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Biblical Studies: Reference Room

Reference Room Resources

How to use the biblical research resources infographic

(Accessible Text Version)

Concordance

Use concordances to find:

1. All locations of a word in the Bible.

2. The original Greek or Hebrew translation of a word.

Want to find more about the original translation? Use a Lexicon.

Lexicons

Use a lexicon to look up detailed translations of a word from Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic.

Need more information about the verse that you found? Use a commentary.

Commentaries

Use commentaries to read different interpretations on specific verses & passages.

Do you want more detailed commentary? Use the ATLA database.

ATLA Database

Use the "Scripture" tab to find scholarly articles on specific passages.

Does the commentary mention a specific location you want to explore? Use an atlas.

Atlas

Use atlases to see maps and learn more about the geography of the biblical world.

Do you want more detailed information about the people, places, culture, etc. mentioned in the commentary? Use dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Use general dictionaries & encyclopedias for more information, or subject-specific ones on medicine, archaeology, etc. to get detailed information.

 

Concordances

An exhaustive concordance contains a list of all words in the Bible and their locations. It also cross-references those words with the original Greek or Hebrew.

Dictionaries

Encyclopedias

Commentaries

Commentaries are interpretations and explanations of Scripture.

Some Biblical Commentaries are available free online.  Review the links below to see a list of online Biblical Commentaries.  Click on the title of the commentary from either list to view the online contents.  

Lexicon & Word Study

Lexicons cover the vocabulary of another language, and, along with word studies, are useful for studying the original language.

Atlases

Atlases contain maps.