Finding Articles on Passages of Scripture

Using the Scriptures Index

To find journal articles that deal with specific passages in the Bible, one of the resources you will want to use is the ATLA Religion Database. One way to search for specific scripture passages is the following:

1. At the top of the ATLA search screen, click on the Scriptures link on the blue bar.
   
2. The resulting screen (ATLA Hierarchical Scripture Authority) will present one canonically ordered version of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament:
   
3. Click on the Expand link next to a biblical book to drill down to specific chapters, and the Expand link next to a chapter to drill down to specific verses:
   
   
   
4. Click on the book title link to search for items on the book, the chapter link for items on the chapter, and the verse link for items on the verse (and surrounding verses).

Using the Scripture Citation Index

If you want to be more precise -- i.e., you want items only on the specific verses you've selected, exclusive of the context -- you can do the following:

1. At the top of the ATLA search screen, click on the Indexes link on the blue bar.
   
2. Choose Scripture Citation from the "Browse an Index:" dropdown.
   
3. In the Browsing search box, type in the start of your scripture citation, starting with the name of the book and the chapter. Adding the first verse of the passage you're interested in might be helpful (e.g., Luke 10:25), though notice the ordering oddities mentioned in step 3 below. Then select the browse button.
   
   Note that for Biblical books in two parts (i.e., 1st Kings, 2nd Kings, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, etc.), you will need to indicate the number of the book after the name (for example, to find articles on 2 Kings 10, type in Kings, 2nd 10).
4. A list of scripture citations near to your indicated citation will appear. Browse the list to find citations matching your desired scripture passage. Use the "Previous" and "Next" links to move from page to page, if necessary.
   
   Be aware that the order of citations in the index is not necessarily what you would expect. For example, Luke 10:2 is followed by Luke 10:20 not Luke 10:3.
5. Check off any citation that includes or matches your selected citation. For example, for Luke 10:25-37, check off the box next to "Luke 10:25-37" but also the check boxes that include or overlap with any portion of these verses, such as "Luke 10:25-27" and "Luke 10:25-28", etc.
   
6. Once you have made your selections, select the Add button, and the search terms will be added to the search field at the top of the screen. Then choose the Search to carry out the search.

Passages Known by Titles (e.g., The Parable of the Good Samaritan)

Some passages are also identified by titles (e.g., Luke 10:25-37 is also called the Parable of the Good Samaritan). So to find articles on Luke 10:25-37, do the following:

1. Follow the instructions above for finding articles by scripture passage.
2. The area labeled "Narrow Results by Subject" that appears to the left of your search results will likely have such titles for your passage. (Try the above search for Luke 10:25-37, and you'll see that this passage is also labeled "Good Samaritan (Parable)" in the ATLA database.)
   
3. Do a "Subject" search (change the dropdown from "Select a Field (Optional)" to "SU Subjects") for "good samaritan parable" (quotes not necessary). Your results may include references not found with the scripture search.
   

Other Resources

Other database resources for journal articles on passages of scripture include:

• New Testament Abstracts
• Old Testament Abstracts
• RAMBI: Index of Articles on Jewish Studies
• Religious and Theological Abstracts

Note that each database has its own search interface. For help with using any of these databases to search for articles on passages of scripture, please let us know.

In addition to the electronic databases, there are also a number of print indexes available in the library that can direct you to articles on scripture:

• Biblia Patristica: Index des Citations et Allusions Bibliques dans la Littérature Patristique
  Subject Study 5: BR 66.5 .U53 1975
• Index to Periodical Literature on Christ and the Gospels
  Subject Study 2: BT 202 .I534 1998
• New Testament Abstracts
  Subject Study 2 and Annex: BS 410 .N42
  Note: The online version (see above) only covers literature from 1985 on. You'll need to use these print indexes for earlier coverage.
• Old Testament Abstracts
  Subject Study 2 and Annex: BS 410 .O44
  Note: The online version (see above) only covers literature from 1978 on. You'll need to use these print indexes for earlier coverage.

For help with using one of the print indexes, please let us know.