The New Testament
Research Guide
Reference Works | Library Catalogs | Indexes | Internet Sites| Writing Aids
Reference Works
Specialized reference works like the ones listed below are very useful for research. Specialized encyclopedias can provide useful overviews or convenient explanations. Specialized dictionaries give a more precise defination of terms as they are used by a particular field of study. Concordances can help you locate exactly where particular words appear in sacred texts. All of the titles here are located on the first floor of the Library. Browse around the same areas to find other useful titles.
Encyclopedias
- Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
Reference DE 59 .C55 1988
- A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion
- Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation
Reference BS 500 .D5 1999
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
- Dictionary of the Bible
- Encyclopaedia Judaica
Reference DS 102.8 .E496 1996
- Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
Reference BL 31 .E62 1955
- Encyclopedia of Early Christianity
Reference BR 162.2 .E53 1997
- Encyclopedia of Religion
Reference BL 31 .E46 1987
- Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Reference BM 487 .E53 2000
- Encyclopedia of the Early Church
Reference BR 66.5 .D5813 1991
- Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906)
- New Catholic Encyclopedia
Reference BX 841 .N44
- New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land
Reference DS 111 .A2 E5813 1993
- Oxford Companion to Christian Thought
Reference BR 95 .O7 2000
- Oxford Companion to the Bible
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East
Reference DS 56 .O9 1997
- The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
- Reader's Guide to Judaism
Reference BM 50 .R43 2000
Concordances
- Eerdman's Analytical Concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
Reference BS 425 .W48 1988
- The NRSV Concordance Unabridged
Reference BS 425 .K645 1991
- Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Reference BS 425 .S8 1984
Dictionaries
Library Catalogs
Use the catalogs below to locate books.
Some things to remember when doing a subject search on the Bible:
- The Bible can be searched as Bible; that will be general works on the Bible as a whole. If you are looking for information on a particular book in the Bible you need to search it as Bible O. T. (or N. T. ) and then the name of the book. For example: Bible N. T. Acts.
- There are several useful subheadings for the study of religious sources. They are
- Commentaries
- Criticism, Interpretation, Etc.
- Introductions.
For example: Bible N T Criticism Interpretation Etc.
- Some other subheadings that are useful are:
- Antiquities
- History
- Social Life and Customs .
For example:
- Israel Antiquities
- Jews History
- Palestine Social Life and Customs
- There is also a heading Excavations (Archaeology).
Two good series of commentaries are The New Interpreter's Bible and The Anchor Bible Series.
Indexes
Although the College of DuPage Library has no print or online indexes specifically for religion, many of these general sources cover the topic well. In many cases, the databases will have the full text article available online. If you are using these databases from off-campus, please be sure to have your library card available.
Internet Sites
Writing Aids
Abstracts
You may be asked to write abstracts for the sources you use in your research. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) has an information sheet available on Writing Report Abstracts
Citing Sources
The MLA format (Modern Language Association) is commonly used to create bibliographies or works cited pages. The sources below may help you.
General Guides
Dartmouth Writng Program, Materials for Students: Writing the Academic Paper
Research Strategies: Finding your way through the Information Fog
Writing about the Humanities PE 1408 .D593 2000
Marianne Berger, Reference Librarian
630.942.2338
berger@cdnet.cod.edu
15 December 2003
