Theological Studies Research Guide - Reference Sources
There are commentaries on the Bible as a whole, or on particular books or sections of books. To find commentaries using the Sofia Discovery tool, perform a KEYWORD search and enter the word 'commentaries' and a book of the Bible (e.g. bible and commentaries and Acts), or perform a SUBJECT search using Library of Congress Subject Headings, using the format BIBLE NT or BIBLE OT (Old or New Testament), and the particular book of the bible of interest. For example:
- BIBLE COMMENTARIES
- BIBLE N T GOSPELS COMMENTARIES
- BIBLE N T MARK COMMENTARIES
- BIBLE O T JOB
Bibliography of commentaries:
- Bibliographies for biblical research. Supplemental series (2002)
v.1. New Testament commentaries
v.2. Old Testament commentaries
Major commentaries:
- Anchor Bible (1964-onward)
A project of Catholic, Jewish and Protestant scholars, offering new translations of the books of the Bible with extensive commentary. - Calvin's New Testament commentaries (1960-onward)
- The Cambridge Bible commentary on the New English Bible (1963-1977)
Full text of the New English Bible, with simple and brief commentary, dispensing with Hebrew or Greek words and strings of biblical references. - Eerdmans commentary on the Bible (2003)
- The HarperCollins Bible commentary (2000)
- International critical commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
(1896-onward)
A scholarly series of commentaries on individual books of the Bible. Each volume contains a bibliography. - The New Oxford annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books (2001)
- The Oxford Bible commentary (2001)
- Peake's commentary on the Bible (1999)
In addition to commentaries on each book of the Bible, contains over 250 pages of signed general and introductory articles with bibliographies. - The Women's Bible commentary (1992)
- Word Biblical commentary (1987-onward) [58 v.]
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- The A to Z of Catholicism (2001)
- The Anchor Bible dictionary (1992) [6 v.]
- Concise Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church (2000)
- A dictionary of the Bible (2009)
- Dictionary of Bible place names (1970)
- Dictionary of biblical interpretation (1999)
- Dictionary of Christian art (2001)
- Dictionary of Christian biography (2001)
- Dictionary of Christian denominations (2003)
- A dictionary of early Christian beliefs: a reference guide to more than 700 topics discussed by the early church fathers (1998)
- Dictionary of the ecumenical movement (2002)
- Dictionary of ethics, theology and society (1996)
- Dictionary of feminist theologies (1996)
- The dictionary of historical theology (2000)
- Dictionary of major biblical interpreters (2007)
- Dictionary of the Old Testament: historical books (2005)
- Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (2003)
- Dictionary of the Old Testament: wisdom, poetry & writings (2008)
- Dictionary of Paul and his letters (1993)
- Dictionary of religious orders (2001)
- Dictionnaire biographique des évêques catholiques du Canada (2002)
- Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (2000)
- Essential theological terms (2005)
- Evangelical dictionary of theology (2001)
- Global dictionary of theology: a resource for the worldwide church (2008)
- Historical dictionary of the Holiness movement (2001)
- The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible: an illustrated encyclopedia identifying and explaining all proper names and significant terms and subjects in the Holy Scriptures, including the Apocrypha ...: supplementary volume (1976)
- The IVP dictionary of the New Testament: a one-volume compendium of contemporary biblical scholarship (2004)
- The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church (2005)
- The Oxford dictionary of saints (2004)
- The Routledge dictionary of religious & spiritual quotations (2000)
- The Westminster dictionary of New Testament and early Christian literature and rhetoric (2003)
- Westminster dictionary of theological terms (1996)
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land (2001)
- Augustine through the ages: an encyclopedia (1999)
- The Blackwell encyclopedia of modern Christian thought (1993)
- The Catholic encyclopedia: an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline, and history of the Catholic Church (1907-12) [10 v.]
- Companion encyclopedia of theology (1995)
- The encyclopedia of American Catholic history (1997)
- Encyclopedia of applied ethics (1998)
- Encyclopedia of the Bible and its reception (2008-2017)
This electronic resource is to be published over a projected period of about ten years, and presently covers the letter A. - Encyclopedia of Christianity (1999-2008)
- Encyclopedia of ethical, legal, and policy issues in biotechnology (2000)
- Encyclopedia of ethics (2001)
- Encyclopedia of evangelicalism (2002)
- Encyclopedia of monasticism (2000)
- Encyclopedia of religion (2005)
- Encyclopedia of saints (2001)
- Encyclopedia of science and religion (2003)
- Encyclopedia of the Vatican and papacy (1999)
- Encyclopedia of women in religious art (1996)
- The international standard Bible encyclopedia (1979-1988)
- Jesus in history, thought and culture: an encyclopedia (2003)
- Modern Christian art (1965)
- The new Catholic encyclopedia (2003) [10 v.]
- New Catholic encyclopedia: jubilee volume : the Wojtyla years (2001)
- New Catholic encyclopedia supplement 2009 (2010)
- The new encyclopedia of Judaism (2002)
- The papacy: an encyclopedia (2002)
- Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices (2002)
- The Thomas Merton encyclopedia (2002)
- World Christian encyclopedia: a comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world(2001)
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- Atlas of the Bible (1989)
- Atlas of the Bible and Christianity (1997)
- An atlas illustrating the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles [n.d.]
- Atlas Karta le-toldot 'Erets-Yisra'el (1974)
- Atlas of the world's religions (1999)
- Augsburg historical atlas of Christianity in the Middle Ages and Reformation (1967)
- The Harper atlas of the Bible (1987)
- Historical atlas of Christianity (2001)
- Historical atlas of the Holy Lands (2003)
- The Macmillan Bible atlas (1993)
- New Atlas of the Bible (c1985,1989)
- The new encyclopedia of archaeological excavations in the Holy Land (1992)
- The new Israel atlas; Bible to present day (1969)
- Oxford Bible atlas (1984)
- The Times atlas of the Bible (1987)
- The universe atlas of the Christian world; the expansion of Christianity through the centuries (1963)
The call number range for Bibles is BS135 - BS198. While most English translations and versions of the Bible are located in the general stacks, a few copies are also kept in the reference collection for consultation. Here are a few major versions:
- Anchor Bible (2008)
- A project of Catholic, Jewish and Protestant scholars, the Yale Anchor Bible offers new translations of the books of the Bible with extensive commentary.
- La Bible (2001)
- Bible. Authorized King James Version (1997)
- La Bible de Jérusalem avec guide de lecture: la Sainte Bible traduite en français sous la direction de l'École biblique de Jérusalem (1979)
- The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (2001)
- The New American Bible. Translated from the original languages, with critical use of all the ancient sources by members of the Catholic Biblical Association of America (1970)
- The New American Standard Bible (1975)
- The New Jerusalem Bible: Saints' devotional edition (2002)
- The New Oxford annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books: New Revised Standard Version (2001)
- Revised English Bible (1989) Revised edition of the New English Bible.
Here are some Bibles you can find online, in an electronic, often searchable, format.
King James Bible (as pusblished by the American Bible Society, searchable)
Bible Reader App (by the American Bible Society)
Bible Study Tools (different versions, different languages)
Lumina (Bible.org, searchable, different versions)
Bibles (by l’Alliance Biblique Française, in French, searchable)
Bible en Ligne (by Centre biblique, in French, searchable, offers commentaries and
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- Bibliographie sur saint Joseph et la sainte Famille (1999)
- Bibliographies for Biblical research. New Testament series (1993) [22 v.]
Bibliographies on the books of the Christian Bible. It also includes volumes on the Hebrew Bible as well as the deutero-canonicals. The arrangement for the entries, in most volumes of the series, consists of three divisions: scriptural citations, subject citations, and commentaries. - Bibliographies for Biblical research. Old Testament series (1997) [23 v.]
- Bibliographies for Biblical research. Periodical literature for the study of the New Testament (2002) [11 v.]
Each volume consists of references to periodical articles that were published in the twentieth century. The entries are arranged by chapter and verse citation. - Bibliographies for Biblical research. Periodical literature for the study of the Old Testament (2002) [17 v.]
Each volume consists of references to periodical articles that were published in the twentieth century. The entries are arranged by chapter and verse citation. - Bibliographies for Biblical research. Supplemental series (2002)
Includes New Testament commentaries. - Bibliographies on the life and teachings of Jesus (1999) [8 v.]
- Bibliography of the Dead Sea scrolls, 1948-1957 (1958)
Classed bibliography of almost 3,000 entries. - Bibliography on Scripture and Christian ethics (1997)
- Canonical collections of the Early Middle Ages (ca.400-1140): a bibliographical guide to the manuscripts and literature (1999)
Medieval and Canon law. - Catholic women writers: a bio-bibliographical sourcebook (2001)
- Commentary & reference survey: a comprehensive guide to biblical and theological resources (2003)
- Feminism and Christian tradition: an annotated bibliography and critical introduction to the literature(1999)
- From Irenaeus to Grotius: a sourcebook in Christian political thought, 100-165 (1999)
Church and State, history of doctrines; Christianity and politics. - An introductory bibliography for the study of scripture (1961)
- Periodical literature for the study of the New Testament (2002) [10 v. + index volume]
Each volume consists of references to periodical articles that were published in the twentieth century. The entries are arranged by chapter and verse citation. - Sacred Books of the World (2002)
Tip: For biographies on individual theologians, perform a KEYWORD search in the Sofia Discovery tool [e.g. Erasmus and biography], or a SUBJECT search: Theologians - country name - biography [e.g. Theologians Germany Biography].
- Biographical dictionary of Christian missions (1999)
- Biographical dictionary of Christian theologians (2000)
- The Blackwell encyclopedia of modern Christian thought (1993)
- The book of saints: a comprehensive biographical dictionary (2002)
- The book of saints: a dictionary of the servants of God canonized by the Catholic Church (1947)
- Catholic women writers: a bio-bibliographical sourcebook (2001)
- Dictionary of Christian biography (2001)
- Dictionary of Jesuit biography: ministry to English Canada, 1842-1987 (1991)
- A dictionary of women in Church history (1984)
- Dictionnaire biographique des évêques catholiques du Canada (2002)
- Encyclopedia of saints (2001)
- A new handbook of Christian theologians (1996)
- The Oxford dictionary of saints (2004)
- Papal genealogy: the families and descendants of the popes (1998)
- Popes and Cardinals of the 20th century: a biographical dictionary (2002)
- The Thomas Merton encyclopedia (2002)
- Les visages de la foi: figures marquantes du catholicisme québécois (2003)
- Who's who in Christianity (1998)
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
Bible:
- The Bible companion: a complete pictorial and reference guide to the people, places, events, background, and faith of the Bible (1959)
- The Blackwell companion to the Bible and culture (2006)
- The Blackwell companion to the Hebrew Bible (2001)
- The Cambridge companion to the Bible (2008)
- The Cambridge companion to the Bible: containing the structure, growth and preservation of the Bible (1905)
- The Cambridge companion to biblical interpretation (1998)
- The Cambridge companion to Christian philosophical theology (2010)
- A companion to the Bible (1939)
- A companion to Paul: readings in Pauline theology (1975)
- A companion to Scripture studies (1943)
- The feminist companion to the Bible (1993)
- A feminist companion to Mark (2001)
- A feminist companion to Matthew (2001)
- A feminist companion to reading the Bible: approaches, methods and strategies (1997)
- Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament (2002)
- Harper's Bible pronunciation guide (1989)
- An illustrated guide to the Bible (1995)
- Index of Biblical images: similes, metaphors, and symbols in Scripture (2000)
- Multipurpose tools for Bible study (2003)
- An outline of the Bible: book by book (1963)
- The Oxford guide to people and places of the Bible (2001)
- The Oxford illustrated history of the Bible (2001)
- Topical outlines of Bible themes; an illustrative scripture reference book [n.d.]
Ethics:
- The Blackwell guide to business ethics (2002)
- The Blackwell guide to ethical theory (2000)
- The Cambridge companion to Christian ethics (2004)
- A companion to bioethics (1998)
- A companion to ethics (1991)
- A companion to genethics (2002)
Theology:
- The Blackwell companion to modern theology (2004)
- The Blackwell companion to natural theology (2009)
- The Blackwell companion to nineteenth-century theology (2010)
- The Blackwell companion to political theology (2004)
- The Blackwell companion to postmodern theology (2005)
- The Blackwell companion to the theologians (2009)
- The Blackwell reader in pastoral and practical theology (2000)
- The Cambridge companion to Aquinas (1993)
- The Cambridge companion to Augustine (2001)
- The Cambridge companion to Christian doctrine (1997)
- The Cambridge companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1999)
- The Cambridge companion to feminist theology (2002)
- The Cambridge companion to Jesus (2001)
- The Cambridge companion to Karl Barth (2000)
- The Cambridge companion to liberation theology (2007)
- The Cambridge companion to Martin Luther (2003)
- The Cambridge companion to postmodern theology (2003)
- The Catholic almanac's guide to the Church (2001)
- A companion to Common worship (2001)
- A companion to the Confessions of St. Augustine (2003)
- The Oxford companion to Christian thought (2000)
- Religious right: a reference handbook (2001)
- Studying the historical Jesus: a guide to sources and methods (2002)
Concordances are works which list the words of the Bible and give the passages where each word occurs. In the Sophia Discovery tool, works which list the ideas of the Bible and give the passages where the idea rather than the exact word occurs are entered under the subject heading "BIBLE - INDEXES". Concordances are available for a variety of translations of the Bible.
- Analytical concordance to the Bible: on an entirely new plan, containing about 311,000 references subdivided under the Hebrew and Greek originals... (Young, 1939)
- The analytical concordance to the New Revised Standard Version of the New Testament (Whitaker, 2000)
- An analytical concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament
(Morrison, 1979) - Biblia patristica: index des citations et allusions bibliques dans la littérature patristique (Université de Strasbourg. Centre d'analyse et de documentation patristiques, 1975)
- Biblia patristica. Supplément, Philon d'Alexandrie
(Centre d'analyse et de documentation patristiques, 1982) - Concordance to the Bible, Douay version (Thompson, 1942)
Uses the text of the Roman Catholic Bible. - Concordance to the Greek New Testament (Moulton and Geden, 2002)
- Concordance to the Septuagint and the other Greek versions of the Old Testament
(Hatch, 1954) - The Eerdmans analytical concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
(Whitaker, 1988) - The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee concordance of the Old Testament: being an attempt at a verbal connection between the original and the English translation; with indexes, a list of the proper names, and their occurrences, etc. (Wigram, 1971)
- Konkordantsyah hadashah le-Torah, Nev'im, u-Ketuvim: otsar leshon ha-Mikra - `Ivrit va-Aramit : sharashim, milim, shemot peratiyim, tserufim ve-nirdafim / ba-`arikhat Avraham Even-Shoshan (Even-Shoshan, Avraham, 1980)
- Modern concordance to the New Testament (Darton, 1976)
- Nelson's complete concordance of the Revised Standard Version Bible (Ellison, 1984)
- New American Bible concise concordance (Kohlenberger, 2003)
- The NIV complete concordance: the complete English concordance to the New International Version(Goodrich, 1988)
- Strong's exhaustive concordance of the Bible: showing every word of the text of the King James Version of the canonical books of the Bible and every occurrence of each word in regular order, together with the words of Jesus identified in bold face red letter and a key-word comparison of selected words and phrases in the King James Version with five leading contemporary translations: also brief dictionaries of the Hebrew and Greek words of the original with references to the English words (1986)
These are the major indexes relevant to Theology that are only available in print format.
- Elenchus of Biblica (1988-onwards)
Provides, in a classed arrangement, the most comprehensive indexing of journal and monographic literature for biblical studies. - New Testament abstracts (1956-2003)
Presents abstracts of articles on the New Testament which have appeared in Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish periodicals, in many languages. (Coverage from 1985-onwards also available in electronic format.)
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- Decrees of the ecumenical councils (1990)
- Dictionary of papal pronouncements, Leo XIII to Pius XII, 1878-1957 (1958)
- Dictionnaire des papes (1963)
- Documents illustrating papal authority, A.D. 96-454 (1979)
- Encyclopedia of the Vatican and papacy (1999)
- Évêques du Québec, 1962-1965: entre Révolution tranquille et aggiornamento conciliaire (2002)
- Guide de consultation des discours du pape Pie XII (1963)
- Guide to the documents of Pius XII, 1939-1949 (1951)
- A guide to the encyclicals of the Roman pontiffs from Leo XIII to the present day, 1878-1937 (1939)
- The Oxford dictionary of Popes (2005)
- The Papacy: an encyclopedia (2002)
- The Papal encyclicals (1990) [5 v.]
- Papal genealogy: the families and descendants of the popes (1998)
- Papal pronouncements: a guide: 1740-1978 (1990)
- Popes and cardinals of the 20th century: a biographical dictionary (2002)
- The Popes, a concise biographical history (1964)
- The Popes; papal history in picture and word (1963)
- Popes through the ages (1980)
- The Register of Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085: an English translation (2002)
- Vatican Archives: an inventory and guide to historical documents of the Holy See (1998)
- Vatican City State (bibliography) (1983)
- Vatican home page (includes Encyclicals, documents of the II Vatican Council - Constitutions, Declarations, Decrees, and more)
- Les 262 papes: les souverains pontifes de l'Église catholique romaine et apostolique (1981)
This is not a complete list. For more titles, please check the Sofia Discovery tool or consult the Subject Librarian.
- A guide to doing theology (1996)
- A manual of bibliographical and footnote forms: for use by theological students (1974)
- Philosophy of religion: a guide to the subject (1998)
- Primary sources of liturgical theology: a reader (2000)
- Quality research papers: for students of religion and theology (2008)
- Reference works for theological research (1992)
- The literature of theology: a guide for students and pastors (2003)
- Theological and religious reference materials: general resources and biblical studies (1984)
- Theological and religious reference materials: practical theology (1986)
- Tools for theological research (1975)