1. What Bible reference books do you currently own?
2. What kinds of things are you most interested in learning about the Bible?
3. Do you prefer your Bible reference products on software or in printed books?
4. Do you want an overview of the entire Bible?
5. Do you want to find specific things such as subjects, words, characters, etc., in the Bible?
6. Do you want to understand the meaning of a particular Bible passage?

The Zondervan Core Reference Library
There are many reference resource options available, and most of them fall into three main categories. We call this the Zondervan Core Reference Library.


The center of a Christian’s core library begins with a good personal Study Bible, such as the Zondervan NIV Study Bible. This Study Bible is complete with notes and helpful materials including maps, introductions to each book of the Bible, and cross-references to Scripture. However, the more you use your Study Bible, the more you’ll realize that as good as it is, its primary purpose is to provide an accurate translation of the Word of God and not function as a complete, in-depth reference.

This is why we want to introduce you to our Zondervan Core Reference Library, which includes a set of five reference books that will give you an overview of the Bible, a way to find verses and passages in the Bible, and a guide to help you understand things in the Bible.

The Zondervan Core Reference Library can also be described in terms of three main goals:
        Goal #1—“Overview" 
        Goal #2—“Find” 
        Goal #3—“Understand”

“Overview” Reference Resources

“Find” Reference Resources
If you are interested in finding key words or concepts that are found in the Bible and often find yourself asking, “I want to know more about ‘salvation’—where is that word used in the Bible?” Or, “How often is ‘marriage’ spoken of by Jesus?” Perhaps you are interested in what the Bible says about a specific topic, like parenting.
 
Many reference products, especially concordances, are connected to a specific Bible translation. If you would like to know more about translations, please click here. A concordance is based on a specific Bible translation, such as the NIV, KJV, or NASB.

The key products in the find portion of the core library include Bible concordances and topical Bibles.

The Bible Concordance
A Bible concordance is an index to the words found in the Bible. Like a dictionary, a concordance is arranged alphabetically. A concordance can be used when you want to look up a particular word in the Bible that is connected to a chapter and verse. The concordance lists the places where the word is found and offers a small sample of the entire verse. A concordance is also helpful if you would like to know the original Greek or Hebrew word the authors used and how that word is translated into the English. In some concordances, the English word is then keyed to a numbering system in the back of the book which helps you understand the original language meaning of the word and how the word is used throughout Scripture.

Concordances come in different sizes, ranging from brief abridged versions that are found in the back of most study Bibles to exhaustive concordances of almost 2,000 pages.

Three basic types of concordances:
1. Compact Concordance—a very brief and portable concordance that includes certain frequently occurring words.
2. Complete Concordance—a larger concordance that includes more important words in the Bible with their most important occurrences.
3. Exhaustive Concordance—a concordance that includes a complete index of every appearance of every word in the Bible plus gives access to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek translations.



Key Zondervan concordances include:

• The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
• The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance
• The Strongest NASB Exhaustive Concordance
• The New International Bible Concordance
• Cruden’s Complete Concordance
• The NIV Compact Concordance and Cruden’s Compact Concordance

The Topical Bible

The next reference resource you need to know about in the “find” section of the Zondervan Core Reference Library is the topical Bible. A topical Bible is a guide to different subjects, themes, and topics addressed in the Bible. The topical Bible is a valuable tool that will help you find specific items of interest. For instance, if you are interested in what the Bible has to say on the topic of marriage, you would look up the word “marriage” to find all the places in the Bible where marriage is referred to.

The topical Bible gives a much larger offering of places to look within the Bible for the topics of interest. The concordance and the topical Bible complement each other, and Zondervan highly recommends them both. Key Zondervan products that help find Bible topics include:

• Zondervan NIV Nave’s Topical Bible
• The NIV Compact Nave’s Topical Bible
• Nave’s Topical Bible
• Nave’s Compact Topical Bible

“Understand” Reference Resources
Do you ask questions like, “What does this Bible passage mean?” or, “How should I interpret or understand this passage?” If so, then we recommend resources such as a Bible dictionary, a Bible encyclopedia, and Bible commentaries.

Bible Dictionary
A Bible dictionary is a reference resource that gives concisely worded definitions and biblical, historical, and theological information about people, places, words, and events found in the Bible, all in alphabetical order. Some dictionaries have articles on theological terms that are not in the Bible, such as the word “trinity.” Dictionaries can also offer help with hard to pronounce biblical words. Key Zondervan Bible Dictionaries include:

• Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary
• The New International Bible Dictionary
• The NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible
• Zondervan Compact Dictionary

Bible Encyclopedia
A Bible Encyclopedia is simply a larger Bible Dictionary that goes into even greater depth and detail. Instead of a few sentences or paragraphs on a given topic, you might find a whole page or more that comments on the subject, word, or place of interest. Because of this, most Bible Encyclopedias are multivolume editions, whereas most Bible Dictionaries are a single volume.

Zondervan Bible Encyclopedias include:

• The New International Encyclopedia, with versions for Bible words, Bible characters, and Bible difficulties
• The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible

Bible Commentaries
As the name suggests, these books are the collected “comments” of various authors regarding the way they have come to interpret verses in the Bible. Commentaries are useful to compare information you have learned about various passages in the Bible, and they can add additional details regarding the geography, customs, and traditions of biblical times not found in other reference tools. Commentaries are available as a single volume or as part of a multivolume set. Here are a few key questions you may ask yourself when looking for a comentary:

1. Are you looking for a commentary that comes from a specific denominational or theological background?
2. Are you interested in a one- to two-volume version or a multivolume set?
3. Do you want a commentary on just one book of the Bible or on the entire Bible?

Finally, just keep in mind that there are three basic types of Bible commentaries:

1. Devotional commentaries focus on the spiritual significance of the text and how it applies to our daily lives. An example of a devotional commentary would be Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
2. Expository commentaries focus on explaining the original meaning of the text using historical, geographical, and cultural information as well as discussions of the original languages. A great example of this would be Zondervan’s Expositor’s Bible Commentary series.
3. Exegetical or critical commentaries focus on highly technical issues related to the Greek and Hebrew text and its interpretation and are written primarily for specialists.

Key Zondervan commentary products include:

• Matthew Henry’s Commentary
• The Zondervan NIV Matthew Henry Commentary
• New International Bible Commentary
• Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary
• The multivolume Expositor’s Bible Commentary
• The Expositor’s Bible Commentary two-volume abridged edition
• The NIV Application Commentary
• The Zondervan Bible Backgrounds Commentary