Bible Core: Introduction

The library has five computers with Accordance on them for your use.

Some Bible study resources are better than others for using in this course. Here are some of the recommended resources available on the library's Accordance computers

Best Accordance Resources

Commentary: Tyndale 
Greek Dictionary/Lexicon (authors): Louw/Nida or Spicq
Hebrew Dictionary/Lexicon: Concise Dictionary of Classic Hebrew
Study Bible: Life Application Study Bible

The following is taken directly from Dr. Terrance Espinoza's excellent Bible & Theology website, bibtheo.com/bibliography. 

Avoid the following resources in an academic research paper. They are listed on every website’s Commentaries list because these sources are so old that they are out-of-print and therefore free. They will contain some good ideas, but these sources do not represent the current state of Biblical knowledge.

Warren Wiersbe for example – who generally speaks kindly of Matthew Henry – also says, “Matthew’s purpose in writing the Commentary was practical, not academic. [After Matthew passed away,] several of his pastor friends gathered up his notes and sermons and completed the Commentary from Romans to Revelation. When you read their expositions, you can see how far short they fall of the high standard set by the original author” (10 People Every Christian Should Know). Yet regarding Matthew’s own work in the Commentary, Wiersbe continues, “there were times when he spiritualized the text and missed the point; but generally speaking, he did his work well…[Yet] you will not find Matthew Henry grappling with big problems as he expounds the Word, or always shedding light on difficult passages in the Bible. For this kind of help you must consult the critical commentaries. He did not know a great deal about customs in the Holy Land…the student will need up-to-date commentaries and Bible dictionaries to help him [or her] in that area” (10 People).

1. Barnes, Albert, New Testament Notes, 1832.
2. Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, 1831.
3. Easton, Matthew George. Easton’s Bible Dictionary, 1897.
4. Geneva Study Bible, 1560. 
5. Gill, John. Exposition of the Bible, 1746-63.
6. Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1706.
7. Jamieson, Robert, A.R. Fausset, David Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871.
8. Johnson, Barton Warren. People’s New Testament, 1891.
9. Lange, Johann Peter. Philip Schaff, transl. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical, 1867-1900.
10. Orr, James, ed. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,1915. (The Geoffrey Bromiley ISBE is from 1995, so it would make a good resource for your research. Note which version of the ISBE you are using.)
11. Smith, William. Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1863.