I recently read On Writing by Stephen King, a memoir of King’s writing life. In a chapter titled Toolbox, King shares a story where his uncle lugged a heavy toolbox around the house for a task that only required a screwdriver.
When King asked his uncle why he carried the hefty toolbox rather than the one tool he needed, his uncle replied, “I didn’t know what else I might find to do once I got out here, did I? It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect and get discouraged.”
King tells this story to urge writers to build their writing toolbox and carry it wherever they go. When writers are well-equipped, they will not get discouraged by challenging tasks.
This principle also applies to Bible study. Scripture tells us to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB). If we want to become approved workers, we should have a Bible study toolbox that will equip us to handle God’s Word accurately. The key to becoming proficient in any craft is having the correct tools and knowing when and how to use them.
So, I compiled a list of ten tools to have in your Bible study toolbox and some recommendations.
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First Layer: Must Have Tools
This layer of the toolbox contains the three most essential tools for Bible study.
1. A Bible
The Bible is the most crucial and only indispensable tool in your toolbox. You must have a Bible and have it in a robust translation. There are three main approaches to translating the Bible: word-for-word, thought-for-though, and paraphrase.
Word-for-word translations of the Bible try to keep the original language’s word order, grammar, and syntax as much as possible. Some examples of this translation are KJV, NKJV, ESV, and NASB. Thought-for-thought translations keep the meaning of each sentence or paragraph without translating every word precisely. NIV, NLT, and HCSB are some examples of this translation.
The Paraphrase method translates the Bible by paraphrasing it. They are the less reliable translations as authors often take liberties and add to the Scriptures. Examples of paraphrase versions include the Living Bible and The Message.
Recommendation: I recommend using word-for-word translations like the ESV or NASB for Bible study.
2. A Study Bible
A study Bible contains additional content, such as footnotes, commentary notes, articles, historical context, book summaries, word definitions, textual variants, maps, charts, and application points. Study Bibles are essential because they provide extra information to understand the Bible better. The first ever study Bible was the Geneva Bible, published in 1560. It was the first English Bible done by a team of translators rather than individuals and the first Bible to use verses and notes in the margins.
Recommendation: The ESV Study Bible, The Reformation Study Bible, The MacArthur Study Bible, and The Spurgeon Study Bible.
3. Bible Commentaries
Bible commentaries are books with detailed verse-by-verse exposition of Bible books. They are essential to Bible study for a few reasons. First, they serve as a fact checker. Every biblical text has only one interpretation, and commentaries help ensure our understanding is consistent with the church. Second, it teaches us things from Scripture we might have missed during our study. And third, we learn what the Holy Spirit is teaching others.
There are three main types of commentaries: one-volume commentaries, group commentary sets, and individual series. One-volume commentaries contain all their notes in a single book, rather than separating them by Bible books —for example, the Moody Bible Commentary. Group commentary sets are commentaries on the Bible that span several volumes and are usually published by a group of people or a publisher—for example, the New International Commentary Set. Individual series are commentaries usually written by individuals on separate books of the Bible.
Recommendation: Choosing the right commentary will depend on what book you are studying and the desired level of technicality. The following resources will help you select the best commentary for your needs. Challies’s Best Commentaries series, New Testament Survey by D.A Carson, and Old Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Longman III.
Second Layer: Important Tools
This layer contains tools that are useful for Bible study but not critical. I say this because most Bibles and study Bibles have them in limited form. You should get these tools to study the Bible more deeply (which I highly encourage!)
4. A Concordance
A Bible concordance contains a list of words used in the Bible and the texts where they occur. Concordances help you locate verses with specific words or find a location of verses you partially remember. Most Bibles come with a concordance, but these are usually condensed. For your toolbox, you want an exhaustive Bible concordance. Exhaustive concordances contain every word in the Bible (including words like “the”) and their locations. Concordances are also helpful for word studies, as they may have definitions of Greek/Hebrew words. Getting a concordance in your main translation is best, as different versions often use other words.
Recommendation: The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (KJV), ESV Exhaustive Concordance, The NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance, The NKJV Concordance, NLT Comprehensive Concordance, and Strongest NASB Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
5. A Bible Dictionary
A Bible dictionary contains the definitions of keywords, such as names, places, doctrines, animals, and plants. Like a concordance, the words are arranged alphabetically and are based on translations. Bible dictionaries are helpful as they provide additional geographical, historical, and cultural information on Scripture. Some Bible dictionaries also give the meaning of original words in Greek and Hebrew.
Recommendations Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 vols), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, and The New Bible Dictionary.
6. A Bible Atlas
Bible atlases contain maps and charts of geographic areas pertinent to the Old and New Testaments. They help survey the area where events of the Bible occurred and give a better context. It also helps us understand how the Bible’s geography affects its interpretation.
Recommendation: Crossway ESV Bible Atlas, The Basic Bible Atlas, Baker’s Bible Atlas, The Carta Bible Atlas (formerly the Macmillian Bible Atlas), Zondervan Atlas of the Bible, The Moody Atlas of the Bible, and The Holman Bible Atlas.
Third layer: Nice to Have Tools
The third and final layer of this Bible study toolbox contains tools that are nice to have.
7. Original Languages
The Bible was initially written in Greek and Hebrew and studying the text in its original language is more advantageous than using translations. However, laypeople rarely have the skill or training to extensively study the Bible in their original languages. Fortunately, many resources can help us gain a basic understanding of Greek and Hebrew for Bible study purposes.
Recommendation: Greek for the Rest of us, Hebrew for the Rest of us, Interlinear Bibles, Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek, Basics for Biblical Greek, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, and other Early Christian Literature, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar, and The Vocabulary Guide to Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic
8. Books on Hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics are sets of principles and methods to interpret the Bible. Books on Bible study are helpful as they provide steps to observe, interpret, and apply the Bible. They are a sort of manual for your toolbox.
Recommendation: Knowing Scripture, Journey into God’s Word, Women of the Word, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, The Knowable Word, and How to Eat Your Bible.
9. Cross-References
A fundamental tenet of biblical hermeneutics is Scripture interprets Scripture. This means we should always look to other related Scriptures (cross-references) when studying a text. Cross-references are commonly at the bottom of Bibles, but reference Bibles have them in the center column to make them easier to find. Those are good enough for Bible study, but you can use The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (free online) for more cross-references.
10. Stationery
If you study the Bible using a print copy, you will probably write and highlight it. Having reliable stationery will ensure you do not ruin your Bible. For writing, I recommend Micron fine liner pens and Mr. Bible pens for highlighting.
When Judgment Day comes, we will regret the waste of a single moment not used for the glory of Christ. We will, however, not regret one moment we spent diligently studying God’s Word and hiding it in our heart. We will only wish we’d spent more time doing this.
Andrew Murray
I hope these resources will help you study God’s Word and mine its precious truths so you may know Christ and become more like him.
Loved the toolbox analogy! I have a canvas carry all I use for my Bible, notebooks, pens, etc. One day, my grown children and grandchildren will look through those journals. They will read my thoughts, scriptures that encouraged me, and heartfelt prayers. May God continue in His mercy 💖