Below are listed some specific sources you need to use in a particular order to do this. If you have any difficulty finding the correct work or in using it, please ask a reference librarian for help.

FIRST: BACKGROUND
Use Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias to study the background of your passage. You may need to look up the theme, author, location or other major points of your passage when using these books. The following list includes the more appropriate items to use. These are located in the Encyclopedia area, ( the north section of the reference collection).

The Anchor Bible Dictionary    R 220.3 A539 (Encyc Area)
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary    R 220.3 I29 (Encyc Area)
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia     R 220.3 I61 (Encyc Area)
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible    R 220.3 I61 (Encyc Area)
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible    R 220.3 Z87 (Encyc Area)

SECOND: WORD STUDY
USE concordances and exegetical/theological dictionaries to study the individual word meanings and usages. These sources are best used in the order described. The items are located in the shelves behind the reference desk, except Metzger, which is in reserves at the circulation desk.

1. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Metzger)  R 225.48 M596 1975 (at Reserve Desk)

        Use this first to identify textual problems, such as copying errors. It helps establish
        what is the authoritative text for the New Testament.

2. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible    R 220.2 S923

        Use this next to find Strong' s number for your word. This lets you identify the
        original words behind the significant English words in your passage. Look up the
        English word and find the number. In the back, there is both a Hebrew and a Greek
        dictionary you can look the original word up in.

The Word Study New Testament    R 225.5 B582w

        Use this to identify the Strong's number for a word also, if it is a New Testament
        word. Look up your passage and the numbers are listed underneath the words. It has
        a table in the back that indicates page numbers from other reference books where
        that word is discussed.

3. The Word Study Concordance    R 225.2 W662 1978

        Use this next to identify all the places the word has been used. It is in order by
        Strong's number. Each entry has the page numbers from other reference books
        where that word is discussed. In the back is an English-Greek Index that allows you
        to find Greek words by looking up the English word or English words by looking up
        the Greek word. The English section is in alphabetical order and the Greek section
        is in Strong's number order.

The New Englishman's Greek Concordance    R 225.2 W662 1972

        This is similar to The Word Study Concordance, including an English-Greek Index
        in the back. The entries do not have page numbers for other reference books though.
        Use this if you cannot locate Word Study Concordance.

4. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Colin Brown)    R 230.03 N532

        Finally, use this source to see how your word was used in Classical Greek (CL), the
        Old Testament usage - Septuagint (OT) and the New Testament usage (NT). It is
        organized by English key words with a Scripture, Hebrew word, Greek word and
        general indexes in volume four. Start with the general index, where major ideas
        are in bold print.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Kittel)    R 225.03 K62

        This source is similar to Brown's Dictionary of New Testament Theology. It helps
        you understand how your word was used. It is arranged by Greek word. You can
        use the number in the Word Study Concordance to find the volume and page
        numbers that discuss your word. It is also available in an abridged one volume text
        with an English key word index at R 225.03 K62 1985.

Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament    R 225.4803 E96

        This is another source to examine how your word was used. It is in order by
        Greekword with an English key word index in volume three.

THIRD: CONTENT
Use commentaries and journal articles to study the content of your passage. Some of the commentaries are available in the shelves behind the reference desk, but many are also in the circulating books on first floor. The indexes to journal articles are on the index table near the reference desk. The following lists are of commentaries and indexes that are particularly good. Other sources can be used as well. Commentaries written earlier than 1950 are not recommended for this assignment.

Recommended Commentary Sets:

        The International Critical Commentary    220.7 I61
        Word Biblical Commentary    220.7 W924
        The Anchor Bible    220.7 B582
        Tyndale New Testament Commentaries    225.7 T987
        The New International Commentary on the New Testament (N.I.C.)
        The New International Greek Testament Commentary (N.I.G.T.C.)
        Hermeneia
                (Search in the series section of the search screen to get
                the call numbers for each title in the last three series.)

Recommended Individual Commentaries: (series - author)

        The Gospel According to Matthew (Pillar - Morris)    226.2077 M876
        The Gospel According to Mark (N.I.C. - Lane)    226.307 L266
        Mark: A Commentary on his apology for the Cross (Gundry)    226.307 G975
        Luke (New Testament Commentary - Hendriksen)    226.407 H498
        The Gospel According to Luke (Anchor - Fitzmyer)    220.7 B582
        The Gospel of Luke (N.I.G.T.C. - Marshall)    226.407 M368
        The Gospel According to John (N.I.C. - Morris)    226.507 M876
        The Gospel According to John (Anchor - Brown)    220.7 B582
        The First Epistle to the Corinthians (N.I.C. - Fee)    227.2077 F295
        Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians (N.I.C. - Hughes)    227.307 H894
        The Epistle to the Hebrews (N.I.G.T.C. - Ellingworth)    227.87 E46
        The Epistle to the Hebrews (N.I.C. - Bruce)    227.87 B886

Journal Articles:

       New Testament Abstracts can be used to identify appropriate scholarly articles.
An abstract is a list of article citations by subject with a short description of each article
included. In every volume, issue number three contains a scriptural index near the back.
Look here for your passage. It will indicate the numbers of each abstract in that
volume (3 issues) that discusses your passage.

        Also use Religion Index One, located within the FirstSearch database to find articles.
It is an index (a list of article citations by subject) of scholarly and popular religious journals and
magazines. Each volume contains a subject index, an author index and a scripture
index, in that order.

        Be aware that the library may not have all the journals you need. It may be necessary to order
some items from another library. Talk with a SAU Librarian for more information.

OTHER SOURCES:

There are many other sources available for exegesis in a wide variety of categories. Those listed above are recommended for you to start with. If you need further sources, please talk with a reference librarian. Some final recommendations for you include:

The Encyclopedia of Religion    R 203 E56 (Encyc Area)
The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archeology    R 220.93 N532
Oxford Bible Atlas (3rd ed.)    R 220.91 O98 1984
New Testament History (Bruce)    225.95 B886
A Survey of the New Testament (Gundry)    225.61 G975 1981
New Testament Introduction (Guthrie)    225.61 G984 1990
New Testament Times (Tenney)    225.9 T299
New Testament Theology (Guthrie)    230.04 G984
A Theology of the New Testament (Ladd)    225.66 L154 1993

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels R 226.03 D554
Dictionary of New Testament background R 225.9503 D554
The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings (Stein)    232.954 S819
An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus (Stein)    226.806 S819
The Hard Sayings of Jesus (Bruce)    232.954 B886
The Hard Sayings of Paul (Brauch)    227.077 B825
More Hard Sayings of the New Testament (Davids)    232.954 B886
Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Kaiser)    221.6 K13
More Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Kaiser)    221.6 K13
 
 

DON'T GO AWAY EMPTY HANDED!!!   If you are having trouble locating what you need, just ask for a reference librarian. We are here to help!