What basic Bible study tools are available?

Thanks to the explosion in biblical scholarship that has happened in the past 40 years, Bible students have more available to them now than ever before. Bible study resources available for purchase, online, or in libraries run the entire spectrum from basic introductions to advanced studies in the original languages of the Bible.

If you are navigating the shallows, here are the kinds of tools you need for starters:

• Bible translations – See the separate question on Bible translations. Purpose: To read and understand the Word of God.
• Concordances – an exhaustive concordance specific to your preferred translation is what you want. Purpose: to do word studies and to find where a verse is you remember a fragment of.
• Bible commentaries – These range from simple to complicated. The only way to choose is to take a look at the comments on a few sample passages and see if the comments are helpful to you where you are right now in your understanding. Purpose: To get the opinion of an expert on the meaning of a passage.
• Bible dictionaries – Again, there is a range from small paperbacks to multi-volume editions. There is also a range from conservative to liberal. Conservative is preferable. Purpose: To find out facts about Bible people, events, and places.
• Bible atlases – Many excellent atlases are available. Go to a Christian bookstore and take a look at a few. Purpose: To learn the geography of Bible places.

Here are a few words of warning, though.

1. Tools from public library are a mixed bag – Even though good, God-honoring conservative reference works are available now as never before, the tools you will find in many public libraries tend to be on the opposite (liberal) end of the continuum. I'm not sure why this is true, but it is. Unfortunately at best, a public library will be a mixed bag when it comes to what is useful and what is not. Just be aware of the problem, and when you encounter a reference book in your public library that acts as if the Bible's origins are merely human, just remember that other (better) books are available.
2. Many books are reprints – Even though many excellent Bible study books are coming out each year, many of the books that appear are reprints of earlier books, some originally published in the 19th century! Some of the material in such books is excellent, but over a hundred years of archaeology, philology, linguistics, exegesis, and hermeneutical debates have happened since then, which means that newer ought to be better. Check the copyright page before you buy.