What is a commentary?
A Bible commentary explains or interprets the Bible or a specific book of the Bible.
Some commentaries cover the entire Bible, while others are devoted to individual books of the Bible. Whole-Bible commentaries may be one-volume or multi-volume. Most libraries, both public and academic, have at least one Bible commentary in their collections. Trexler Library has many. Some are located in the Reference area and must be used in the library. Others are located in the General Collection and may be checked out. Commentaries in e-book format are also available.
Search Tip: If you are looking for a commentary on a specific book of the Bible, add the name of that book to your search terms (e.g., bible commentary genesis).
The Oxford Bible Commentary
HarperCollins Bible Commentary
International Bible Commentary
The Collegeville Bible Commentary
Abingdon Bible Commentary
What is a concordance?
A Bible concordance provides an alphabetical list of words that appear in the Bible. The entry for each word provides information on how often that word appears in the Bible, and lists the specific verses in which the word appears.
Strong's Exhaustive Bible Concordance is freely available online.