Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias provide background information on biblical events, geographical places, people, and theological concepts. These sources often contain lists of works cited that point you toward other reputable scholarship on your passage.
The Anchor Bible Dictionary
Call Number: Ref BS440 .A54 1992 v. 1-6
ISBN: 0385193602
Harpercollins Bible Dictionary
Call Number: Ref BS440 .H235 2011
ISBN: 9780061469060
Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period
Call Number: Ref BM50 .D525 1996 v. 1-2
ISBN: 0028972929
This definitive and current work covers not only names, places, and events of the Bible, but also includes cultural history, social institutions, archeological sites, and other topics of particular interest to Biblical scholars today.
A solid five-volume alphabetical set offering short scholarly articles on topics, people, and parts of the bible.
This encyclopedia contains almost 120 in-depth entries, ranging in length from 500 to 10,000 words, on each of the canonical books of the Bible, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important noncanonical texts, and thematic essays on topics such as canonicity, textual criticism, and translation.
More than four thousand entries present information on the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament.
A handy reference volume for key people, places, events, concepts, institutions, and circumstances of biblical times.
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible - Ref. BS440 .E44 2000
Brief entries provide overviews of topics related to the era when the sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity were formulated, from about 450 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.
Essays on the culture and history of Egypt, Syro-Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. Includes some coverage of the Arabian peninsula, northeast Africa, and Aegean and Anatolian cultures. Provides excellent background papers on culture and society, with extensive bibliographies.
An excellent source for information on the Jewish people and religion, offering scholarly and in-depth articles, recently updated to include current research on historical and contemporary topics.
