Recommended Resources

One of the purposes of this site is to point readers to books, articles, websites, etc. that assist in our understanding of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. This list is divided by topic and will include links to the relevant works when available. I’ll do my best to update it from time to time.

Archeology 

  • Hebrew Scriptures
    • Bibhistctxt, BiblicalHistoricalContext.com.
      This website covers a wide-range of topics that relate to the Hebrew scriptures and archaelogy. The author writes with great clarity and has an excellent grasp of the work of various archaelogists and scholars. My favorite series is his work on the genre of Joshua 10-11 and related issues. An excellent resource from a Christian who has a deep respect for the biblical texts as they are and not what so many wish them to be.
    • Eric H. Cline, From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2007.
      Cline, an archaelogist who has written volumes covering a variety of topics, wrote From Eden to Exile to uncover the truth behind stories in the Hebrew Bible like the Garden of Eden, the Noachian Flood, the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite military, and more. From Eden to Exile is a popular-level survey of the evidence behind the aforementioned stories and the best chapters are those on the Flood, the Exodus, and the conquest of Canaan.
    • Eric H. Cline, Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009.
      The Very Short Introduction series from OUP is an excellent way of introducing oneself to a wide-range of subjects. Cline’s contribution on biblical archaeology is no exception. As was the case with his From Eden to Exile, Biblical Archaeology gives the reader a glimpse into the history of the topic as well as a discussion of specific areas of interest including the Noachian Flood, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and even subjects pertaining to the New Testament period. And since volumes in the VSI series are relatively inexpensive ($9-$15 on Amazon), they are an affordable way to familiarize yourself with the basic areas of biblical archaeology.

Hebrew Scriptures

  • Torah (Pentatech)
    •  Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004.
      Though I have only recently finished the book of Genesis in Alter’s translation, I highly recommend it both because of the clarify of the translation and the superb commentary featured beneath the text itself. Alter’s translation relies on more than just the Masoretic text and he even corrects it where older manuscript traditions differ with it and it is warranted. But the best part is the commentary which features a variety of insights into cultural practices as well as literary analysis. Alter approaches the Torah as ancient Jewish literature, which it is, and reveals how it tells the story of the origins of the Jewish people.
    • Gary A. Rendsburg, “The Genesis of the Bible,” Rutgers, 2004.
      An interesting lecture positing that the book of Genesis was written to justify the monarchy in Israel both in its dynasty (Davidic) and location (Jerusalem). He notes the themes of the younger son preferred to the older (Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, David over Jesse’s other sons) as well as the “mount of the LORD,” an obvious reference to Jersusalem and also the place where Abraham goes to sacrifice Isaac and the city over which Melchizedek is ruler and priest.

Christian Scriptures

  • @StudyofChrist 
    • For anyone interested in the Matthean and Lukan genealogies of Jesus, @StudyofChrist’s series on both is superb. Careful, methodical, and thorough, the videos are exemplary of true scholarship.
  • Misc. New Testament Passages

    • Bill Mounce, “Mondays with Mounce.”
      A weekly blog series covering various passages in the Greek New Testament. Mounce is a scholar of New Testament Greek and has written various works on Koine Greek including Basics of Biblical Greek and Greek for the Rest of Us as well as a commentary covering the Pastoral Epistles in the Word Biblical Commentary series (a series I highly recommend).
    • Scribes of the Kingdom
      A blog devoted to understanding the New Testament in its original apocalyptic milieu. Alex, the site’s author, writes some top-notch material, diving into topics like Pauline eschatology, the fall of Jerusalem and its relationship to “hell,” and so much more. If you like my stuff on the Gospel of Mark, you’ll love Alex’s writing and you’ll probably learn more at his website than you will at mine.

Study Bibles

  • The HarperCollins Study Bible (HaperCollins, 2006)
    I’ve got a number of study Bibles but this one is far-and-away the best. The notes are extensive throughout and the scholarship is top-notch. I’ll be cracking this Bible open for years to come!

Last updated 11/10/18.