Basic Books for Bible Study

Basic Books for Bible Study¹

Ed. F. Sanders

"When I have a little money, I buy books- if any is left, I buy food and clothes"
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536))

Essential Books

These are the reference books we think every Bible student should have at the very minimum:

English Standard Version (the most accurate modern translation²)
Hendrickson Parallel Bible (KJV, NKJV, NIV, and NLT translations for comparison)
New Bible Commentary, IVP
New Bible Dictionary, IVP
New Dictionary Of Theology, IVP

Recommended Reference Books

The following basic books should be in every students library if possible:

Essential Truths Of The Christian Faith, R. C. Sproul
New International Bible Commentary, F. F. Bruce
New Testament History, F. F. Bruce
The English Bible, F. F. Bruce
Jesus: Past, Present And Future, F.F. Bruce
Knowing Scripture, R. C. Sproul
Concise Theology, J. I. Packer
Understanding The Bible, John R. W. Stott
New Testament Survey, Merrill C. Tenney
Introduction to the Old Testament, R. K. Harrison
Basic Christianity, John R. W. Stott
The Cross Of Christ, John R. W. Stott
Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem
A Short Life of Christ, Everett F. Harrison
The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable?, F. F. Bruce
How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
How to Read the Bible Book By Book, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
Know Why You Believe and Know What You Believe, Paul Little
Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, William D. Mounce.

Some On-line Basic Reference Books

New Testament Introduction, Louis Berkhof
Summary Of Christian Doctrine, Louis Berkhof
Life Of Christ, James Stalker
Life Of St. Paul, James Stalker
Things Most Surely Believed (A Summary Of Christian Doctrine)
Bible History: A Survey Of The Old And New Testaments, (PDF version here), J. Gresham Machen and James O. Boyd
Why & What: A Brief Introduction to Christianity, Douglas Jones
The Inspiration Of Scripture, Loraine Boettner
more online books

Recommended books for more advanced study can be found on our expanded list. Also see our recommended Bible Study Software Page.

Not Recommended!

Study Bibles are not recommended for reading and general Bible study! Leave them on the bookshelf and use them for reference only in the same way as you would a Bible dictionary or commentary! See the article The Bible Without Comment.

Notes:

(1) Most of the books listed may be obtained from any Christian bookstore. Used books can sometimes be obtained at reasonable costs at amazon.com and ebay.com. Also see our Book Search page.

(2) See the ESV website. The NASB (New American Standard Bible - Updated Version) and the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) are also good choices for accuracy in translation.

updated 12-26-2011