Old Testament Reference Books

Guides

Ref Z 7751 .K46 1992

Reference Works for Theological Research: An Annotated Selective Bibliographical Guide. 3d ed. 1991. Kepple and Muether.

 

Ref BR 118 .B28 2000

An Introduction to Theological Research. 2d ed. 2000. Barber and Krauss. Provides an overview of what tools are available and how to use them.

 

Ref Z 7772 .A1 L64 2007

Old Testament Commentary Survey. 4th ed. 2007. Tremper Longman III.

Evaluations of commentaries for every book in the Old Testament also classified by most appropriate audience.

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 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 511.3 .T38 2006
Interpreting the Bible: A Handbook of Terms and Methods. W. Randolph Tate.
A glossary of the terminology used in interpreting the Bible.

Ref BS 1205.55 .D53 2005

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books. Intervarsity, 2005.

Includes signed articles with bibliographies.

Ref BS 1225.52 .D53 2003

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. Intervarsity, 2003.

Includes signed articles with bibliographies.

 

Ref BS 440 .N445 2006
The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by Katharine Doob Sakenfeld.
Signed and unsigned articles. Many with bibliographies. Comprehensive in scope.

Ref BS 440 .A54 1992

Anchor Bible Dictionary. David Noel Freedman, ed. 6 vols.

Includes signed, scholarly 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 BS440 .D495 2005

Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. Kevin Vanhoozer, ed. Baker Academic. Includes signed articles with bibliographies..

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.

Hebrew Word Study Helps

Ref BS 440 .N438 1996

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis.

5 vols. Willem A. VanGemeren, ed. Volume 1 contains the Guide to Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, volumes 1-4 have some 3000 lexical and topical entries, and volume 5 has the cross references and indexes.

 

Ref BS 440 .B5713 1977

Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Botterweck and Ringgren, eds. Known as "TDOT" or "OT Kittel" this translation includes extensive, well-documented articles on OT words and Near Eastern languages. Incomplete, with 12 vols so far.

 

Ref BS 440 .T49

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Harris, Archer and Waltke, eds. 2 vols. Intended to be more practical and less exhaustive than the TDOT.

 

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.