I love to study the Bible, and I’m sure most of you do as well. Over the years, I’ve found a few important books I rely on or that have taught me something significant. I wanted to share these here.
A Good Bible Translation
Of course, the most important book for Bible study is the Bible. For good solid study, we need a good literal “word-for-translation” such as the ESV, NASB, or KJV. This way when we do word studies, the word is actually there and is represented accurately.
I don’t use a study Bible for my Bible study. That may sound odd, but because Bible study is a personal thing, I want to know what God is saying to me and not what He said to the guy who wrote the notes.
The Navigator Bible Studies Handbook
This book is invaluable. I first read it when I was about five years old in the Lord, and it changed not just my study habits but genuinely changed my life. I’ve had very little formal education in studying the Bible. Probably 75% of what I’ve learned over the years is due to this book. It gives several methods for digging into the Bible and drawing out the “gold ore” rather than just looking around on the surface for nuggets. The best thing about this book is it relies very little on reference books. Bible study is personal, just you and your Bible. This book takes that approach.
An Exhaustive Concordance
Strong’s Exhaustive or Young’s Analytical are excellent concordances for Bible study use.
The concordances in the backs of our Bibles are for “What was that verse again that started with ‘for God so loved . . .” An exhaustive concordance is probably the most useful book ever for Bible study. It gives no opinion, no slant on a passage, just the facts. In the front of the Strong’s is a set of Bible study methods the concordance can help you with: yes you can find that verse you’re trying to remember, but you can also do word studies, language studies, character, and topical studies. You just need to know how, and they will show you.
A Harmony of the Gospels
A harmony of the Gospels is a book which presents the four gospels chronologically and the texts side by side in columns. This book enables us to look at passages that are duplicated in other gospels to pick up additional details not in the specific passage we are studying.
Let’s use Jesus’ miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 as an example. The event is one of the very few recorded in all four gospels (Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 5:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:1-13). When Jesus asks Philip “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” only John tells us Jesus said this to test Philip (John 6:6). Only Luke and Mark tell us Jesus divided the people into groups (Mark 6:39-40; Luke 9:14). Only John tells us it was a boy who contributed the loves and fish (John 6:9). Only Matthew and Luke tell us Jesus healed the sick among the crowd, and only Mark leaves out the fact the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftovers afterward.
So, the Harmony of the Gospels is very useful if you are interested in the details full picture of a passage.
A Bible Dictionary or Bible Encyclopedia
These are really handy for looking up the who, what, where, why, etc. of people, places, and things. Nowadays it’s difficult to tell the difference between a Bible dictionary and a Bible encyclopedia. The dictionaries have broadened the number and topics they cover. It used to be a Bible encyclopedia wasn’t just larger but covered lots of information outside the realm of a dictionary, but they are becoming the same animal today. I like New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia is the standard for Bible encyclopedias. So, if you wanted to know who Molech was or the dimensions of the Sea of Tiberias, these books are where you’ll find that information.
A General Systematic Theology or Dictionary of Theology
Now we’re starting to get a little into the opinions of man: careful. I like Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. It’s pretty thorough for the typical Bible student or Sunday School teacher. Written at a modern high school level, it explains more than most folks want to know. Someone once said 20% of what we read should be over our heads. Baker isn’t that, but it does peak your interest. Stay away from Finney and Hodge. Hodge is huge and Finney is less reliable. Check any theology before you buy. Some are a hundred years old or more, and the language is somewhat awkward. The older stuff is often the cheapest and most conservative, though.
Commentaries
I’m not going to recommend commentaries. I do have a few and use them fairly often, but commentaries go against my “motto” of Bible study is personal, and I don’t need someone other than the Holy Spirit to explain a passage to me. I used to use commentaries to check my work because I’ve come up with some pretty pathetic conclusions on my own over the years, and a commentary will say “One pathetic conclusion to this passage is what Mike thinks, but it’s not true because . . . “
I do find I lean on them more now that I’m teaching through the gospel of John at local nursing homes. Because of the checking-my-work effect, I’ve learned to trust a few and turn to them for guidance when needed. This is probably a good practice.
A Computer
When I started studying the Bible, it was all books. I had to do my studying on the dining room table to have enough space for all the open publications. Today, my study is done on a computer and most of the books listed above are in my software. What used to take hours with books now takes just a few minutes on my computer. I use Logos Bible software because Logos bought up the software I was using and grandfathered me in. It is an excellent program and I love it, but it’s a little pricey if you’re starting out. There are several out there including the Blue Letter Bible: a free online study tool. Most software offered begins with a “starter” package many of which are free and include several translations, dictionaries, commentaries, etc. Ask a fellow Bible studier what they use. Buying the books listed here will cost you several hundred dollars. Investing that into a good computer program might be a good idea.
Why is this important?
Wow! I think this is in the top five longest blog posts I’ve done. Sorry.
These books are important to give you an accurate understanding of Scripture once you learn to use them. I put these in a particular order. The farther down the list you go, the less reliant on Scripture the books are and the more we rely on another human to tell us what something means. Be careful. When we include humans into the process, our study becomes more vulnerable to error.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 