In This Guide:

Why background?

Background sources (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.) provide well established summary and factual information. Useful for:

basic concepts and established viewpoints
historical context and relationships to other topics
specialized terms and definitions
data, facts, formulas

Hebrew Bible

Thomas Dobson (1751-1823) was the first in the United States to publish a complete Hebrew Bible. Wikimedia Commons.

Biblical Studies: Background and Facts

Guide to help you find library resources to help with studies of the Bible.

Reference Books about the Bible (online)

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible
Specialized reference tool providing information on each of the canonical books of the Bible, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important noncanonical texts, and thematic essays on topics such as canonicity, textual criticism, and translation.

Gale eBooks from Gale
Full-text access to 400+ resources covering a broad selection of topics.

Covers arts, business, communication, drama, history, medicine, religion, social science and more.

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception
Provides in-depth knowledge on the origins and development of the Bible in its different canonic forms in Judaism and Christianity. Documents the history of the Bible's reception in the Christian churches and the Jewish Diaspora; in Islam, in other religious traditions and current religious movements, Western and non-Western alike, as well as in literature, art, music, and film. Note: This encyclopedia is currently not complete as it only includes entries A- Hi; it will be updated several times a year until its completion.
Oxford Bibliographies Online - Biblical Studies
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on Biblical studies.

Anchor Bible Dictionary from Logos Research Systems
Available on the Legacy Apps computer in Raynor Library. Ask at the Information Desk.
Digital version of the widely used Biblical reference work.

Critical Companion to the Bible: a literary reference (Martin H. Manser)
Single online user license. 2009. Check MARQCAT record for print availability.
Call number: BS 535 .M34 2009. Location: Memorial Level 1.
A Concise Dictionary of Bible Origins and Interpretation
Unlimited online user license. Check MARQCAT record for print availability.
Call number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .G55 2006
Dictionary of the Old Testament: wisdom, poetry & writings
3 user license. 2008. Check MARQCAT record for print availability.
Call number: Raynor Reference: BS 440 .D53 2008.
Critical Companion to the Bible
Facts On File, c2009.

Reference Books about the Bible (print)

Anchor Bible Dictionary
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS440 .A54 1992 v.1-6

ISBN: 0385193602
Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS440 .Z63 2009 v.1 -5

ISBN: 9780310209737
Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS440 .I63 v.1-4 and Supplement

ISBN: 0687192692
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS1205.55 .D53 2005

ISBN: 0830817824

Single-Volume Guides, Companions, Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Etc.

All the Men of the Bible/All the Women of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 571 .L59 1996
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament by James B. Pritchard
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1180 .P83 1969 (additional copies in Memorial Library)
Almanac of the Bible by Geoffrey Wigoder
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 417 .W48 1991
The Biblical World: A Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology by Charles F. Pfeiffer
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 622 .P4
The Cambridge Companion to the Bible by Bruce Chilton
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 475.3 .C36 2008
Catalogue of English Bible Translations: A Classified Bibliography of Versions and Editions Including Books, Parts, and Old and New Testament Apocrypha and Apocryphal Books by William J. Chamberlin
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 455 .C43 1991
Christian Words by Nigel Turner
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .T87 1982
Cities of the Biblical World: an Introduction to the Archaeology, Geography, and History of Biblical Sites by LaMoine F. DeVries
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 621 .D495 1997
A Dictionary of Life in Bible Times by Edouard Urech, Arthur Heathcote
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 621 .C653 1960
English Bible from KJV to NIV: A History and Evaluation by Jack P. Lewis
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 455 .L38 1991
A Guide to the New Testament by Francis Watson
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .W38 1987
Handbook for Biblical Studies by Nicholas Turner
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 417 .T78
Handbook of Biblical Criticism by Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendell Soulen
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 511.2 .S68 2001
Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters by Donald K. McKim
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 501.A1 H57 1998 (additional copy in Memorial Library)
Illustrated Guide to the Bible by J. R. Porter
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 635.2 .P67 1995
Introductory Bibliography for the Study of Scripture by Joseph A. Fitzmyer
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 600.2 .F58 1990
IVP Atlas of Bible History by Paul Lawrence, et al.
Call Number: Raynor Reference G2230 .L39 2006
Language of the King James Bible: A Glossary Explaining its Words and Expressions by Melvin E. Elliott
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 186 .E4
Lector’s Guide to Biblical Pronunciations by Joseph M. Staudacher
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 435 .S7 1979
Literary-Critical Approaches to the Bible: A Bibliographical Supplement by Mark Minor
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 511.2 .M66 1992
Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study by Frederick W. Danker
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 417 .D3 2003
The Other Bible: Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Christian Apocrypha, Gnostic Scriptures, Kabbalah, Dead Sea Scrolls by Willis Barnstone
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1695 .O87 2005
The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .M434 1993
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 570 .O94 2001b
Pictorial Biblical Encyclopedia: A Visual Guide to the Old and New Testaments by Gaalyahu Cornfeld
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .C63 1964a
Roget’s Thesaurus of the Bible by A. Colin Day
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 432 .D38 1997
The Sacred Bridge: Carta's Atlas of the Biblical World by Anson F. Rainey, et al.
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 630 .R356 2006
Scripture Index to the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Index to Selected Extrabiblical Literature by David Townsley and Russell Bjork
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2397 .N483 T68 1985
Scriptures of the World: A Compilation of the 2,018 Languages in Which at Least One Book of the Bible Has Been Published since the Bible Was First Printed by Johann Gutenberg by Liana Lupas and Erroll F. Rhodes
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 450 .S36 1992
So Many Versions? Twentieth-century English Versions of the Bible by Sakae Kubo and Walter F. Specht
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 455 .K8 1983
Understanding the Old Testament: An Introductory Atlas to the Hebrew Bible by Baruch Sarel
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1197 .S374 1997
Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible by Donald E. Gowan
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS543 .W47 2003
Who's Who in the Age of Jesus by Geza Vermes
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 570 .V47 2005
Who’s Who in the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 570 .R43 1994
Who’s Who in the Gospels by H. A. Guy
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .G8 1966
Women in Scripture: a Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament by Carol Meyers
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS575 .W593 2000
Words about the Word: A Guide to Choosing and Using Your Bible by John R. Kohlenberger
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 132 .K64 1987

Single-Volume Concordances

Analytical Concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament by Clinton Morrison
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2305 .M67
Analytical Concordance to the New Revised Standard Version of the New Testament by Richard E. Whitaker and John R. Kohlenberger, III
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2305 .W45 2000
Complete Concordance to the Bible (Douay Version) by Newton Thompson and Raymond Stock
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .T45 1945
Concordance to the Greek Testament According to the Texts of Westcott and Hort, Tischendorf and the English Revisers by W. F. Moulton, A. S. Geden, and H. K Moulton
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2302 .M8 1963
Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (Including the Apocryphal Books) by Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1122 .H3 1998
The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament: Coded with the Numbering System from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2302 .W495 1996

Reprinted from the ninth edition originally published by Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, 1903, with Strong's numbering added by Hendrickson Publishers.
The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament: Coded with the Numbering System from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1125 .W5 1996

Reprinted from the third edition originally published by Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, 1874, 1963.
Hebrew English Concordance to the Old Testament with the New International Version by John R. Kohlenberger III and James A. Swanson
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 1121 .K65 1998
Nelson’s Complete Concordance of the New American Bible by Stephen J. Hartdegen
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .H27
Nelson’s Complete Concordance of the Revised Standard Version Bible by John W. Ellison
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .E4 1972
The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible [King James Version] by James Strong
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .S8 2001
NIV [New International Version] Exhaustive Concordance by Edward W. Goodrick and John R. Kohlenberger III
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .G62 1990
NRSV [New Revised Standard Version] Concordance Unabridged: Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books by John R. Kohlenberger III
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .K645 1991
The Word Study Concordance: A Modern, Improved, and Enlarged Version of both The Englishmen’s Greek Concordance and The New Englishman’s Greek Concordance by George V. Wigram and Ralph D. Winter
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2305 .W53
Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible [King James Version] by Robert Young
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .Y7 1982
The Zondervan Expanded Concordance
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 425 .Z6

Covers King James, Amplified Bible, Berkeley Version in Modern English, American Standard Version, New English Bible, Phillips, Revised Standard Version, New Scofield Bible.

Single-Volume Dictionaries and Lexikons

Biblical Studies on the Internet: A Resource Guide by Roland H. Worth, Jr.
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS600.3 .W67 2008
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
Call Number: Raynor Reference PJ4833 .B68 1996

Originally published under title: A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906.
Concise Dictionary of the English Bible and Its Origins by Alec Gilmore
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .G55 2006
Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, et al.
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .D493 2005
Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation by Stanley E. Porter
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .D493 2007
Dictionary of Biblical Imagery by Leland Ryken, et al.
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 537 .D48 1998
A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation by R. J. Cogginds and J. L. Houlden
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .D494 1990
Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation by John H. Hayes
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS500 .D5 1999
Dictionary of Biblical Theology by Xavier Léon-Dufour
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 543 .A1 L413 1973
Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) by Karel van de Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. van der Horst
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 680 .G57 D53 1999
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels by Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2555.2 .D53 1992
Dictionary of New Testament Background by Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .D534 2000
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters by Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2650.2 .D53 1993
Dictionary of Proper Names and Places in the Bible by O. Odelain, R. Séguineau, and Matthew J. O’Connell
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 435 .O3313
Dictionary of the Bible by W. R. F. Browning
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .N445 2006
Dictionary of the English Bible and Its Origins by Alec Gilmore
Call Number: Memorial Library BS 440 .G55 2001
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments by Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2625.5 .D53 1997
Dictionary of the New Testament by Xavier Léon-Dufour, Terrence Prendergast
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .L413 1980
Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible by David Noel Freedman
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS440 .E44 2000
English Language Bible Translators by William E. Paul
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS455 .P28 2003
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words by Stephen D. Renn
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .E97 2005
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology by Walter A. Elwell
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .E78 1996
A Greek-English Lexicon by Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott
Call Number: Raynor Reference PA445.E5 L6 1996

This edition combines the text of the ninth edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon with an extensively revised and expanded supplement.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by Frederick W. Danker
Call Number: Raynor Reference PA881 .B38 2000
HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achtemeier
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .H235 1996
IVP Dictionary of the New Testament: a One-volume Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship by Daniel G. Reid
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS2312 .I89 2004
Mercer Dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .M429 1990
The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .G4
The Revell Bible Dictionary by Lawrence O. Richards
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 440 .R484 1990
The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric by David E. Aune
Call Number: Raynor Reference BS 2312 .A86 2003