Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study
The Bible was written thousands of years ago. For this reason, it can be difficult to read and understand. Many tools are available to help you study and understand the Bible; tools include books, software and online sites. You don't have to be a Bible scholar or seminary student to study the Bible. You can do it on your own with the various tools available for Bible study.
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Bibles
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Many types of Bibles are available to aid you in your study. A study Bible includes comments to provide more insight on scripture passages. A parallel Bible displays two or more Bible translations side by side for comparison. A chronological Bible rearranges the order of books and passages in the order Bible events occurred. An interlinear Bible lists verses in English on one line, and in the Greek or Hebrew language on another line. You can study scripture in the original languages even if you are not familiar with the language.
Commentaries
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A Bible commentary explains Bible passages. You can look up any passage you don't understand in one or more Bible commentaries to see what theologians have to say. Many commentaries provide background information on books of the Bible such as history, setting and authorship. Reading different interpretations on a passage can shed light on its meaning. Commentaries include "Baker Exegetical Commentary," "Bible Knowledge Commentary" and "Bible Exposition Commentary."
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Bible Encyclopedias/Dictionaries
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A Bible encyclopedia contains articles about Biblical words. Articles often include entries about culture, language, customs and environment. The articles are designed to assist you in understanding the passage you are reading. Bible dictionaries provide definitions, but many of them have articles like encyclopedias. Encyclopedias include "Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible," "Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Bible" and "Encyclopedia of Christianity." Dictionaries include "Easton's Bible Dictionary," "Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible" and "Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary."
Concordances
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A concordance lists all the words that occur in the Bible and where they can be found. This is helpful when you know the words of a verse, but you don't remember where to find it. You can look up any of the words and get a list of scriptures that contain those words. Some concordances include "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance," "Naves Topical Bible," "Treasury of Scripture Knowledge" and "Torrey's New Topical Textbook."
Lexicons
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A lexicon is a Bible dictionary that defines words in the original Greek or Hebrew language. You can study the original languages to better understand a particular passage of scripture. Lexicons include "Enhanced Strong's Lexicon," "Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon" and "New Testament Greek Lexicon."
Electronic Tools
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Electronic Bible study tools include Bible software and online Bible tools, both of which contain Christian books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, lexicons, Bibles, commentaries and concordances. Bible study time can be shortened significantly because these tools have a search feature and allow you to have multiple books open on the screen. Software includes Logos Bible Software, E-Sword, Bible Explorer and Quick Verse. Online Bible study sites include Bible Study Tools, Crosswalk and Bible Gateway.
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References
Resources
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