What follows is a short listing of sites that offer important resources for bibliographical work in biblical research. Only freely accessible sites useful for academic biblical research are included. Other sorts of biblical pages (commercial, devotional, and so on), even though excellent for their own purposes, are not mentioned here.
Note also that a good number of bibliography pages in the present site include a section on "Online Resources", giving links for specific topics.
When this page is printed, the full URL (internet address) of the various external webpages will appear automatically in the printed version.
The collection of links is divided into four sections as follows:
BIBIL (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Bibliographie biblique informatisée de Lausanne (Institut romand des sciences bibliques [IRSB])
The bibliographies can be accessed in two ways:
a) Go to the IRSB homepage, and from the main menu choose BiBIL
b) Or by direct access. One can choose between English, French and German interfaces.
BILDI (Innsbruck, Austria)
Bibelwissenschaftliche Literaturdokumentation Innsbruck (Documentation for Biblical Literature Innsbruck)
Complete listing of relevant articles in the area of biblical and biblical-archaeological studies in many journals since 1985 (and gradual extension to preceding years); also papers in collective works and a good number of books. In recent years BILDI collaborates with Tübingen University Library, Germany (especially for lists of new books), and with the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome (especially for data about book-reviews from its invaluable Elenchus of Biblica).
One can go first to the homepage but there is also direct access to the search-page. One can choose between an English and a German interface.
The online Help is well worth studying in order to make full use of the power of the BILDI search capabilities. It is important to note that the abbreviations for biblical books are those used in the Einheitsübersetzung; see here for a list.
NEW 2019-02 As of February 2019 BILDI has migrated to the Index Theologicus (IxTheo: see below). All BILDI data are now to be found in IxTheo; see the new homepage for IxTheo / Bibelwissenschaften. The BILDI catalogue on the old STAR program is no longer being updated (from 01.02.2019), but for now it is still accessible from the BILDI homepage in Innsbruck.
Index Theologicus (IxTheo) (Tübingen, Germany)
The "Index Theologicus" is a comprehensive international bibliography for theology and religious studies based in Tübingen, a new version of which went online in 2017. From February 2019 IxTheo also includes all the data of the Innsbruck service BILDI (see above). In the new IxTheo it is now possible to search not only for articles in journals, Festschriften, and congress volumes, but also for monographs, databases and relevant Internet links. One can also search for specific Biblical passages. Users can choose the interface language: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, or Chinese.
KeiBi online / Die Keilschrift-Bibliographie im Netz (Tübingen, Germany)
The Keilschrift-Bibliographie is the standard bibliographical resource for Akkadian and Sumerian studies. Published since 1940 by the journal Orientalia (Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome), the bibliography is now available (since 2012) as a searchable database on a page of the Tübingen University Library site (access here). One can choose between interfaces in German, English, and French. Work on the database is ongoing, with earlier years being added gradually. The last two issues of the printed edition will always be excluded from the database.
Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
The Orion Center's On-Line Dead Sea Scrolls Bibliography posts books, articles and reviews related to the Dead Sea Scrolls from 1995 to the present. The Current Bibliography webpage (here) displays the new entries week by week for the previous six months. The Full Bibliography can be searched here.
RAMBI (Jerusalem, Israel)
Index of Articles on Jewish Studies = רשימת מאמרים במדעי היהדות
This service began in 1966 under the auspices of the Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem. It lists articles in journals and in collective works (but not books by individual authors), written in Modern Hebrew, Yiddish, and the main European languages (including Russian).
The bibliographical service can be accessed in two ways:
a) Go to the homepage
b) Or go directly to the new Merhav-Rambi search-page for articles on Biblical and Jewish Studies.
The very useful "Rambi Notification Service" for new accessions to the database, divided into various subject categories, is currently offline (as of December 2019). One hopes that it will be reactiviated in the near future.
Deuteronomy
AnaBiDeut is an extensive online analytical bibliography on Deuteronomy and related material, assembled over many years by Georg Braulik OSB and Norbert Lohfink SJ. Users can choose between a German or an English interface. A sophisticated search-engine facilitates access to the database.
Psalms
Beat Weber, well known for his own work on the Psalms, has recently uploaded the 53rd update (July 2020) of his bibliography of studies on the Psalms and the Psalter that have been published since 1990, "BiblioPss1990ff". Now a 261-page document in pdf-format, it can be viewed and freely downloaded here.
Sirach
a) An eleven-page annotated bibliography on Ben Sira, dated 2016, has been published by Jeremy Corley in pdf-format.
b) A large collection of older titles by Franz Böhmisch can be accessed here.
Semitic Languages and Biblical Studies
A large and growing collection of bibliographical files (in pdf-format) by Viktor Golinets (Lehrstuhl für Hebräische Sprachwissenschaft at the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien, Heidelberg). Presently (Aug. 2020) the Biblical section contains bibliographies on all the books of the Torah and the Former Prophets, together with a few of the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Zephaniah) and the Ketuvim (Psalms and Proverbs).
Semitic Linguistics
This vast "Bibliography of Semitic Linguistics (1940-2012)" has been assembled by Dr. Gregorio del Olmo Lete (Barcelona). The various sections of the bibliography can be downloaded in pdf-format.
COPAC
See now "JISC Library Hub Discover" below, which replaced COPAC at the end of July 2019.
Ecole biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem
The splendid catalogue of the Library of the Ecole Biblique is online since summer 2008. One can choose between a French and an English interface. In addition see here for much information about this historic and prestigious school.
JISC Library Hub Discover (formerly COPAC)
NEW 2019-08 Combined catalogue for over a hundred UK and Irish research and university libraries and special collections, including the British Library, various Cambridge and Oxford libraries, and the John Rylands Library in Manchester. Outside the UK, the library of Trinity College, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, is included too.
As of 15 Aug. 2019 Library Hub Discover contains 40,460,965 records created from 95,840,798 records contributed by 117 institutions. New library catalogues are still being added. The homepage gives access to various search possibilities.
Library of Congress, Washington DC
The largest library in the world (homepage), with millions of books and other information resources in its holdings. The catalogue homepage offers various types of searches.
Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome
One of the largest specialized libraries for biblical studies in the world with good holdings in Ancient Near Eastern studies too.
One can go first to the library homepage or go directly to the catalogue search. One can choose between an Italian and an English interface.
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
Large holdings (currently over 650,000 volumes with some 5000 new acquisitions yearly) in theology (including biblical studies), philosophy and other disciplines of particular ecclesiastical relevance. Further information is available through the library homepage. One can go directly to the catalogue search, where one can choose between an Italian and an English interface. On the results page of a search one can also choose to extend the search to the catalogues of many other Roman ecclesiastical libraries.
Tübingen University Library
One of the most important German university libraries in the area of biblical studies and theology, since it is a nationally designated library centre for specialization in the areas of "Religionswissenschaft, Theologie, und Alter Orient". General information is available through the library homepage. One can also go directly to the search page. Besides the German interface, an English interface can be chosen for the catalogues too.
See above for the very useful "Index Theologicus" bibliographical service from Tübingen.
Abzu, Oriental Institute, Chicago
A web directory or portal, Abzu is a guide to information related to the study of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world on the Web. It gives links to an enormous number of scholarly sites and pages.
Bible Odyssey
An encyclopedia of material relating to the study of the Bible, under the auspices of the Society of Biblical Literature. The well-designed site aims at bridging the gap between scholarly study of the Bible and the general public. The peer-reviewed articles come from many scholarly contributors, and there is considerable multimedia material as well. Planning for the site began in 2008 and it went online in July 2014. It is an ongoing project.
Biblical Studies on the Web
Among other services available from the homepage, note in particular this link to the online edition of Biblica from vol. 79 (1998) to vol. 97 (2016).
Biblindex
This "Index of Biblical Quotations in Early Christian Literature" is based on data from the Biblia Patristica volumes (now out of print) and unpublished archives. At present it makes available a corpus of almost 400,000 references; further considerable expansion is forthcoming. One can choose between a French and an English search interface.
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft / German Bible Society
Available in German and in English, this portal gives free online access to the text of the scholarly Bible editions published by the German Bible Society: BHS, LXX (Rahlfs/Hanhart), NA28, UBS GNT5, Vulgate (Weber/Gryson). The textual apparatus, however, is not included. Some German and English Bible translations are available too. One can also access WiBiLex (see below) through the same portal.
ETANA
The acronym of the site stands for "Electronic Tools and Ancient Near Eastern Archives". Excellent quality materials. Includes the ABZU service noted above.
ISATEX
The acronym of this German-language academic site stands for "Informations-Stelle für Alt-Testamentliche EXegese". It offers many links to sites that are of interest for scholarly study of the OT.
KiBiDaNO
This site, which is available in German and in English, gives access to the "Kieler Bilddatenbank Naher Osten" / Image Database of the Near East (University of Kiel, Germany). The database, founded by Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Bartelmus, is meant as a wide-ranging reference for research and education and is directed at teachers and students of the cultural, geographical and economic sciences of the Middle East. The searchable database currently (Nov. 2014) provides over 12,000 images for the user; some 6000 images still await processing.
New Testament Gateway
The NT Gateway was created by Dr Mark Goodacre, formerly of the University of Birmingham, UK, now in the Dept. of Religion, Duke University, Durham NC. It is an excellent web directory of academic internet resources on the New Testament and related areas of study. Each link is annotated and the site is constantly updated. In 2009 a partnership with Logos began and now Logos are responsible for the new design and structure of the site.
Religious Studies Web Guide
An extensive directory of online resources, including bibliographies, in the field of Religious Studies, compiled by Cheryl Adams (Library of Congress, Washington DC) and Saundra Lipton (Library of the University of Calgary, Canada).
Swetnam, James: Personal Site
Entitled James Swetnam's Thoughts on Scripture, this new site (2019) presents not just "thoughts" but some deeply thought-out interpretations of various NT texts, as well as some more personal material, by a well-known Jesuit Professor emeritus of the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
Tools for Studying the Hebrew Bible
This site, created by Marc Brettler and collaborators, aims to teach students how to use a set of specialized tools for the study of the Hebrew text of the Hebrew Bible.
WiBiLex: Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet
This is a project of the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society), which began in 2007. The WiBiLex is a high-quality online Bible lexicon or encyclopedia written by well-known mainstream German biblical scholars; the main editors for the OT part are M. Bauks and K. Koenen, while S. Alkier is the main editor for the NT articles. About 1900 articles are already available (February 2020), most of them on OT topics but the NT part is growing continually too. The site also offers over 3000 images and other graphic material. On completion, the work will have some 3000 articles. While the articles can be read by any visitor to the site, full access to the search and printing facilities will be given on completion of a free registration procedure.