Bibledex videos
This series of short videos on every book of the Bible features members of the theology department at University of Nottingham, including Anthony Thiselton, John Milbank, Philip Goodchild, and Karen Kilby. As well as covering every book of the Bible, there's a series of videos on individual verses and geographical locations.
Detail of the crest of St Mary's College
Internet resources for Biblical Studies
A selection of useful Web resources: mouse over the titles to see what they cover.
- Pelagios map of the Greco-Roman worldA high-quality, scalable and searchable map of the Mediterranean world with ancient place-names and features marked.
- NRSV Bible text (Oremus Bible Browser)Handy online version of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, plus some other translations
- New Testament GatewayAward-winning web directory of internet resources on the New Testament. Browse or search annotated links on everything connected with the academic study of the New Testament and Christian Origins.
- SBL Greek New TestamentA new, critically edited edition of the Greek New Testament.
- Great Treasures (formerly Greek Bible Study)This hugely useful tool for study of New Testament in Greek includes side-by-side translations plus one-click word study for definitions, translation and cross references.
- The Five Gospels ParallelsTexts of the Gospels side-by-side for comparison purposes, plus Q, Pauline and non-canonical texts.
- The Fourth Gospel and John's EpistlesOld-fashioned looking, but comprehensive.
- Old Testament GatewayA comprehensive, annotated, academic directory of internet sites on the Old Testament.
- Navigating the Bible II (Hebrew Bible text)The Jewish Bible text with commentary, plus sound files of Torah reading in Hebrew.
- iTanakh (Hebrew bible resources)Indexes internet resources of use in the academic study and teaching of the Hebrew Bible.
- Resource Pages for Biblical StudiesThese pages are intended as a resource for serious, scholarly studies of the early Christian writings and their social world.
- All-in-One Biblical Resources SearchBrings together a host of tools for studying the Bible and the biblical world: interlinear texts, lexicons, texts from the ancient world and much more.
- Bible ResearchDetailed
information on the history of the canon, texts, and versions of Scripture. - EIKON: Image Database for Biblical StudiesA host of images including photographs of biblical sites, works of ancient art and architecture, and objects from the biblical period.
- Resources for New Testament ExegesisAn exhaustive list of online resources for NT exegesis prepared by Provided by: Roy E. Ciampa, Associate Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
- Desktop Two (tools for research)Roy Ciampa's wonderfully compact page of research links and tools is well worth book-marking as a handy jumping-off point for research.
- Tyndale House online resourcesTyndale House is a Biblical study centre in Cambridge. Their online resources page includes tools such as special fonts, dictionaries, lexicons and Bible texts.
- Tyndale Tech electronic resourcesAlso really useful is the Tyndale Tech blog which posts news about a huge variety of tools that will be useful for Biblical Studies research and learning and teaching: maps, texts, fonts, language and technical aids, etc.
- Tyndale ToolbarFind online books, read 70+ Bible versions, translation tools and much more
- N. T. Wright PageA collection of Prof Wright's articles, lectures, audio, video and more.
- PaleoJudaica.comProf Davila's blog on ancient Judaism and its context. A great way to keep up-to-date with what's new in the field plus a huge number of useful links to texts and online resources.
- The Septuagint OnlineThis source provides a thumbnail sketch of what is available in texts and translations of the Septuagint, and includes bibliographies of important works on the Septuagint.
- New English Translation of the SeptuagintThis is the most recent English translation of the Septuagint (edited by Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright; New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
- Academic RoomA new and growing online platform that was developed at Harvard University to facilitate interdisciplinary engagements among scholars and researchers around the world. It plans to make videos, audio and texts available and to provide a forum for discussion. Already in place: video of lectures from Dale Martin's course in Introduction to New Testament History and Literature.
- Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds for NT StudiesA comprehensive list of sources for Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds to the study of the New Testament
- Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new windowA major collection of Classical texts in Greek and Latin with English translation. Includes Josephus, Church Fathers etc.
- STEP BibleA useful tool from Tyndale House you can use to search for Bibles, commentaries, passages, etc
- Thesaurus Lingua Graecae (TLG): a digital library of Greek literature This link opens in a new windowThe TLG database contains most surviving literary texts written in Greek from Homer to the late medieval period. [N.B. It's necessary to create an account in order to search the database. This enables you to use personalisation features such as saved searches.]
- BiblIndexA searchable index of biblical references found in Christian literature (both Western and Eastern texts), covering the three first centuries, along with part of the fourth.