Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Generally good places to begin your research. Provide brief to extensive overviews of topics and sometimes helpful bibliographies.
Ref BS 440 E 539x 2009
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. (2009-)
Pursues a twofold task: (1) recording the current knowledge of the origins and development of the Bible in its Jewish and Christian canonical forms and (2) documenting the history of the Bible's reception in Judaism and Christianity.
Ref BT 303.2 .E56 2008
Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus. Edited by Craig A. Evans.
Focuses on Jesus of Nazareth as a person of history.
Ref BS 501 A1 H57 2007
Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters. Edited by Donald K. McKim.
Focuses on the most significant biblical interpreters of the last two thousand years, their methods, stances, and interpretive practices. Signed articles with bibliographies.
Ref BS 511.3 .D496x 2007
Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation. Edited by Stanley E. Porter.
A guide to the major issues, approaches, and people important in the development of biblical criticism and interpretation. Signed articles with bibliographies.
Ref BS 440 .A54 1992
Anchor Bible Dictionary. David Noel Freedman, ed. 6 vols
Includes signed, scholarly articles with bibliographies.
Ref BS440 .D495 2005
Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. Kevin Vanhoozer, ed. Baker Academic. Includes signed articles with bibliographies.
Ref BS 440 .B26 1988
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Walter A. Elwell, ed. 2 vols
Over 5,000 articles by 200 international evangelical scholars.
Ref BS 440 .D53x 1992
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Green and McKnight, eds.
From an evangelical critical perspective, focusing on Jesus and the Gospels.
Ref BS 2650.2 .D53 1993
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Hawthorn and Martin, eds.
Companion to the above dictionary, has articles ranging from critical to conservative on all aspects of Pauline studies.
Ref BS 2625.5 .D53 1997
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments. Martin and Davids, eds. Companion to the above two dictionaries, covers Hebrews, James, Jude, First and Second Peter, Acts, Revelation, and related issues.
Ref BS 2410 .D53x 2000
Dictionary of New Testament Background. IVP. Evans and Porter, eds.
A companion volume to the above three dictionaries, covers some 300 topics relevant to understanding the background of the New Testament.
Ref BS 440 .Z63
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Merrill C. Tenney, ed. 5 vols. Written by evangelicals, but other viewpoints are represented.
Bible Atlases
Ref G 2230 .A2 2002
The Carta Bible Atlas, Jerusalem: Carta, 2002
Ref G 2230 .B44 1985
The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, Chicago: Moody Press, 1985.
Ref BS 630 .R356 2006
The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World, Jerusalem: Carta, 2006.
Greek Word Study Helps
Ref PA 881 .T4713
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Kittel and Friedrich, eds. 10 vols. Known as "Kittel" or "TDNT" this is the English translation of the 1932 German work. Although now somewhat dated, the long, scholarly articles are still useful for analyzing the background of NT words.
Ref BS 2312 .N48 1975
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Colin Brown, ed. 3 vols. A more conservative complement to Kittel.
Ref BS2312 .E913 1990
Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider, eds. 3 vols.
Ref BS 543 .W47 2003
The Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible. Donald Gowan, ed. Intended for readers who do not know the biblical languages.
