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Basic Resources

FOR ENGLISH BIBLE STUDY

By Bernie L. Gillespie © March 11, 2000 All Rights Reserved

These are a few practical helps that can be used to make personal Bible study more effective.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

One translation that is seasoned and conservative.

  • King James

  • New American Standard Bible

  • New Kings James (has an easier reading style)

  • New Revised Standard (most scholarly)

One modern translation that has a more fluid reading style.

  • New International Version, Zondervan

  • New English Bible, Oxford - Cambridge

The New Testament From 26 Translations [Zondervan]

  • Compares a number of translation for a given phrase of the Bible.

The New Living Translation (Tyndale)

  • Good for reading broad sections in more cursory style and for colloquial language.

Be careful not to use the Living Bible, The Message, Today's English Version, and Amplified Bible for serious Bible study.  While they use more contemporary language, they also take many liberties in translation.

Children's Versions

  • The New Living Translation

  • International Children’s Bible, Word Pub. 1988

ANNOTATED BIBLES

Be careful not to depend upon such bibles as the Scofield Reference Bible and the Thompson Chain Reference. They have a value, but it is easy to lean upon them, rather than do you own Bible study work.

The Thompson Chain Reference could be used for its extensive reference system.

The Ryrie Study Bible is a good example of an annotated Bible that is helpful to beginners.

I would recommend these two Bible as excellent study Bibles:

  • MacArthur Study Bible, by John MacArthur

  • The Geneva Bible, by R. C. Sproul

BIBLE STUDY GUIDES

How to Understand Your Bible by T. Norton Sterrett, IVP, 1974

Knowing Scripture by R. C. Sproul, IVP, 1977

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, Zondervan, 1982

The Symphony of Scripture by Mark Strom, IVP, 1990

CONCORDANCES

Three main ones:

  • Young's

  • Crudens

  • Strong's (I would recommend this one)

BIBLE DICTIONARIES

The New Bible Dictionary by J.D. Douglas [Eerdmans] or The New International Bible Dictionary also by Douglas and Tenney.

Unger's Bible Dictionary [Moody Press]

Dictionary of the Bible by James Hastings

BIBLE ATLAS OR CHARTS

Bible Maps and Charts by Nelson, 1994 (Excellent for size and content. Very handy reference of tables, charts, maps, timelines for visualizing Bible events)

Atlas of the Bible Lands by Hammond

Baker's Bible Atlas by C.F. Pfeiffer

BIBLE GEOGRAPHY

Discovering the World of the Bible by Lamar C. Berrett, [Nelson]

The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands, by Pfeiffer and Vos, [Moody Press]

BIBLE HANDBOOKS

The New Unger's Bible Handbook [Moody Press, 1998]

Halley's Bible Handbook [Moody Press]

Eerdman's Handbook to the Bible (I would recommend this one, though Unger’s is a fine and handy reference.)

BIBLE SURVEY (they give you a synopsis of each book of the Bible)

Old Testament Survey by LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush [Eerdmans]

New Testament by Donald Guthrie

BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible by Walter Elwell

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [Eerdmans]

BIBLE ALMANAC

The Bible Almanac by Packer, Tenney, & White

INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

A General Introduction to the Bible by Geisler & Nix [Moody Press]

How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken [Academie Books]

How to the Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Fee & Stuart [Zondervan]

WORD STUDIES

EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT WORDS by W. E. Vine [Revell]

DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY by Colin Brown [Zondervan] (More scholarly work and for the more serious student)

BIBLE COMMENTARIES

One Volume

  • The Wycliffe Bible Commentary [Moody Press]

  • The IVP Bible Background Commentary by Craig S. Keener [InterVarsity Press]

  • Elwell has a one-volume commentary

Multi-Volume

  • Tyndale Old & New Testament Commentaries [Eerdmans]

  • Expositor's Bible Commentaries by Gaebelein [Zondervan]

  • Word Biblical Commentary [Word Books, Inc.] (This is a very sophisticated critical commentary set and is for the advanced student with biblical language skills)

THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology by Walter Elwell [Baker Book House] (This is a reference for the student who wants to explore the theological terms used by theologians)

HANDBOOKS OF CHRISTIAN BELIEF

Know the Truth by Bruce Milne, IVP, 1998

In Understanding Be Men by T. C. Hammond, IVP, 1958 (Long out of print, but very much worth looking for)

Putting Amazing Back Into Grace by Michael Horton, Baker 1991

CHURCH HISTORY - One Volume

Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley, Word, 1995 (Excellent one volume for its accuracy and readability.)

A History of the Christian Church by Williston Walker (This is the Academic standard in one volume Church histories; for the more serious student.)

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

The least expensive Bible study program is "The Online Bible" by Online U.S.A. It is best for one who wants to do basic searches with little expense.

A level up is Parson Technologies "Quickverse" There are several editions with graduated features at corresponding expense. I would say that Quickverse gives the most features and ease of use for the money, if you are doing English Bible Study.

BibleSoft has a nice array of Bible reference software. This software moves up in price from those above, but it offers more as well. It is a medium range resource for those between basic English Bible study and those more academic, original language students.

There are several other companies that offer products with which I am not familiar. I will name them and reserve comments until I have examined them. They are (with publisher in parenthesis):

  • NAS Electronic Bible

  • Library (Foundation)

  • Bible Explorer (Epiphany)

  • John MacArthur's Electronic Bible Study Library (Nelson)

  • The Bible Library (Talicor)

On the serious side are two powerful software products. The first is by Logos called "Logos Bible Reference Series". Logos offers a number of add-on reference works to the base program. Many of these are outstanding and top of the line. My one complaint is that after one buys all the add-ons needed more would be spent than by purchasing Hermeneutika's "BibleWorks" integrated program. I have "BibleWorks 4.0". My personal opinion is that nothing touches it. It is more expensive initially, but actually less in the long run (after you purchase many Logos add-ons). I know a number of seminary professors who use this program and rave about it. Obviously, these last two programs are for the very serious and advanced student of the Bible in its original languages.

Other reference software I have found helpful is:

  • "Sage Librarian" by SAGE Software. This is an excellent resource for Bible translations, Commentaries, Biographies, Maps, Writings by Edwards, Calvin, Spurgeon, Moody, Wesley, etc. The historical section contains the entire Ante, Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers.

  • "The Jonathan Edward's Collection" by NavPress Software. A thorough collection for anyone who desires to study America's greatest thinker and maybe the Church's greatest theologian.

  • "WORDsearchBible" by NavPress Software. This is a great resource of Christian references. Contains commentaries, Bible reading schedule, Bible book outlines, viewed and searchable through Acrobat Reader.

  • "Pathways Through Jerusalem" by FutureVision. Having visited Jerusalem personally, I find the information factual and very helpful for organizing a large amount of knowledge. I found the characters used to personify the themes to be corny or a distraction, but beyond that, it is an excellent source for study Jerusalem.

  • "The Ages Digital Library" is a rich and extensive collection for studying Reformation history. The collection of historical writings is an excellent sample; contains a Martin Luther collection, theology issues, and a marvelous collection of art work.
 

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