HERMENEUTICAL AND EXEGETICAL RESEARCH
October 10, 2006

WHERE WOULD I LOOK?
A beginner's guide to New Testament exegesis: taking the fear out of critical method. Erickson, Richard J. 2005: 225.601 e68b


I.    Where would I look to find a particular word's location in the Bible? In addition, where would I look for a Greek or Hebrew synonym for a particular biblical word?

II.    Where would I look for the meaning or spelling of a word in the Bible?

III.    Where would I look besides the dictionary for an in-depth study of a particular biblical word?

IV.    Where would I look for general essay-length information about biblical topics? In addition, where would find bibliographic information on a particular research topic?

 V.    Where would I look for general, but quick, information about a biblical topic?

VI.     Where would I look for lengthy explanations of a particular passage of scripture?

 

VII.    Where would I look for the location and description of a particular biblical battle or a map of St. Paul’s missionary journeys?

 VIII.    Where would I look for a good history of the Bible? 

To find information in the library about exegesis or hermeneutics, you would do a title keyword or subject search in the online catalog or in the appropriate journal database (ATLA) under the following headings: (All databases may be accessed through the library’s homepage at: http://www.huntington.edu/library/.)

IX.    Where would I look to find information that gives the latest research on a religious or biblical topic.

X.     MISCELLANEOUS:  

       DID YOU KNOW THAT IN (EBSCOHOST) ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 7,620 ARTICLES LISTED UNDER THE KEYWORD SEARCH FOR HERMENEUTIC*? YOU MIGHT WANT TO NARROW THE SEARCH A BIT BY ADDING RELATED WORDS TO THE MAIN TERMS THROUGH USING ADVANCED SEARCH OR USE BOOLEAN TERMS BETWEEN WORDS OR PHRASES (E.G. HERMENEUTIC* AND ISRAEL [109]). REMEMBER WHEN BOOLEAN SEARCHING USING CONJUNCTIONS, AND/OR, BETWEEN WORDS, PHRASES, OR BOTH, AND NARROWS THE SEARCH, WHILE OR BROADENS THE SEARCH. ALSO NOTICE THAT HERMENEUTIC* USES AN ASTERISK IN THE PREVIOUS SEARCHES. AN ASTERISK [*] AFTER A WORD SEARCHES ALL FORMS OF THAT WORD (E.G. BIBL* SEARCHES BIBLE, BIBLICAL, BIBLES, BIBLICA, BIBLIOGRAPHY, ETC.). IF AN ASTERISK DOES NOT WORK FOR A TRUNCATION, TRY USING A QUESTION MARK (E.G. HERMENEUTIC?). ONE OR THE OTHER USUALLY PRODUCES RESULTS.

       IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION AND STUDY BOOKS FROM THE GENERAL STACKS OR FROM REFERENCE, YOU MAY USE THE ONLINE CATALOG REMOTELY OR ON-CAMPUS. TO LOG-ON REMOTELY, YOU MUST USE YOUR USER NAME, WHICH IS NORMALLY YOUR STUDENT ID, AND THE PASSWORD IS THE SAME ONE YOU USE FOR CAMPUS EMAIL. AMONG MANY TYPES OF SEARCHES, YOU MAY DO AN AUTHOR, TITLE, OR SUBJECT SEARCH.

       IF A PARTICULAR AUTHOR KEEPS APPEARING ON SEVERAL ARTICLES OR BOOKS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEARCH THE COLLECTION TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER ITEMS WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR. ALSO, YOU MIGHT WANT TO BROWSE THE GENERAL STACKS UNDER THE REFERENCE CALL NUMBERS ALREADY NOTED TO SEE IF THERE ARE BOOKS IN THE STACKS THAT YOU MAY CHECK OUT.

       TWO IMPORTANT DATABASES LISTED UNDER THE LINK, OTHER LIBRARY CATALOGS, ON THE LIBRARY’S HOME PAGE ARE PALNI AND WORLDCAT (PRIVATE ACADEMIC LIBRARY NETWORK IN INDIANA, AND WORLDCAT OFFERED THROUGH FIRST SEARCH). THE FIRST IS A DATABASE OF THE LIBRARY CATALOGS OF PRIVATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE STATE OF INDIANA. THE SECOND IS A DATABASE OF WORLDWIDE LIBRARIES. BOTH ARE VERY USEFUL IN SEARCHING FOR BOOK TITLES. REMEMBER, INDIANA ACADEMIC LIBRARIES' INTERLIBRARY LOANS ARE FREE OF CHARGE. THAT IS NOT LIKELY THE CASE WITH WORLDCAT LIBRARIES.

       FROM THE LIBRARY’S HOMEPAGE, CLICK SUBJECT GUIDES. THIS WILL TAKE YOU TO A PAGE THAT DISPLAYS THE VARIOUS CURRICULAR AREAS OF THE CAMPUS. CLICK BIBLE AND RELIGION. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WEB LINKS YOU SHOULD FIND QUITE HELPFUL IN DOING HERMENEUTICS. THE LIBRARIAN AND OTHER FACULTY MEMBERS RECOMMEND THESE LINKS AS AUTHORITATIVE.

       ESPECIALLY NOTICE THE LINK, Religion, Biblical Studies & Theology Guide: (A student's online guide to conducting research) THIS PARTICULAR SITE GIVES DETAILED INFORMATION ON HOW TO CONDUCT RELIGIOUS OR BIBLICAL RESEARCH. IT ALLOWS YOU TO USE A TABLE OF CONTENTS AND SKIP ANY SECTION OF THE GUIDE YOU WISH. THE SITE ALSO LISTS A DETAILED ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED INDEX SO YOU ARE ABLE TO CONSIDER ANY REFERENCE TITLE, ETC. WITH A CLICK OF YOUR MOUSE.

Robert Kaehr,
Director of Library Services
RichLyn Library
Huntington University
Huntington, IN 46750
(260) 359-4063
January 11,  2008

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