Biblical commentaries and encyclopedias
Biblical commentaries
Bible commentaries provide background information and theological interpretation of scriptural texts. Bible commentaries provide contextual information about scriptural texts including the social, cultural, political and historical background. They provide detailed information about the books in the Bible as well as the authors’ purpose and audience. They are available in a wide variety of translations and editions in both printed and electronic forms.
Reliable print commentaries include:
ResourceLink has a number of copies of the New Jerome Biblical Commentary and Harpers Biblical Commentary for loan.
Reliable online commentaries include:
Harpers Biblical Commentary (via logos) – resource for purchase
Michael Fallon Biblical Commentary
Online biblical resources need to be approached cautiously. Some authors approach Scripture literally and can be considered as an unreliable source by students engaged in academic research using a Catholic Christian approach. Catholics read Scripture contextually. Refer to the Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, by Pope Benedict XVI – On the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.
While there are a variety of commentaries, all systematically explain the meaning of biblical passages, arranged in biblical order (book, chapter, verse). Application commentaries explain the original meaning of biblical passages, and also discuss the contemporary significance of those passages and how it is derived from the text. Devotional commentaries focus on the spiritual significance of the text for believers. Expository commentaries focus on explaining the biblical text. Exegetical or critical commentaries focus primarily on technical issues related to the Hebrew/Aramaic or Greek texts and their interpretation and one written primarily for specialists.
Biblical encyclopedia
A Biblical encyclopedia is really an expanded dictionary; this is typically a multi-volume work providing detailed contextual information of biblical topics, words, names, places, events, theology and teachings, arranged alphabetically. Bible encyclopedias come in a variety of formats but are usually designed to provide practical reference materials about significant words in the Bible as well as giving detailed information on the language and literature of Bible lands and the historical and religious environments of the people of the Bible.