Here are some free resources offered by scholars, seminaries, and universities that I’ve discovered on the internet. (There’s more in the comments section below too.) I’ve tried to list them in order from very basic to very technical.
Short Introductions to the Books of the Bible
Fuller Seminary has a series of 5-minute videos, here, where top scholars such as Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson present basic introductions to all 27 books of the New Testament, and more. Transcripts are provided under the video.
Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary
The 1996 edition of Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology is online on the Bible Study Tools website here.
Seven Minute Seminary
There are over 300 videos of mini-lecture that cover a variety of biblical and ministry topics. This resource is produced by Asbury Theological Seminary. You can watch the videos on YouTube.
The Bible Project
This wonderful resource has beautifully produced, informative videos on the books of the Bible and on various biblical topics. Take a look here.
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible
The older edition (1975) of this five-volume encyclopedia is available on the Bible Gateway website here. Some entries are short, others, such as this one of Paul’s theology, are fairly lengthy. A few entries are a bit dated.
Yale Bible Study
The mission of the Yale Bible Study is to engage clergy and lay audiences in small group Bible study by providing studies of biblical books, deepened by insights from Yale Divinity School professors. Their New Testament courses are here. (They link to a few of my articles as “Additional Resources.”)
Bible Odyssey
On this website are numerous short posts written by leading biblical scholars on key people, places, and passages of the Bible.
New Testament Reading Room
Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Canada, has a page on its website, here, with a goldmine of links to online New Testament commentaries, dictionaries, atlases, and some amazing books on New Testament history and Greek. Most links are to books scanned by Google Books. (Note, this resource is not being updated and some links no longer work.)
IVP New Testament Commentaries
Several volumes of IVP’s NT commentaries are available online at Bible Gateway, here. (Only the commentaries on Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, James and Revelation are available.) Unfortunately, there is no information given about the authors or editors, and there is no information given about publication dates or what edition is used. (Update: See PB’s comment in the comment section for the list of authors.)
A Course on New Testament History and Literature
This great resource comprises twenty-six 40-50 minute video lectures presented by Professor Dale B. Martin of Yale University.
“This course provides a historical study of the origins of Christianity by analyzing the literature of the earliest Christian movements in historical context, concentrating on the New Testament. Although theological themes will occupy much of our attention, the course does not attempt a theological appropriation of the New Testament as scripture. Rather, the importance of the New Testament and other early Christian documents as ancient literature and as sources for historical study will be emphasized. A central organizing theme of the course will focus on the differences within early Christianity or Christianities.”
(An introduction to the Old Testament and other courses from Yale are also available here.)
Biblical e-Learning
There are several series of video lectures on the New Testament (and more) given by top scholars on this site.
For example, there are lecture courses on Matthew’s Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Letter to the Romans given by Dr Craig Keener. Dr Keener is currently a professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary and is known for his work as a scholar on the New Testament in its early Jewish and Greco-Roman settings.
A Course on Theology of Gender
This excellent resource comprises eleven 1.5-hour videoed lectures of a 2013 course entitled “The Theology of Gender.” Most of the lectures are presented by Professor Ronald W. Pierce of Biola University. Watch the videos here.
Google Books
Since I live over 50 km from my university’s library, I frequently use Google Books for research. In my previous post on the “place of prayer” at Philippi, most of the books I used were via Google Books.
Go to books.google.com and then type in keywords for the topic you want to research (e.g., “Philippians commentary, Judaizers,” or “1 Peter commentary, Babylon”). Then look for newer books that include a preview; the word “preview” or “no preview” comes after the year of publication and look to see if the bottom right-hand corner of the book cover is curling up. Once you’ve clicked on a book, there is a further search function so you can narrow your search.
The Tyndale Bulletin
Full journal articles published before 2017 in The Tyndale Bulletin, a peer-reviewed academic journal for biblical scholarship and related disciplines, are freely available here.
Key Resources for New Testament Scholarship
Dr Steve Walton, Associate Research Fellow at Trinity College in Bristol in the UK, has compiled a starter list of academic journals, book series, and sources of book reviews for students of the New Testament, here.
Tips on Developing a Bibliography
Dr Alistair Wilson, lecturer in Mission and New Testament at Edinburgh Theological Seminary, provides useful information on putting together a bibliography, here.
SBL Abbreviations
A pdf of general and technical abbreviations in the SBL Handbook, including those of early Jewish and Christian primary and secondary sources is here.
Editing Tips for Writers of Biblical Studies Papers
Jacob Cerone, a PhD student at the Friedrich Alexander Universität in Erlagen Germany, has compiled a list of editing tips especially for biblical studies students, here.
The University of Chester Guides for PhD Students
The University of Chester has produced a series of seminars on video aimed mainly at PhD students, but they are also useful for other researchers in biblical studies, theology, and religion, here).
And take a look at Ryan Lytton’s post, “How to Get an Advanced Bible Degree for Free” on the Logos Academic Blog here.
What free online resources do you recommend?
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9 thoughts on “Freebies for Students of the New Testament”
Marg. Thank you. You are always so thoughtful of others. Grateful for these resources.
It’s amazing what’s available online, and completely free.
Dr Phil Harland has eight series of podcasts on the following topics:
Series 1: Paul and his Communities
Series 2: Early Christian Portraits of Jesus
Series 3: Diversity in Early Christianity: “Heresies” and Struggles
Series 4: Honouring the Gods in the Roman Empire: Asia Minor
Series 5: The Historical Jesus in Context
Series 6: Associations in the Greco-Roman World
Series 7: Visions of the End: Origins of Judean Apocalypticism
Series 8: A Cultural History of Satan – Personified Evil in Early Judaism and in Christianity
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-ethnic-relations-and-migration-in-the/id266183212
It’s not always easy to access academic journal articles or get your hands on academic books. Helen Kara gives her top ten methods for getting hold of academic literature here: https://helenkara.com/2016/01/06/ten-ways-to-get-hold-of-academic-literature/
Further information regarding the IVP NT Commentary Series on biblegateway…
Matthew matches the one by Craig S. Keener, reprinted 2011 (probably late ‘90s)
Luke matches the one by Darrell L. Bock, reprinted 2010 (probably late ‘90s)
John matches the one by Rodney A. Whitacre, 1999
Acts matches the one by William J. Larkin Jr, 1995
2 Corinthians seems likely to be Linda L. Belleville, 1996
Galatians matches the one by G. Walter Hansen, 1994
Philippians matches the one by Gordon D. Fee, 1999
Colossians and Philemon seem likely to be from the one by Robert W. Wall, 1993
Timothy and Titus seem likely to be from the one by Philip H. Towner, 1994
James matches the one by George M. Stulac, 1993
The Epistles of John matches the one by Marianne Meye Thompson, 1992
Revelation seems likely to be from the one by J. Ramsey Michaels, 1997
Thank you so much, PB. These editions are newer than the ones I have on my shelves.
“John Piper—co-founder of Desiring God, former preaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and author of The Supremacy of God in Preaching and Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship—has recorded 19 mini-lectures on preaching (about 10 minutes each, for a total of about four hours). This is then followed by a two-and-a-half hour workshop where Piper is joined by three younger local preaching pastors to talk through various issues.”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-preaching-class-with-john-piper-30-videos-of-lectures-and-workshop/
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