BIBLE REFERENCE BOOKS
There are many reference books which will help you to understand the Bible. Here are some suggestions I have found useful.
CONCORDANCES
These
tell you all the places where you will find a particular word in the
Bible. If you know a verse - for example “The Lord is my
Shepherd” - but don’t know where it comes in the Bible,
look up “shepherd” and you will find all the references to
shepherds in the Bible. Somewhere in the list will be Psalm 23.1, the
verse you are looking for. You can also use a concordance to build up a
picture of what the Bible says about a topic – for example, what
it says about shepherds.
Some Bibles
include a concordance or word list, but you can buy them separately, or
find them online in the form of searchable Bibles
(http://bible.gospelcom.net/) have an easy to use version.
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE BIBLE
A Pocket
Guide to the Bible by Kevin O’Donnell (Lion ISBN: 0745951317
£6.99) A brief outline of the Bible, book by book, telling you
what is in each book. Helpful for getting a swift overview. No
illustrations.
Opening Up the
Bible by Mary Batchelor ( Lion, ISBN: 0745940722 £9.99 -
paperback) A more detailed introduction than O’Donnell’s,
with lots of colour pictures, maps etc. Highly recommended.
BIBLE HANDBOOKS
Either of
the following handbooks will give you a lot of information about the
Bible. Both are easy to read and full of pictures, maps etc.
The Lion Handbook to the Bible (Lion ISBN No: 0745950949 £16.99 – paperback)
The Complete Bible Handbook by John Bowker(Dorling Kindersley ISBN 1405302828 £16.99 – paperback)
BIBLE DICTIONARIES
Alphabetically
organized articles on Biblical topics. There are many Bible
dictionaries, from the concise to the heavyweight. For example…
A Dictionary of the Bible (Oxford Paperback Reference) by WRF Browning (Oxford ISBN 019860890X £8.99)
The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan ( Oxford ISBN: 0195046455 £37.50! Hardback)
WEBSITES
There are
a lot of websites with information about the Bible – good, bad
and ugly! As always with the internet you have to weigh what you find
against common sense and other trusted sources.
Some websites you might find helpful are…
Online NRSV Bible
Searchable Bible
Introduction to the Bible
Bible Atlas
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