CSB: The Catholic Study Bible. 2nd edition. Donald
Senior, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
probably the best Bible currently available, with
over 600 pages of introductory articles, "Reading Guides" to each biblical
section and book, Lectionary tables, glossary, concordance, and maps, in addition
to the text, introductions, and notes of the New American Bible (NAB) translation;
first edition 1990, now with some significant updates. Use it as a comprehensive
all-in-one textbook!
HCSB: The HarperCollins Study Bible. Wayne A. Meeks,
ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. - also "Student Edition" 1997.
contains some of the best introductions & notes
currently available; presents the consensus of the best modern scholarship, by
members of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL); based on the New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) translation;
NOAB: The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV with the Apocrypha.
Third Edition. Michael D. Coogan, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
an "Ecumenical Study Bible"; second edition (1991) was
by Bruce M. Metzger & Roland E. Murphy, eds.
NJB: The New Jerusalem Bible. Alexander Jones, ed.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985.
original French edition from the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem;
excellent notes translated from the French, and biblical texts translated from
the ancient languages.
Bible Dictionaries:
HCBD: The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Paul J.
Achtemeier, ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
the best one-volume dictionary available today,
with brief articles, helpful cross-references, and additional bibliography;
usually presents the consensus opinions of modern scholars; by members of the
SBL; originally called Harpers Bible Dictionary (1985).
EDB: Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. David Noel
Freedman, ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
another excellent recent one-volume dictionary with
up-to-date bibliography
ABD: The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. David Noel
Freedman, ed. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
the best new multi-volume resource; also available
on CD-ROM; too expensive for most individuals, but a must for any school,
parish, or community library.
NIDB: The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. 5 vols. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 2006-2009.
updated edition of a standard classic (listed next); still in the process of being published.
IDB : The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. 4
vols. George A. Buttrick, ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1962.
& IDBS: The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Supplementary
Volume. Keith Crim, ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1976.
older but still an excellent resource for many topics; check the supplementary volume for updated articles
on some topics.
MDB: The Dictionary of the Bible. John L. McKenzie, ed. NY: Scribner, 1965; reprint Touchstone, 1995.
somewhat dated, but still excellent overall; very compact entries with many biblical references, from a Catholic perspective.
Bible Commentaries:
NJBC: The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Raymond
Brown, et al., eds. Ingelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
very detailed line-by-line commentaries on each biblical
book; also contains excellent overview articles on many historical and theological
topics.
HCBC: HarperCollins Bible Commentary. James L. Mays, ed. San Francisco:
HarperSanFrancisco, 2000.
good section-by-section comments; less expensive than NJBC,
but fewer introductory and topical articles; formerly called Harper's
Bible Commentary (1988).
CBC/NCBC: The Collegeville Bible Commentary. Dianne Bergant & Robert
J. Karris, eds. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1989.
slightly simpler explanations for more general audiences;
available in one large volume, or two separate volumes (OT and NT), or inexpensive individual pamphlets for each
biblical book.
New editions of individual pamphlets are being published as the New Collegeville Bible Commentary series, as of 2004.
There are many other commentary serieswith individual volumes on each
biblical book; see especially:
"Anchor Bible Commentary" series (Doubleday) - large, detailed, mostly excellent volumes; some still being revised/republished.
"Berit Olam" (OT) and "Sacra Pagina" (NT) series (Liturgical Press) - excellent volumes combining academic scholarship with a more pastoral focus.
"Old Testament Message" and "New Testament Message" series (Liturgical
Press) - shorter, slightly older, but still good intros.
"Doubleday NT Commentary" series (Image Books) - short volumes entitled "Invitation to XYZ: A Commentary on XYZ with Complete Text from The Jerusalem Bible"; older, shorter, but still useful; available in many public and parish libraries.
Bible Study Guides/Series:
God's Word Today - monthly periodical; published by Catholic
Digest.
Denver Catholic Biblical School Program - four-year series of books; from
Paulist
Press.
Little Rock Scripture Study - workshops, institutes, videotapes; from
the Diocese of Little Rock and The
Liturgical Press.
Six Weeks with the Bible: Catholic Perspectives - series of small books;
from Loyola Press
Interfaces - a new series of short commentaries not on whole biblical books, but on certain biblical characters; from The
Liturgical Press.
Scripture from Scratch - popular 4-page letter-sized flyers appropriate as bulletin inserts; from St. Anthony Messenger Press.
Bible Atlases & Archaeological Encyclopedias:
Oxford Bible Atlas. Adrian Curtis, ed. 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
The Carta Bible Atlas. Yohanan Aharoni
& Michael Avi-Yonah, eds. Jerusalem: Carta, 2002.
Revised edition of The Macmillan Bible Atlas (3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1993).
The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible. Marcus Braybrooke and James Harpur, eds. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998.
The HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible. James B. Pritchard and L. Michael White, eds. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.
Atlas of the Bible. John Rogerson, ed. New York: Facts on File,
1985.
The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.
4 vols. Ephraim Stern, ed. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society; New York: Simon
& Schuster, 1993.
Analytical Concordance to the Bible. 22nd American
edition. Robert Young, ed. New York, Funk & Wagnalls, 1955. -- uses the KJV
Nelson's Complete Concordance of the New American Bible. Stephen
J. Hartdegen, ed. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1977.
NRSV Exhaustive Concordance. Bruce M. Metzger, ed. Nashville:
T. Nelson, 1991.
The NRSV Concordance Unabridged: Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical
Books. John R. Kohlenberger III, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.
Note: Most electronic Bible programs can also give comprehensive
lists of biblical terms and references; see esp. the BibleWorks and Bibloi
programs.
OT Parallels, Gospel Synopses, and Pauline Parallels:
Endres, John C., et al., eds. Chronicles and Its Synoptic Parallels in Samuel, Kings, and Related Biblical Texts. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998.
as the title says, it compares the OT books of Chronicles with parallel and related texts.
Throckmorton, Burton H., Jr. Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic
Gospels. 5th ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1992.
compares Matthew, Mark & Luke, in NRSV translation;
also includes references to the Gospel of Thomas and a few other non-canonical
texts.
Aland, Kurt. Synopsis of the Four Gospels. New York: United Bible
Societies, 1985.
includes John, using the RSV translation; comes in Greek-only,
English-only, or Greek-English editions.
Francis, Fred O., and J. Paul Sampley. Pauline Parallels. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.
passages from various letters
with similar themes are printed on the same page, for easy comparison of Pauline ideas & language.
Hebrew Resources for OT Study:
Botterweck , G. Johannes, and Helmer Ringgren, eds. Theological Dictionary
of the Old Testament. Trans. by John T. Willis. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1974ff.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and
English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1906; repr. 1951.
Kohlenberger , John R., and James A. Swanson. The Hebrew-English Concordance
to the Old Testament, with the New International Version. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1998.
Lisowsky, G., ed. Konkordanz zum Hebraischen Alten Testament (Concordance
to the Hebrew OT). 3rd ed. Stuttgart : Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993.
Greek Resources for NT Study:
Concordances:
Moulton, W. F. A Concordance to the Greek Testament. 5th
ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1978.
Exegetical Dictionaries:
EDNT: Balz, H. and G. Schneider, eds. Exegetical Dictionary
of the New Testament. 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990-93.
TDNT: Kittel, Gerhard, and G. Friedrich, eds. Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament. 10 vols. Trans. by G. W. Bromiley. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-76.
Grammars:
Blass, F., Debrunner, A., and Funk, R. A Greek Grammar of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1962.
Swetnam, SJ, James. An Introduction to the Study of New Testament Greek:
Part One, Morphology. 2 vols. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1998.
Wallace, D. B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996.
Lexika:
BDAG: Bauer, W. (with Arndt/Gingrich/Danker). A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd
edition, revised and edited by Frederick William Danker. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2000.
LSJ: Liddell, H. G. and R. Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon.
9th ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1925-40; repr. 1968.
Louw, J. P. and E. A. Nida. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
Based on Semantic Domains. 2 vols. 2nd ed. New York: United Bible Societies,
1989.
Gingrich, F. Wilbur. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.
2nd ed. rev. by Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1983.
Other Resources:
Marshall, A. The NASB Interlinear Greek-English New Testament.
Grand Rapids: Regency, 1984.
Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament.
2nd ed. London & N.Y.: United Bible Societies, 1994.
Zerwick, SJ, Max, and Mary Grosvenor. A Grammatical Analysis of
the Greek New Testament. 5th ed. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1996.
Introductions to Exegetical Methods:
Harrington, Daniel J. Interpreting the Old Testament: A Practical Guide. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991.
Harrington, Daniel J. Interpreting the New Testament: A Practical Guide.
Rev. ed. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1990.
basic introductions to the standard historical-critical
methods, including literary, textual, source, form, and redaction criticisms.
Green, Joel B., ed. Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
twenty in-depth articles covering both traditional and
more modern interpretive methods: historical, social, literary, etc.
Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors.
Rev. ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993.
more of a "how to" manual, presupposing use of the Greek
text of the NT.
For a quick overview, see also
C. Holladay & W. Walker, "Biblical Criticism," HarperCollins Bible
Dictionary, 141-46;
or W. Baird, "Biblical Criticism (NT)," Anchor Bible Dictionary,
vol. 1, pp. 730-36;
Ceresko, Anthony R. Introduction to the Old Testament: A Liberation Perspective. New York:
Orbis, 1997; 2nd edition, 2001.
Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Augsburg Fortress, 2004.
Gottwald, Norman K. The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction, with CD-ROM. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2002.
Harris, Stephen, and Robert Platzner. The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007.
Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1984.
somewhat older, but very accessible for
lower-division undergraduate courses and the general public
Introductions to the New Testament:
Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York:
Doubleday, 1997.
a masterful work by a great scholar; long
and challenging for undergraduates (878 pp.), but excellent for seminary and graduate-level
study
Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early
Christian Writings.3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
one of the most popular texts for undergraduate
courses; also has a companion reader volume
Harris, Stephen L. The New Testament: A Student's Introduction.
5th ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 2004.
another good undergraduate textbook with a strong historical
focus
Johnson, Luke T. The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation.
Rev. ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.
comprehensive and balanced; especially appropriate for
seminarians and masters-level students
Perkins, Pheme. Reading the New Testament: An Introduction. 2nd
ed. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
somewhat older and shorter, but very accessible for
lower-division undergraduate courses
Collections of Non-Canonical Literature
related to Biblical Studies:
New Testament Apocrypha. 2 vols. Wilhelm Schneemelcher, ed. Eng.
transl. by R. McL. Wilson. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991-92.
The Apocryphal New Testament. J. K. Elliott, ed. Oxford: Clarendon
Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 vols. James H. Charlesworth.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983-1985.
The Apocryphal Old Testament. H. F. D. Sparks, ed. Oxford: Clarendon
Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English.
2 vols. R. H. Charles, ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.
The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Revised edition. James M.
Robinson, ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.
The Dead Sea Scrolls in English. 4th ed. Geza Vermes,
transl. & ed. Baltimore: Penguin, 1995.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English. 2nd edition. Florentino García Martínez, ed.; Wilfred G.
E. Watson, transl. Leiden/New York: E. J. Brill; Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans, 1996.
The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged. Transl. by C. D.
Yonge. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993.
The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Transl. by William
Whiston. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.
See also the online collection of Non-Canonical Literature (formerly the "Non-canonical Homepage"),
from the Wesley Center for Applied Theology, Northwest Nazarene University
Collections of Catholic Church
Documents related to Scripture:
The Scripture Documents: An Anthology of Official Catholic Teachings. Transl. Dean Bechard, SJ. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2002.
the newest comprehensive collection of Church pronouncements related
to the Bible.
The Bible Documents. A Parish Resource. Ed. by D. Lysik.
Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2001.
contains the most important documents, but slightly fewer
than the above collection.
Bible Interpretation. Official Catholic Teachings. James
J. Megivern, ed. Wilmington, NC: McGrath/Consortium, 1978.
a comprehensive collection of documents, from the early
patristic period to recent papal and curial pronouncements up to 1976;
see especially "Divino Afflante Spiritu"
(Encyclical of Pope Pius XII; Sept. 30, 1943), and
"Dei Verbum" (the "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation"; Vatican
II; Nov. 18, 1965).
The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church. 6th edition. Jacques Dupuis, ed. New York: Alba House, 1996.
see esp. ch. 1: "Revelation and Faith"; and ch. 2 :
"Tradition and Scripture."
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1994 (and various American publishers).
see esp. articles "The Revelation of God" (§§50-73),
"The Transmission of Divine Revelation (§§74-100), and "Sacred Scripture"
(§§101-41).
"The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church." Origins 23.29
(Jan. 6. 1994) 499-524.
the most recent and detailed "Declaration" of the Pontifical
Biblical Commission.
Other Scriptural Resources, especially for
the Non-Specialist:
Liturgical Press (1-800-858-5450)
Benedictine-run press from Collegeville, MN; many inexpensive but excellent books on scripture, esp. their "Michael Glazier Books" and "Zacchaeus
Studies" series.
Paulist Press (1-800-218-1903)
good, inexpensive books on scripture from a modern Catholic
perspective, esp. their "Responses to 101 Questions on..." and "What Are They Saying
About..." series.
Christian Book Distributors (1-508-977-5010)
evangelical Protestant emphasis (mostly KJV & NIV
Bibles), but they also have many good reference works at discounted mail-order
prices.
American Bible Society (1-800-322-4253)
mainline Protestant publisher and distributor; the best
source for Bibles and reference works in the original Hebrew & Greek; no discounts,
so just as easy to order through local bookstores.
Biblical Archaeology Society (1-800-678-5555)
bi-monthly glossy magazines Biblical Archaeology
Review and Bible Review, with current reports on a wide variety of archaeological
and biblical topics.
