I’ve been on the prowl for helpful resources that can help a Bible studier understand relevant historical background. When we read and study the Bible we travel back in time to an unfamiliar location and culture which makes it difficult to understand. In order to cross that gap, it is helpful to educate ourselves a little more on the time period, geographical elements or cultural peculiarities we’ll encounter. We have so many helpful resources available to help us do this but it can be difficult to know where to start. So I’d like to share some of my go-to resources and recommendations. Some of these are books on my shelf that I turn to whenever I need a bit more information. I realize, however, that you may not be able to acquire them so I’ve included reliable online resources that are accessible to anyone.
Here’s my top recommendations for books and online resources.
A Bible Dictionary – A good quality, current Bible dictionary/encyclopedia is a good starting point for the serious Bible studier because it covers a broad range of relevant topics. For example, if the passage you are studying mentions the Pharisees you can find out the most important information about who the Pharisees were in the short article of a Bible dictionary. I use the New Bible Dictionary by InterVarsity Press.
A Bible Atlas – A Bible Atlas is an underestimated resource. It covers the various time periods of the Bible and highlights significant events, people and nations. Pictures and maps help bring the world of the Bible to life. See the places where David hid from Saul, admire the view from the Mt. of Olives or walk the roads of Palestine as you page through. A Bible atlas will help you place significant people in their historical contexts. I have the Holman Bible Atlas on my shelf.
Commentaries – Commentaries are specifically focused on various books of the Bible. There are so many commentaries out there that it can be difficult to know which one to use. Some are more technical and detailed getting into Greek and Hebrew (Word Biblical Commentary series) while others are more general and focused on practical application (NIV Application series). A commentary can provide specific historical information relevant to the book and help you understand how it is relevant to what the author wrote. It can also help you understand difficult passages.
My one word of caution with using commentaries is to first look at the passage for yourself. Do the work of trying to understand what the author said, why he said it and how it might be relevant today before you look at a commentary. A commentary can easily sway how you read a text. To balance this out look at multiple commentaries. It’s important to remember that a commentary is one person’s opinion about what the Bible says. It may or may not be accurate which is why it is important to look at the text for yourself first so that you can evaluate and respond to their opinion.
Besides the ones already mentioned, here’s a few commentary series I recommend:
The Story of God Bible Commentary series – This series shows how a book fits into the over-arching story of the Bible helping you see how God worked through history to accomplish his plan of salvation. It covers key points and difficult passage without getting into the boring details. Start with this one if you are new to commentaries.
Baker Exegetical Commentary series – This series goes into a bit more detail and offers more extended explanations.
New International Commentary on the Old Testament/New Testament series – This series is even more technical. It will get down to specific words and grammar.
The Bible Project – The Bible Project offers great free online video resources. You can find 5 minute videos that give you a short synopsis of what a book is about and the key points to look for. They also have themed videos covering various topics such as sabbath, heaven, justification, etc. They have also created a great series called “How to Read the Bible” which I highly recommend.
The Bible Effect – The Bible Effect is a new online video series that focuses on the specific historical background information needed to understand each book of the Bible. They only have a few videos created at this point but as their video library grows this will be a great resource. (Created by fellow YWAM SBSers so I look forward to seeing this ministry grow.)
(Plus two more)
www.biblestudytools.com – This site offers free commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias and lexicons as well as devotionals, reading plans, etc. Be aware, however, that some of the resources are dated.
www.blueletterbible.org – In addition to free commentaries, dictionaries and lexicons, this site offers outlines, timelines, charts, maps and more.
I hope these resources help you dig into the Word. You may have other favorite resources that you’ve found helpful in your Bible study. What are they? I’d love to hear about them. Please share them in the comments below and how they have helped you pursue the Word.