Getting started
Links to helpful resources for staring work in Divinity sub-disciplines

Going further - searching for resources
3 key tools to help you track down information

Bible versions
English translation, Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament

Online reading lists for Divinity

New books on religion in the Library

Referencing
How to cite references in Divinity assignments

Online reading lists are available for most undergraduate and some postgraduate Divinity modules. Search for your module on the Online Reading Lists home page.

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)

Divinity books are available in two locations - St Mary's College Library and the Main Library. Information on locations, opening hours etc is on the Library spaces page.

If you're starting study on a topic and are looking for a quick way into the subject, the links below provide a few suggestions for good places to begin.

These are the most useful search tools for finding Divinity resources in the library or on the Web.

Library Search searches across all of the resources the Library has in print and online: books, journal articles, book reviews, theses, and much more. 

Atla Religion Database (Atla RDB) contains details of a million+ journal articles, book reviews and essays on Theology and Biblical Studies, and links directly to the full text of a large number of these. (See our guide to searching Atla RDB.)

It's standard practice to ensure that all sources of information used in a piece of writing are acknowledged by citing them in the text and listing the references at the end of the work.  Each reference should include enough information for the reader of the work to identify and find the material to which you have referred.

There are two main styles of referencing used for Divinity assignments and research:

1. Chicago citation style
The School of Divinity requires that all coursework submitted for assessment is formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style.
Library guide | Quick guide | Full manual

[Note: The Chicago Manual of Style allows for references to be formatted as either “notes and bibliography” or “author-date”. You should use the “notes and bibliography” format in assignments except where your module coordinator explicitly requires “author-date”.]

2. SBL citation style

The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) has developed a variant of the Chicago citation style specially tailored for work in Biblical Studies. This is outlined in their style guide, The SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed., 2014).
e-book | Print version | Student supplement (includes guidelines for formatting citations and bibliographies for essays and dissertations)

Reference management software

Bibliographic management software allows you to create a bibliography and footnotes in a preferred citation style by importing references from text files or online databases.  See our guide for more information.

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