Bible Study Tools: Part 6
Our overview of Bible study tools has explored Bible translations, study Bibles, and commentaries. Today we will look at some other resources to round out your library. They are divided into two broad categories: materials that help us understand the cultural background of the text (history, geography, climate, social norms, economics, customs, politics, etc.), and resources that help us with the original languages (concordances, dictionaries, lexicons, etc.)
A good place to start investigating the historical and cultural background of a text is a Bible Handbook. These provide info (arranged alphabetically) on the significant people, places, and things mentioned in Scripture.
- The most current is the 2014 revision of Halley’s Bible Handbook (Zondervan).
- Unger’s Bible Handbook (Moody) is a bit older (revised 2005), but an excellent resource.