We are happy to be able to offer online access to the full text of the following Oxford biblical reference resources, published by Oxford University Press. They are available to all users here in the Library or within our IP range, including the UPSem campuses.  They can also be opened remotely by current students, faculty and staff of UPSem, and also by BTSR, PSCE and Union alumni. If you have a valid Library account, use your barcode and PIN to access these resources remotely.

These volumes are fully integrated into our Library catalog, so you can access them through any catalog search by clicking on the Click to View link in the book’s catalog record.  Also, you have the option of opening them through the links on this page.

If you are a student, faculty or staff member, or Union, PSCE or BTSR alum, and you need to obtain or update your Library account, please contact our Circulation Supervisor, Lisa Janes.  If you already have a valid barcode and PIN but you are having trouble using your login, please contact our Director of Public and Electronic Services, Ryan Douthat.  If you are not familiar with Oxford Biblical reference resources and have questions about them, or you need other research assistance, please contact Seminary Librarian Robin McCall.

Oxford online biblical reference resource access links and descriptions:

A Dictionary of the Bible (2 ed.) / W.R.F. Browning, 2010

Dictionary of the Bible is the most acclaimed, accessible, and up-to-date dictionary of its kind. Containing over 2,000 authoritative entries it provides clear and concise information about all of the important places, people, themes, and doctrines of the Bible. Terms range from earthquakes and mice to martyrs and art, and new to this edition are entries on Act of God, Old Testament and New Testament theology, Hanukkah, the Koran, mysticism, and many more.

Apocryphal New Testament / J.K. Elliott, 2003

An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James.

Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls / Lawrence H. Schiffman and James K. VanderKam, 2008

Featuring 450 articles by an international community of 100 distinguished scholars, the Encyclopedia is the definitive account of what we know about the scrolls—their history, relevance, meaning, and the controversies that surround them. The works are viewed in historical, linguistic, and religious contexts, with archaeological evidence providing a clear basis for dating and preservation of the manuscripts.

How to Read the Bible / Steven L. McKenzie, 2011

More people read the Bible than any other book. Indeed, many try to live their lives according to its words. The question is, do they understand what they’re reading? As this book shows, quite often the answer is, “No.” This book argues that to comprehend the Bible we must grasp the intentions of the biblical authors themselves—what sort of texts they thought they were writing and how they would have been understood by their intended audience.

Oxford Bible Atlas, Fourth Edition / Adrian Curtis, 2022

An essential resource for all students of the Bible, this new fourth edition of the Oxford Bible Atlas, now with twenty-seven full-color maps and eighty-one color illustrations has been thoroughly revised to bring it up to date with both the most recent biblical scholarship and the most modern discoveries in archaeology and topography.

Oxford Bible Commentary / John Barton and John Muddiman, 2022

An essential reference work, this definitive book provides authoritative, non-denominational commentary written by an international team of more than 70 leading scholars from various religious backgrounds. Incorporating the latest research, the contributors examine the books of the Bible in exhaustive detail, taking a historical-critical approach that attempts to shed light on the scriptures by placing them in the context in which their first audiences would have encountered them, asking how they came to be composed and what were the purposes of their authors.

Oxford Companion to the Bible / Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, 2004

The Oxford Companion to the Bible provides an authoritative one-volume reference to the people, places, events, books, institutions, religious belief, and secular influence of the Bible.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt / Donald B. Redford, 2005

Featuring 600 original articles written by leading scholars, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt goes far beyond the records of archaeology to make available what we know about the full social, political, religious, cultural and artistic legacy of this 5,000-year civilization.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in Near East / Eric M. Meyers, 2011

A joint effort between Oxford University Press and the renowned American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), this comprehensive work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world’s most influential religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Oxford Encyclopedias of the Bible / Michael Coogan, 2022

The Oxford Encyclopedias of the Bible series is a major reference work, consisting of comprehensive essays by scholars from many countries and with a wide variety of perspectives on Biblical Studies. With bibliographic references and suggestions for further reading, each entry provides a thorough overview of the topic and serves as an entrance point to further research for both seasoned scholars and beginning students.

Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies / Judith M. Lieu and J.W. Rogerson, 2009

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in biblical studies. The forty-five articles have been written by leading international figures in the discipline, who give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates in this highly technical and diverse field.

Oxford History of the Biblical World / Michael A. Coogan, 2022

The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the reader with a readable and integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts. The authors also examine such issues as the roles of women, the tensions between urban and rural settings, royal and kinship social structures, and official and popular religions of the region.

Oxford Illustrated History of  the Bible / John Rogerson, 2022

Based on the latest research, this Oxford history brings together a distinguished team of seventeen scholars to present an authoritative account of the story behind the Bible, accompanied by an extensive collection of over 150 color and black and white photos. The contributors trace the routes by which the canon of Scripture was determined, the controversies over which writings should be regarded as authoritative, and which should be considered Apocrypha and hidden from public use.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation / Steven L. McKenzie, 2014

This work fills a crucial need in the field of biblical studies by providing detailed, comprehensive treatments of the latest approaches to, and methods for, interpretation of the Bible. Entries are written by expert practitioners and collectively provide a single source for authoritative reference overviews of the scholarship on some of the most important topics in the field of biblical studies.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology / Daniel M. Master, 2013

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology represents a new way of conceiving of the relationship between archaeology and biblical studies that allows the results of a wide cross-section of excavations and regional studies to contribute to the interpretation of the biblical text through an elucidation of the lifeways of the ancient world.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics / Robert L. Brawley, 2015

This encyclopedia explores the intersection between biblical sources and ethical issues, both historical and modern, through extensive analytical and constructive treatments of a wide range of topics by leading biblical scholars and ethicists. Combining traditional theoretical frameworks, such as comparative religion, with more recent approaches (postmodern, queer and gender theory, etc.), the encyclopedia provides a landmark reference overview of everything from ethics in books of the Bible to modern movements and hot-button issues, such as capital punishment, bioethics, and abortion.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies / Julia M. O’Brien, 2014

As the first major encyclopedia of its kind, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies is the go-to source for scholars and students undertaking original research in the field. Extending the work of nineteenth and twentieth century feminist scholarship and more recent queer studies, the Encyclopedia seeks to advance the scholarly conversation by systematically exploring the ways in which gender is constructed in the diverse texts, cultures, and readers that constitute “the world of the Bible.”

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law / Brent A. Strawn, 2015

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law (OEBL) provides the most up-to-date and extensive treatment of the Bible and law yet attempted, both updating and expanding the scope of previous scholarship in the field. In comprehensive overviews, scholars at the forefront of biblical studies and law address three foci: (1) biblical law itself—its nature, collections, and genres; (2) the ancient contexts of biblical law, throughout the ancient Mediterranean (ancient Near Eastern, Greco-Roman, and Early Jewish); and (3) the afterlife and influence of biblical law in antiquity and in modern jurisprudence around the world.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts / Timothy Beal, 2016

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts (OEBART) is an in-depth, comprehensive reference work that covers the cultural history of biblical texts, themes, characters, images, and the Bible itself in the literary, visual, and musical arts. With bibliographic references and suggestions for further reading, each entry provides scholars and students with a reliable source of specialist information on topics that are not covered by existing general reference works.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Theology / Samuel E. Balentine, 2015

Exploration of the Bible’s theology is an ever-changing endeavor. While some issues are clearly rooted in the Bible’s historical context like theological perspectives on the creation of the world, covenant, sin, sacrifice and atonement, grace and forgiveness, other issues are rooted in the modern world, where both the secular and religious raise questions biblical authors may not have anticipated. For example, biblical perspectives may critically inform contemporary concerns about market economics, global climate change, wealth and poverty, and gender/race discrimination. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Theology situates itself inside this tension, classically defined as the intersection between what the Bible meant and what it means, with the objective of providing a resource for constructive theological reflection in the market place of public discourse.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible / Michael D. Coogan, 2011

Books of the Bible provides a single source for authoritative reference overviews of scholarship on some of the most important topics of study in the field of biblical studies. The Encyclopedia contains almost 120 in-depth entries, ranging in length from 500 to 10,000 words, on each of the canonical books of the Bible, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important non-canonical texts, and thematic essays on topics such as canonicity, textual criticism, and translation.