What are the best Bible study resources to help you understand difficult verses, text-critical issues, and the background of Scripture?

Some people have asked me for my top recommendations for different kinds of Bible study resources that you can use to help in your Bible study, especially when you come across a text you don't easily understand. Whether you're studying a whole book of the Bible or you're working through a passage and come across a verse you don't understand or a text-critical issue that you don't understand, having the right tools can make a huge difference.

Here are my five recommendations for Bible study resources that I think every serious student of Scripture should consider.

1. A Bible Dictionary

The first one is a Bible dictionary like the Holman Bible Dictionary. This is one that has been really helpful for me over the years.

Bible dictionaries allow you to find definitions to all kinds of different terms that you come across in the text. So, if you're reading about the nativity, you might wonder, “What is a manger?” You can easily look it up in a Bible dictionary and find a definition of the word manger, historical explanations, and even a pictures or one made out of stone.

Or maybe you want to understand what manna is, or the meaning of an Aramaic term like "Maranatha," or the significance of a place like Megiddo. A Bible dictionary is one of the quickest ways to understand people, places, customs, and terms that might otherwise be unfamiliar.

When I first got serious about studying the Bible, I'd always have my Bible dictionary close by. Whenever I came across something in the text that I didn't recognize, I'd turn to Holman Bible Dictionary.

2. A Book Commentary

Next up is a regular commentary on a particular book of the Bible.

If you want to study a book like the Gospel according to Mark, you can grab a commentary like this one by Darrell Bock, my mentor. He wrote the New Cambridge Bible Commentary on Mark.

Commentaries give you the text of the Bible and then commentary from the author. Depending on the kind of commentary it is, you might find more scholarly discussions or something more applicational for preaching or personal devotions. The books generally walk through a passage verse by verse and help explain what the text means in context.

So, if you're studying through a book of the Bible, a good commentary can help you slow down and notice details you might otherwise miss.

3. An Apologetics Commentary

There is a special kind of commentary that I need to mention for those interested in apologetics. The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible. And if you're reading this on my blog, this is going to be a resource you will want to check out.

It is especially helpful because it highlights questions about the text that skeptics tend to ask or questions you might personally wrestle with as you reading the text. For example, "Who spoke to Jesus? The elders or the centurion in Luke 7 and Matthew 5?" It addresses common objections and difficult issues that come up when studying Scripture.

One of the things I appreciate about this commentary is that it doesn't just explain what the passage says. It also engages some difficult challenges to the literary coherence or historical reliability of the text. It will probably answer many of your own questions as well as other questions thoughtful readers commonly raise.

4. A Bible Background Commentary

Another kind of commentary you should know about is a Bible background commentary. For example, The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament by Craig Keener. This is a really helpful resource that provides cultural background material that sheds new light on what may be familiar texts in the New Testament.

Sometimes understanding the historical and cultural setting of a passage makes all the difference. Customs, geography, political situations, and first-century practices can shed light on details that modern readers might miss. That's why a Bible background commentary like this is such a valuable resource.

5. A Study Bible

Another thing people naturally want to have is a study Bible. Study Bibles are helpful because they give you an introduction, outline, main message, key verses, maps, and other information that helps you get oriented to each book before you even begin to read it. If you have some basic questions about the text or you need an introduction to the book, everything is conveniently located in one place.

One example is the CSB Study Bible. It has section headers and short articles as well. If you're just beginning to build your library, a good study Bible is probably one of the most useful resources you can own.

Bonus Recommendation: The NET Bible for Text-Critical Questions

Finally, I also recommend the NET Bible. This one is a more scholarly resource but it is a helpful go-to resource for questions about English translations and text critical discussions about the original wording of the text.

It has an incredible amount of translator's notes that explain specific English translation decisions and the conclusions of scholars regarding the footnotes in your Bible. What does it mean when the footnote says, “Some manuscripts say...”? How do we know which reading is more likely what the author wrote, and which one is more likely a variant that doesn't go back to the original? The NET Bible notes can help you with those kinds of questions.

For anyone interested in textual criticism, Bible translations, or understanding why translations differ at certain places, the NET Bible is an incredible resource.

Building Your Bible Study Toolkit

Those are five tools that can be helpful for you.

You don't need all of them at once, and you certainly don't have to become an expert just to deepen your understanding of God's Word. But if you're studying a whole book of the Bible, working through a difficult passage, or just trying to understand what you're reading at a deeper level, these kinds of resources can be very helpful: A Bible dictionary, a regular commentary, an apologetics commentary, a Bible background commentary, a study Bible, and even a more scholarly resource like the NET Bible can provide a solid foundation for serious Bible study.

If you're interested in more tools like this, check out my video series on the Apologetics Study Bible and other Bibles as well. I'll drop links to all of these resources below so you can check them out for yourself.

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