Digging into the original text requires good tools. Thankfully scholars of previous generations have left a legacy of pain-staking research and scholarship. With the a good set of reference tools/instruments we can go as deep as we need or want to go into seeing what God’s Word said in the language of its original recipients.

Here are Wendell Winkler’s recommended texts on text:

Text and Canon

  • A. T. Robertson, An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament.
  • F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?.
  • I. M. Price, The Ancestry of our English Bible.
  • Thiessen, Introduction to the New Testament.
  • Unger, Introductory Guide to the Old Testament.
  • J. Harold Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism, 1964.
  • Metzger, B. M., The Text of the N.T., 1964.
  • Bruce, F. F., The Books and the Parchments, 1963.

Bible Texts

  • Old Testament (Hebrew)
    • Hebrew Text: Biblia Hebraica.
    • E. Wurthwein, The Text of the OT, 1957.
    • A. Rahlfs, ed., Septuaginta, (2 volumes).
  • New Testament (Greek)
    • E. Nestle, Novum Testamentum Graece, 25th edition.
    • Aland, Beach, Metzger,Wikgren, eds., The Greek N.T., 1966.
    • Marshall, Greek-English Interlinear N.T.
  • English Versions (for study and comparison)
    • Moffatt, The Holy Bible, A New Translation, 1926.
    • Phillips, J. B., The New Testament in Modern English, 1958.
    • Smith and Goodspeed, The Bible: An American Translation, 1935.
    • Williams, C. B., Williams New Testament.
    • Private Translation in the Language of the People, 1937. (144.Se)
    • New American Standard Bible, 1969.
    • Dennett, Herbert, A Guide to Modern Versions of the N.T., Chicago: Moody Press, 1966.
    • Wallace, Foy E., Modern Versions.
    • Burkley, “Old Testament”

Lexicons

  • Hebrew
    • Brown, Driver, Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the 0. T., 1907.
    • W. Gesenius, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon.
  • Greek
    • G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the N.T., 1937.
    • Baur, (ed., Arnot and Gingrich), A Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T., 1957.
    • Kittel, (ed.), Theological Dictionary of the N.T. (8 volumes), 1964.
    • J. H. Thayer (Translation of Grimm’s Wilke’s Works), A Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T.

Grammars

  • English
    • Standard English Grammar and English Handbook.
  • Hebrew
    • Kautzsch, H. and A. H. Cowley, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2nd English edition. Revised 1909. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910.
    • Yates, Kyle M., The Essentials of Biblical Hebrew, 1954.
    • J. Wringreen, A Practical Grammar in Classical Hebrew, second edition, 1959.
  • Greek
    • Machen, J.G., N.T. Greek for Beginners, 1927
    • Dana, H.E. and Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek N.T., 1927
    • Davis, W. H., Beginner’s Grammar of the Greek N.T., 1923
    • Summers, Ray, Essentials of New Testament Greek.