Biblical Studies / Online Resources / Usage Instruction: Online Commentaries

This document gives you an overview of the types of Biblical commentaries, their scope and the appropriate use for scholarship.

Use the quick search link below to search open access Bible commentaries from such popular Web sites as biblegateway.com, biblehub.com, biblestudytools.com, blueletterbible.org, and studylight.org.

Included in the search are Bible commentaries, dictionaries and encyclopedias, and word studies by such authors/editors as Barclay, Calvin, Gaebelein, Matthew Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil and Delitsch, Lightfoot, Robertson, Spurgeon, Vincent, Wesley, and others. Many of the titles in the annotated list created by librarian Seth Allen are searchable in this custom search engine.

In performing a search, you may add a commentator's name to focus your results. For example, to find what Robertson says about the Greek word charis (grace), key in the words: charis Robertson. Hebrew and Greek words may be searched in Hebrew or Greek, e.g. עַלְמָה, πνεῦμα, or by transliteration, e.g. alma, pneuma.  

Note: though professors typically prefer not to see citations to open access commentaries in research papers as many are dated or otherwise do not meet expected scholarly norms, these resources may be beneficial for quick reference and for devotional use, provided they are used circumspectly. 

To access the Open Access Bible Commentaries Quick Search web page, go to https://www.google.com:443/cse/publicurl?cx=018443097211386924752:tvj-ul1hyow.