Modern English Dictionaries are, however, not useful in Bible study since words change their meaning across the barriers of time, distance and language. Bible dictionaries are needed. These define words in accord with their meaning at the time of original use. Some miscellaneous background aids are Bible handbooks and atlases. These provide interesting information about a variety of Bible related subjects such as archaeological facts, geographical data, correlative history from non Bible sources, and information about political and living conditions during Bible times.
Commentaries contain verse by verse analysis of the scriptures.
That is, the authors explain the meaning of each scripture. Unfortunately, no commentary exists which is the result of a collective group effort such as is done in the making of standard Bible translations. All commentaries are done by a single man or a small group of men which makes these study aids very dangerous to use because of the possibility of denominational or personal bias. Always try to understand the verse in question by the use of correlative scriptures and other aids before resorting to the use of a commentary.