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THE 205: Biblical Texts in Global Contexts (Dempsey): Types of Biblical Commentaries

Types of Biblical Commentaries

There are two types of biblical commentaries that you will encounter during your research: single-volume commentaries and book-length commentaries. Understanding the difference will help you to locate, use, and cite these resources.

Book-Length Commentaries

Characteristics of book-length commentaries:

  • Covers 1 book of the Bible from start to finish (or may be part of a 2- or 3-volume set covering one book of the Bible)
  • Entire book is written by the same author/co-authors
  • How to cite (Chicago style)

Example:

How to find Book-Length Commentaries

Search for: [name of book of Bible] commentary

Example: Isaiah commentary

Search: for:  

Single-Volume Commentaries

Characteristics of single-volume commentaries:

Example:

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