LibGuides: FTS: Animals in the Bible: Bible Commentaries

Biblical Commentaries

Biblical commentaries are a category of texts that, as their name implies, provides commentary on biblical passages. They define terms, discuss major themes, and identify how a particular collection of verses fits within the larger book. There are a few key ways to find biblical commentaries in our library. The first is to use the commentaries that are in the Reference section, listed below. The second way is to search the library catalog to find commentaries in the General Collection - as a bonus, you can check these out!

Biblical Commentaries in the Reference Collection

Harper's Bible Commentary
Call Number: Reference BS491.2 .H37 1988
Publication Date: 1988
Follows the arrangement of the Bible, giving a brief introduction to each book of the Bible, then a short explanation of major passages. It is very good at making the language of the Bible clear, explaining context, and linking related passages together.
The Jewish Study Bible
Call Number: Reference BS895 .J4 2004
Publication Date: 2004
Translation and commentary by Jewish scholars from around the world.
New Interpreter's Bible
Call Number: Reference BS491.2 .N484 1994
Publication Date: 2001
A comprehensive commentary in twelve volumes, this leading resource provides the text in two translations, NRSV and New International Version, side by side, along with scholarly commentary.
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary
Call Number: Reference BS491.2 .N485 1990
Publication Date: 1989
This compact commentary concentrates on the cultural, historical, literary, and religious issues of the Scriptures and summarizes varied explanations of the Bible in use in the community of Roman Catholic scholars.
The Oxford Bible Commentary
Call Number: Reference BS491.3 .O94 2001
Publication Date: 2001
This one volume commentary provides line-by-line analysis for the NRSV.
Women's Bible Commentary
Call Number: Reference BS491.3 .W66 2012
Publication Date: 2012
The Women's Bible Commentary is a classic resource for biblical scholarship, written by some of the best feminist scholars in the field today. This twentieth anniversary edition features brand new or thoroughly revised essays to reflect newer thinking in feminist interpretation and hermeneutics.

Biblical Commentaries in the General Collection

This includes multi-volume series where each volume is a commentary on a book of the Bible, as well as separately published commentaries on individual Biblical books.

Here's the best way to search the catalog for commentaries: go to the Advanced Search screen. Enter the word "commentaries" in on search box, and set the drop down menu to Subject. Then enter the name of your book of the Bible (like Matthew) in another search box. Then search & see what you find.

Anchor Bible Commentary Series - General Collection: BS192.2.A1 (44 vol)
This series of commentaries covers books from the OT and NT. These are shelved together in the general collection. Note that some books may be covered in two volumes, numbered 40 and 40A.
Hermeneia Series - General Collection - Various Locations
This is a series of commentaries on different books of the Bible. To locate these, search in the catalog for the series title and the title of a book of the Bible (ex. "Hermeneia" and "Hosea").