Chicago Style (18th Edition) Citation Guide: How to Cite: Biblical & Catholic Sources

Bible Dictionary

Single-Volume Commentary

Multi-Volume Bible Commentary

Book-Length Commentary in a Series

Ancient Christian Commentary (Secondary Source)

Citing the Bible

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Code of Canon Law

Papal Encyclicals

Bibliography:

All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Footnotes:

All citations should use first line indent, where the first line of the footnote should be indented by 0.5 inches; all subsequent lines are not indented.

Footnotes should be the same font size and style as the rest of your paper.

See instructions for how to insert footnotes in Microsoft Word.

Authors/Editors

An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors.

If you are citing a chapter from a book that has an editor, the author of the chapter is listed first, and is the name listed in the in-text citation.

Titles

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).Capitalize the first word after the colon, even if it is a word such as in, of, or an.

Dates

The format of all dates is: Month Date, Year. e.g. September 5, 2012.

Whether to give the year alone or include a month and day depends on your source: write the full date as you find it there.

If no date is listed, use the abbreviation n.d. for "no date." 

Editions

When an edition other than the first is used or cited, the number or description of the edition follows the title in the listing. If you are using the first edition, you do not have to include that information in the citation.

Publisher Names

If the publisher's name starts with The, omit it. Also omit abbreviations such as Inc., Ltd., and Co., as well as Company. 

Access Date

Chicago style does not recommend including access dates in the citation, unless no date of publication for the source may be located.

For bible dictionaries (or other reference books that provide content in alphabetical order), an abbreviated footnote is used which includes the book title, the entry title, and (for online resources) the last updated/accessed date and URL.

Print:

Bibliography:

Sarna, Nahum M. “Exodus, Book of.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, vol. 2. Doubleday, 1992.

Footnote:

1. Anchor Bible Dictionary, under “Exodus, Book of.”

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Online:

Bibliography:

Browning, W. R. F. “Kingdom of God.” In A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by W. R. F. Browning, Oxford University Press, 2009. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001/acref-9780199543984-e-1069?rskey=cFPKLt&result=1043.

Footnote:

1. A Dictionary of the Bible, under “Kingdom of God,” accessed January 10, 2023, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001/acref-9780199543984-e-1069?rskey=cFPKLt&result=1043.

A single-volume commentary is a book that contains chapters covering each of the books of the Bible.

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Print:

Bibliography:

Perkins, Pheme. “The Gospel According to John.” In The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. Prentice-Hall, 1990.

Footnote:

1. Pheme Perkins, “The Gospel According to John,” in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, eds. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy (Prentice-Hall, 1990), 945.

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Online:

Bibliography:

Franklin, Eric. “Luke.” In Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, Oxford University Press, 2001. http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/book/obso-9780198755005/obso-9780198755005-chapterFrontMatter-52.

Footnote:

1. Eric Franklin, “Luke,” in Oxford Bible Commentary, eds. John Barton and John Muddiman (Oxford University Press, 2001), http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/book/obso-9780198755005/obso-9780198755005-chapterFrontMatter-52.

A multi-volume commentary is a set of multiple books that contains chapters covering each of the books of the Bible.

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Bibliography:

Coote, Robert B. “The Book of Joshua.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 2. Abingdon Press, 1994.

Footnote:

1. Robert B. Coote, “The Book of Joshua,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, ed. Leander E. Keck (Abingdon Press, 1994), 2:602.

A book-length commentary is a book that includes commentary on just one book of the Bible (and sometimes only part of one book of the Bible).

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For book-length commentaries in a series, the book title is italicized, and is followed by the series title, which is not italicized.

Print:

Bibliography:

Witherington, Ben. Matthew. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2006.

Footnote:

1. Ben Witherington, Matthew, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary (Smyth & Helwys, 2006), 60.

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Online:

Bibliography:

Biddle, Mark E. Deuteronomy. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2003. https://login.uportland.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1440542&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Footnote:

1. Mark E. Biddle, Deuteronomy, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary (Smyth & Helwys, 2003), 101, https://login.uportland.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1440542&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Ancient Christian Commentary includes excerpts that were previously published in other sources; your footnote needs to reference both the original source as well as the Ancient Christian Commentary book that you used. In your bibliography, cite only the Ancient Christian Commentary book that you consulted.

Bibliography:

Lienhard, Joseph T., editor. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Ancient Christian Commentary. InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Footnote:

1. Augustine, “Tractate on the Gospel of John 20.2,” in Fathers of the Church: A New Translation (Catholic University of America Press, 1947), 79:164, quoted in Joseph T. Lienhard, ed., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Ancient Christian Commentary (InterVarsity Press, 2001), 104.

Citing the Version of the Bible

The first time you paraphrase or quote from the Bible, add a footnote indicating which version of the Bible that you used. You do not need to repeat the version name in subsequent references. You also do not need to cite the Bible in your bibliography, unless you are citing modern content such as an introduction, footnote, or map.

Example:

1. The New Revised Standard Version translation will be used throughout this paper.

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Citing Biblical Chapters and Verses

When referring to books of the Bible within the body of your paper:

• If you're referring to the book of the Bible as a whole, or a chapter of a book of the Bible (but without specific verses), use the full name of the book of the Bible 
  • Example: Genesis, Luke 4, Revelation 1-3


• If you're referring to a specific chapter and verse(s), abbreviate the name of the book of the Bible (see a list of abbreviations for the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament)
  • Example: Exod 2:1-3; Matt 13:12

Note: it isn't necessary to add a period after the abbreviated book name. Include a space between the book name and the chapter number, and include a colon between the chapter number and the verse(s).

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Introduction to a Chapter in the Bible

Bibliography

Sumney, Jerry L. “The Book of Tobit.” In Saint Mary’s Press College Study Bible. Saint Mary’s Press, 2007.

Footnote

1. Jerry L. Sumney, “The Book of Tobit,” in Saint Mary’s Press College Study Bible (Saint Mary’s Press, 2007), 588.

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Footnote in the Bible

If an author is cited for each chapter of the Bible, cite them as the footnote author. Otherwise, cite the Bible’s editor.

Bibliography

Sweeney, Marvin A. “Isaiah.” In The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Footnote

1. Marvin A. Sweeney, Isaiah 8:1-4 footnote, in The New Oxford Annotated Bible (Oxford University Press, 2010), 979.

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Map in the Bible

Bibliography

Wansbrough, Henry, ed. “Map 3: Palestine of the Old Testament.” In The New Jerusalem Bible. Doubleday, 1990.

Footnote

1. Henry Wansbrough, ed., “Map 3: Palestine of the Old Testament” in The New Jerusalem Bible (Doubleday, 1990), Supplements.

Bibliography:

John, Paul II. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. United States Catholic Conference, 2011. https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/.

Footnote:

1. John Paul II, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., (United States Catholic Conference, 2011), sec. 782, accessed April 21, 2015, https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/.

When citing the Code of Canon Law, the abbreviation c. indicates one canon, cc. indicates two or more canons. The section symbol § indicates two or more sections within a single canon.

Bibliography:

Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition. Canon Law Society of America, 1999.

Footnote:

1. Code of Canon Law, c. 279, §1, in The Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 1983), 99.

Online:

Bibliography:

John Paul II. Evangelium Vitae [Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life]. The Holy See. March 25, 1995. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html..

Footnote:

1. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae [Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life], The Holy See, March 25, 2995, sec. 97, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html.

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Print:

Bibliography:

John Paul II. Evangelium Vitae [Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life]. In The Encyclicals of John Paul II, edited by J. Michael Miller. Our Sunday Visitor, 1996.

Footnote:

1. John Paul II, “Evangelium Vitae [Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life],” in The Encyclicals of John Paul II, ed. J. Michael Miller (Our Sunday Visitor, 1996), 800.