Must Have Basics for Biblical Study

I was thinking, I've been pre-pubbing and purchasing quite a few books that I have found, from the Logos introduction, quite interesting. However, thinking of the ample wisdom of those on these forums, it would be better to actually have some guidance on what a relatively new Logos user would be interested in getting to have a solid library of reliable resources....

Which got me thinking - why not start a post asking everyone to lay out the strategy they would use in buying core resources if they got to start from scratch. What five to ten resources (collections or single items) would you buy, in what order, and why?

Personally, I'm learning Greek and I love good in-depth word studies. I'll be interested especially to see what Greek resources as well as commentaries, dictionaries, etc. people lay out. So have at it!

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DMB

Well, each answer will likely be specific to their interests. But if were going to 'start over' and could only buy a few resources:

1. The OT/LXX/NT interlinears (sorry George!). I don't use the RI's but most probably do.

2. LSJ greek, HALOT hebrew, MM-Vocabulary

3. WBC

4. Herneneia

5. Anchor Yale Dictionary

WHY? These have become my standard 'go-to's. Each has considerable depth; the next 'layer' simply adds to the discussion.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309187#Comment_309187

Essential translations: NRSV, RSV, NAB, JB, NET, LEB, CEV...
Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary
Hermeneia
Anchor Yale Bible (Commentary)
Interlinear (not reverse interlinear)
Summa Theologica
Early Church Fathers (more complete than ACC ... but still incomplete)
Lexham Discourse Analysis
Greek, Latin & Hebrew dictionaries
PBI OT/NT studies

tom

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309218#Comment_309218

Essential translations: NRSV, RSV, NAB, JB, NET, LEB, CEV...

Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

Hermeneia

Anchor Yale Bible (Commentary)

Interlinear (not reverse interlinear)

Summa Theologica

Early Church Fathers (more complete than ACC ... but still incomplete)

Lexham Discourse Analysis

Greek, Latin & Hebrew dictionaries

PBI OT/NT studies

[Y]

I use BDAG and TDNT for the Greek lexicons

Mark Smith

I don't think I'd ever recommend starting from scratch and adding collections or single items. I would recommend starting with a solid base package and building from there.

Since you are interested in Greek, I'll answer your question slanted toward one with that interest.

The logical place to start is one of the scholars' packages. The Gold Package includes the NIGNT commentaries as well as the New American commentaries, both the UBS OT and NT Handbook series, and the Word Pictures and Word Studies in the NT sets. You'll also have the Greek and Hebrew Testaments, the Cascadia syntax graphs of the NT, Textual Commentary on the Greek NT, Louw-Nida, and the Theological Dictionary of the NT. So first off, upgrade to Scholar's Gold.

Now, in addition to this base package you'll want: BDAG (and HALOT if you move on to Hebrew study), and LSJ esp. if you have the Perseus collection.

You'll need a good Greek grammar. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Wallace is probably the most popular one Logos has.

You would probably benefit from Max and Mary (A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek NT).

I'd then add The New International Dictionary of NT Theology.

For a dictionary you need AYBD.

After that I'd pick up The Baker Exegetical Commentaries and the Pillar Commentaries. (This will give you three good series on the NT.)

The IVP Reference Collection can be picked up rather inexpensively and that will be a great edition to a serious student's library.

Add New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (Fee).

Beyond this, you might find the Exegetical Summary series of interest.

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309187#Comment_309187

The OT/LXX/NT interlinears (sorry George!). I don't use the RI's but most probably do.

Not sorry enough. [:@] [8o|] [;)] [:)]

mab

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309256#Comment_309256

I moved fairly quickly from Scholar to Platinum, an outstanding package that largely puts you on first base. You will probably do best with that until you determine which additional works are taking you in the right direction. If you use Logos daily you will discover the specific gaps that need filling with certain resources.

There's an enormous amount of redundant resources, so I would recommend that you spend more time obtaining mastery over basics in usage of the resources you have. And the more you understand Logos, the clearer you will see how the program itself gives you a concrete picture so that you won't flounder and waste time.

The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is my favorite resource. It came with my very first Logos 3 package. A pure delight in unlocking the world's best commentary: the Bible itself.

David Ames

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309256#Comment_309256

The OT/LXX/NT interlinears (sorry George!). I don't use the RI's but most probably do.

Not sorry enough.

The RI's do give us non Greek and Hebrew folks some idea as to how the translators 'scrambled' the originals especially when the RI's from two translations do not match. But then reading the English in a Interlinear is often fun.

[[to add to the needed resource list BDAG/HALOT Bundle AYBD The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series Both OT and NT(now part of packages but was not when I bought)]]

Mike Childs

I assume that you have the basic translations. (This would be a very individual list, of course.)

BDAG lexicon for Greek - along with the HALOT if you work with Hebrew.

IVP Dictionaries

NICOT/NT

Word Biblical Commentary

Ancient Christian Commentary

Pillar Commentaries

Tyndale Commentaries

Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

NIGNT Commentaries

Wesley's Works (If you are Wesleyan like me.)

Spurgeon's Sermons

Luther's Works

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309492#Comment_309492

The RI's do give us non Greek and Hebrew folks some idea as to how the translators 'scrambled' the originals especially when the RI's from two translations do not match.

David, I suspect that your statement rather than defending RI will be seen by George (and myself) as an example of the dangers of RI's. Although your "scrambled" was tongue-in-cheek it doesn't convey an understanding of how language moves from one language structure to another and why there is no expectation that various translations would have the same surface structure. In linguistic terms there is a deep structure that is shared by the various ways you can express sentence.For example, it makes no difference whether I say "Millie bit me this morning" or "This morning, Millie bit me" but they'd give very different RI's.

Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309528#Comment_309528

Keep the lists comming! I'm seeing some common resources that make a lot of sense for me to pick up for exegesis and Greek work.

On a side note, what RI's are you speaking of? I'm not sure I'm following the conversation correctly.

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309554#Comment_309554

Alexander - "RI" stands for "Reverse Interlinear." In case you are unfamiliar, in a reverse interlinear, the word order is based upon an english translation, (i.e. the ESV). The original text is moved out of order to match the english, and helps are added to show the correct word order.

Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309558#Comment_309558

Thanks for the clarification - I assume we were talking about interlnears but I wanted to be sure

Jerry M

you buy, in what order, and why?

Some use the expression "my go to" resource. I suspect many, for example, may have a Bible dictionary they use for quick reference, such as the New Bible Dictionary, and use The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary for more in depth study (or whatever your favorites are). And though they may have many others, they don't use them as often because of repetition. The same would hold true for BDAG and Louw-Nida, etc. This would streamline study habits. Over time many would begin to trust certain commentaries and would make repeat visits to that particular resource. Since in many cases you have to buy the set, they would prioritize their favorites. Just some thoughts.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309570#Comment_309570

I can't speak to the wisdom of a 'go to' approach (my own). Pluses and minuses. But after a while, you learn the way they think, approach problems and so forth. This is going to sound pretty bad, but I actually don't use the guides that much.

With the prioritization and the 'arrow keys', I quickly move across the commentaries, lexicons, etc depending on the issue, and knowing the resource. Sort of like being able to stroll into a series of professors' or theologians' 'offices' and see what they think on an issue.

Ken McGuire

1) If you are serious, you want to start with a base package. I like Original Languages. It has a lot of bang for the buck. I only wish it included the Eusubian Canons.

2) Supplement this with some good dictionaries. My first Logos purchase was actually Anchor-Yale Bible Dictionary. For serious work you want to add BDAG for Greek and HALOT for Hebrew. EDNT is quite good too. The IVP collection is also quite good, and last I saw, a great value.

3) You will want to add some good grammars too. I have Robinson and BDF for Greek and Jouon for Hebrew. Greek Grammar beyond the Basics is also good, but I use the dead tree version still.

4) The RI's make fancy looking reports and are good for quickly seeing that there is an issue, but they are of little help with actually diagnosing the issue, at least in my experience. Take the time to work though the text in the original - no matter how limited your language ability is. Take the time to try to work though it before going to the experts. For the NT, spend some time with the Metzger textual commentary at this point.

5) For grammatical issues I find WBC (great value) and Hermenia sets to be helpful. Especially for the NT, I also take a look at the Greek Fathers as well. I figure John Chryststom, for example, knows greek grammar and rhetoric much better than I do. :[:D]

6) I also take a look at other important theologians to see how they treated the text - looking more for theology than grammar issues. Logos makes it easy to see this and you will learn which voices in the choir of saints speak clearest to you. Over time, this list may change, and you may be surprised at who some of those figures are.

SDG

Ken McGuire

David Ames

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309528#Comment_309528

The RI's do give us non Greek and Hebrew folks some idea as to how the translators 'scrambled' the originals especially when the RI's from two translations do not match.

David, I suspect that your statement rather than defending RI will be seen by George (and myself) as an example of the dangers of RI's. [[Admitted - very easy to missuse]]

I Yield to my Spiritual Superiors - my only defense is that I did put ‘scrambled’ in quotes
Used a RI at prayer meeting tonight to check on meanings of the Greek where three translations gave somewhat different readings. [all were the same to a dynamic equivalence level] The single Greek word would have taken a paragraph to fully explain the nuances of meaning. When I get to Heaven will set aside a few years to read the original Scriptures in the original languages. [[was studing Jude 24 ἄμωμος]]

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309729#Comment_309729

I Yield to my Spiritual Superiors

Well, I'm definitely not your spiritual superior. Unfortunately, I do know a bit too much linguistics ... and recognize some real train-wrecks of interpretation in some forum posts by people who think they can ferret out great meanings from the original lanes which I they not know. My chief advantage is that I know I don't know Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic, Ugaritic, Latin ...[:^)] Your comment "same to a dynamic equivalence level" tells me you are not one of those people. My apologies for calling you out on it.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

Personally, I'm learning Greek and I love good in-depth word studies. I'll be interested especially to see what Greek resources as well as commentaries, dictionaries, etc. people lay out. So have at it!

Wiki has Logos Resource Reviews that includes => Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament

Keep Smiling [:)]