In our Wednesday night services for the past few months, we've been doing what I call a cooperative bible study. That is, I try to act more as a facilitator than a teacher. I really enjoy being a moderator for this kind of study, even though it is difficult for me to keep my mouth shut sometimes. For the last couple weeks we've been studying the "five-fold" (or four-fold) gifts in Ephesians 4. We encountered a situation where one bible dictionary gave a definition of evangelist as "one who evangelizes"...not very helpful. My comment at the time was "time to get a new bible dictionary". So I thought I would post some bible dictionary recommendations.
On a budget (free online):
The International Standard bible Encyclopedia - This work has been revised and expanded (the current edition is nearly 5,000 pages) but the first edition is still useful and it's available free online.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary - Another good free online tool.
The basics:
The New Unger's Bible Dictionary
- This is a good tool to have. I reference it often.
Vine's Expository Dictionary - Older and not as detailed as Unger's, but still quite useful.
Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary - I don't personally have a copy of this work yet, but it's been recommended by a number of people as "Vine's for the 21st century".
If I've missed a bible dictionary that you've found particularly helpful, leave a comment.