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SBL Style Guide


Examples

The citations below are examples of the most common types of resources used. SBLHS has many other examples for more complex and specialized resources. You can find all the example citations on pages 84-108 of the handbook. 

Note: SBL prefers that the print edition is cited only because pagination and stable links to electronic versions are not as fixed as a print edition. That said, a PDF ebook that is identical to the print edition can and should be cited as if it were the print copy.

Books

Basic Template for a Book:  

First Note

1. Author Firstname Lastname, Book Title: Subtitle (Publication City: Publisher, Publication date), page(s) used.

Subsequent Note

2. Author Lastname, Abbr. Book Title, page(s) used.

Bibliography

Author Lastname, Firstname. Book Title. Publication City: Publisher, Publication date.

§6.2.1 & §6.2.6 (pg. 84): A Book by a Single Author/Editor

First Footnote

1. Matthew Levering, Jesus and the Demise of Death: Resurrection, Afterlife, and the Fate of the Christian (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012), 106.
2. Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer, ed., Atonement (Philipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2010), 20.

Subsequent Note

13. Levering, Jesus, 195.
14. Fluhrer, Atonement, 22.

Bibliography

Levering, Matthew. Jesus and the Demise of Death: Resurrection, Afterlife, and the Fate of the Christian. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012.
Fluhrer, Gabriel N. E., ed. Atonement. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2010.

§6.2.2 & §6.2.7 (pgs. 84-85): A Book by Two or Three Authors/Editors

First Footnote

1. David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey and Donald Michie, Mark as Story: an Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel, 3rd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012), 78.
2. Kelly R. Iverson and Christopher W. Skinner, eds., Mark as Story: Retrospect and Prospect (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011), 12.

Subsequent Note

13. Rhoads, Dewey and Michie, Mark as Story, 82.
14. Iverson and Skinner, 14.

Bibliography

Rhoads, David, Joanna Dewey and Donald Michie. Mark as Story: an Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel. 3rd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012.
Iverson, Kelly R., and Christopher W. Skinner, eds. Mark as Story: Retrospect and Prospect. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.

§6.2.3 & §6.2.8 (pgs. 84-86): A Book by Four or More Authors/Editors

First Footnote

1. Michael F. Bird et al, How God became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus' Divine Nature--A Response to Bart Ehrman (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 28.
2. Raymond E. Brown et al., eds., Mary in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), 12.

Subsequent Note

13. Bird et al., How God became Jesus, 23.
14. Brown et al., Mary, 16.

Bibliography

Bird, Michael F., Craig A. Evans, Simon J. Gathercole, Charles E. Hill, and Chris Tilling. How God became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus' Divine Nature--A Response to Bart Ehrman. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.
Brown, Raymond E., Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann, eds. Mary in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978.

Translations and Series

§6.2.4 (pg. 85): A Translated Volume  

First Note

1. Albert Schweitzer, The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, trans. William Montgomery (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), 199.

Subsequent Note

13. Schweitzer, Mysticism 105.

Bibliography

Schweitzer, Albert. The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle. Translated by William Montgomery. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

§6.2.24 (pg. 85): A Work in a Series  

Note: If the series has an abbreviation, use it in place of the full series title in both the first footnote and the bibliography. E.g., use WUNT instead of Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament.

First Note

2. Brian C. Small, The Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews, Biblical Interpretation Series 128 (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2014), 34.

Subsequent Note

14. Small, Characterization, 109.

Bibliography

Small, Brian C. The Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews. Biblical Interpretation Series 128. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2014.

Articles and Essays

§6.3.6 (pg. 94): An Article in an Encyclopedia or Dictionary  

Note: If the reference work has an abbreviated form of the title, use it in place of the full title. E.g., use DNTB instead of Dictionary of New Testament Background.

First Note

1. A. Trapè, "AUGUSTINE of Hippo," in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, ed. Angelo Di Berardino (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 1:293.

Subsequent Note

13. Trapè, "AUGUSTINE," 1:296.

Bibliography

Trapè, A. "AUGUSTINE of Hippo." Pages 292-298 in vol. 1 of Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. Edited by Angelo Di Berardino. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.

§6.3.1 (pg. 91): A Journal Article

Note: If the journal title has an abbreviation, use the abbreviated form of the journal title both in the footnote and in the bibliography (e.g., use JBL instead of Journal of Biblical Literature). Otherwise, use the full journal title.

First Note

2. Samuel Sandmel, "Parallelomania," JBL 81 (1962): 5.

Subsequent Note

14. Sandmel, "Parallelomania," 10.

Bibliography

Sandmel, Samuel. "Parallelomania." JBL 81 (1962): 1-13.

A Chapter/Essay in a Book

First Note

3. Archie C. C. Lee, "Scriptural Translations and Cross-Textual Hermeneutics," in The Oxford Handbook of Christianity in Asia, ed. Felix Wilfred (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 125.

Subsequent Note

15. Lee, "Scriptural Translations," 130.

Bibliography

Lee, Archie C. C. "Scriptural Translations and Cross-Textual Hermeneutics." Pages 121-133 in The Oxford Handbook of Christianity in Asia. Edited by Felix Wilfred. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Biblical Commentaries

§6.4.9 (pg. 102): Bible Commentaries

Definition: A stand-alone commentary in a titled series; e.g., a commentary in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT), or in the Word Biblical Commentary (WBC). View series abbreviations.

First Note

1. Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 106.

Subsequent Note

13. Moo, Romans, 110.

Bibliography

Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. NICNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.

§6.2.23 (pg. 90): A Chapter within a Titled Volume in a Multivolume Work

Definition: A multivolume commentary set where multiple commentaries with different authors are found within each volume; e.g., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, The New Interpreter's Bible, and The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary.

First Note

2. Richard B. Hays, "Galatians," in The New Interpreter's Bible, ed. Leander E. Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994-2004), 11:215.

Subsequent Note

14. Hays, "Galatians," 239.

Bibliography

Hays, Richard B. "Galatians." Pages 181-348 in vol. 11 of The New Interpreter's Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994-2004.

Ebooks

§6.2.25 (pg. 90): Electronic Book

E-reader formats: A book file formatted for an e-reader or e-reader app such as a Kindle or Nook (usually in Kindle or EPub format). These formats do not have stable pagination. Thus, you should indicate the chapter and section as precisely as possible after stating the format (e.g., ch. 1.3 or ch. 1, "Conclusion").

Note: A PDF ebook that is identical to the print edition can and should be cited as if it were the print copy. In this case, there is no need to indicate the format of the book.

First Note

1. Scot A. McKnight, Community Called Atonement (Nashville: Abingdon, 2007), EPUB edition, pt. 3, ch. 13, "The Paschal Homily."

Subsequent Note

13. McKnight, Community, pt. 3, ch. 13, "Recapitulation."

Bibliography

McKnight, Scot A. Community Called Atonement. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007. EPUB edition.

§6.2.25 (pg. 90): Electronic Book

Website formats: A book hosted on a website where the book is displayed like a normal webpage or series of webpages. Citations of online versions should include a DOI or stable URL. This is especially appropriate for a reference work (i.e., an encyclopedia or dictionary) that has been virtually converted into a website (see the below example).

Note: A PDF ebook that is identical to the print edition can be cited as if it were the physical copy. In this case, there is no need to indicate the format of the book.

First Note

2. Moshe J. Bernstein, "Pesher Habakkuk" in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, eds. Lawrence H. Schiffman and James C. VanderKam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195084504.001.0001/acref-9780195084504-e-390.

Subsequent Note

14. Bernstein, "Pesher Habakkuk."

Bibliography

Bernstein, Moshe J. "Pesher Habakkuk." In Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by Lawrence H. Schiffman and James C. VanderKam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195084504.001.0001/acref-9780195084504-e-390.

Webpages and Blog Entries

§6.4.15 (pg. 104): Websites and Blogs

Note: If citing a website in general, just place the main URL in the footnote (e.g., www.csntm.org). If citing a specific webpage on a website, follow the examples below.

First Note

1. "The New City Catechism," The Gospel Coalition, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/new-city-catechism/.

Subsequent Note

13. "The New City Catechism."

Bibliography

"The New City Catechism." The Gospel Coalition. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/new-city-catechism/.

§6.4.15 (pg. 104): Websites and Blogs

Note: SBLHS does not require blog entries to be listed in the bibliography. However, if the blog entry is a substantial source for the paper, it should be included.

First Note

2. Mark Goodacre, "Jesus' Wife Fragment: Another Round-Up," NT Blog, 9 May 2014, http://ntweblog.blogspot.com.

Subsequent Note

14. Goodacre, "Jesus' Wife."

Bibliography

Goodacre, Mark. "Jesus' Wife Fragment: Another Round-Up." NT Blog. 9 May 2014. http://ntweblog.blogspot.com.