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Bible commentaries and dictionaries?

pebble

Member
Hello.

What Bible dictionaries and commentaries do you recommend? I already have KJV+Strongs (that's what the download said).

Thanks.
 
I use a number of different resources that include the following (most of which are in the Olive Tree App for IOS or online):

• NASB with Strong's
• Jewish Bible
• Jewish Commentary on the NT
• Aramaic translations of the NT (see: http://www.dukhrana.com/peshitta/index.php)
• Smith's Bible Dictionary
• Thompson Chain Bible

I also think the commentaries by William Luck on the gospels and the book of Acts look interesting. You can see those here: http://www.lucklink.org. I haven't read these though, I just love William Luck's teaching.

Regarding commentaries, I have also gotten a lot in the past from individuals comments on various verses at Youversion.com. Of course, you have to take this with a grain of salt, but it has led to some fruitful studies for me.
 
One of my favorite study helps is an Englishman's Concordance. You can also do the same thing on Esword by typing the Strongs number into the search window. This gives you a list of all the places the same word is used and allows you to get a deeper understanding of the meaning of the verse you are studying.

The actual book is helpful though because it tells you what tense a verb is used in etc...
 
I mainly use a kjv with strongs full concordance. I use mysword on an android phablet. I also find Youngs Literal Translation handy to study in parallel with the textus receptus, I have only a cursory knowledge of Greek but the YLT sticks more closely than the KJV to the actual original word order, making it not very readable in English but very helpful if you want to understand the Greek. I find Matthew Henry's commentary to be useful sometimes, and Luther's bible notes, I try not to put much weight in commentaries but they can help tie things to related passages when you didn't see the connection.
 
I like commentaries because they are themed. It's really a super-long sermon that's been put into print. But, like text books, there are way too many books by way too many authors, so I won't specify any that I use. And let’s face it; trying to find verses in the Bible around some specific themes is like trying to find all the different shades of blue crayons in a box where the colors were sorted alphabetically.

Anyway, like I said, I like commentaries because they are themed. That is their purpose, but you also have to deal with the author’s interpretations (not to be confused with translations). That’s why when I want to learn about a particular theme, I usually look for at least two books by different authors. If it is a controversial issue, I’ll try to grab three books but make sure at least one is Pro- and one is Con-.

I currently use a 4-translation Bible that has KJV, NIV, NASB and Amplified. It’s nice being able to compare the different translations side by side. My personal preference is the Amplified. I find it helps with understanding the full concept of what was being written. It even interjects names when a lot of he’s, they’s or she’s are being thrown around back and forth so you know exactly who is saying what to whom. In addition, by default, the Amplified also cross references many verses where God promises He will do something or, for example, when someone in the NT references something in the OT. One caveat though: this is one of those translations that take the “husband of one wife” verses and changes them to “husband of but one wife”. Since it’s my most recent area of study, it’s the only big thing I’ve noticed so far.
 
Two more Bible translations that I find helpful are Rotherham's, which has brackets around words/phrases that indicate emphasis, and the Restoration Scriptures. For quick research on a given subject area, Nave's Topical. For getting the depth of the language, the Amplified, although there are some parts that are poorly translated. For cultural/historical background, Unger's Bible Dictionary. Also, the Interlinear Bible for side by side comparisons. Hope this helps, Pebble, and so glad you want to "dive in."
 
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