STYLE SHEET
GLOBAL BIBLE COMMENTARY
Abingdon Press
The general style of the GBC is similar to the one treated in The Chicago Manual of Style (13th ed.) as style B (16.5). Questions of detail not covered in this document should be checked with The Chicago Manual of Style (13th ed) under examples of style B.
1. ABBREVIATIONS
The abbreviations for biblical books should be as follows in the table under 6. Abbreviations for other ancient texts, modern periodicals or series, and standard reference works will be rare due to the fact that the GBC is aimed at readers in a diversity of fields, students, and lay people. Use full reference/title in your article; the editorial board will decide which ones need to be abbreviated. (If an ancient text is merely used in one essay, there is no point in abbreviating the reference! (The editors will use the JBL style sheet.)
Note: For chapter(s) use "chap(s)." and for verse(s) use "v(v)." both being followed by a period (see JBL "Instructions" 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4).
The abbreviations "i.e." and "e.g." should not be followed by a comma.
2. NOTES
There will be NO footnotes. References to the bibliography should be done in the text as follows.
The point of documentation is to lead the reader to the proper item in the "Bibliography." Documentation references are to be incorporated into the text in the briefest form possible. Elements of reference not included in the text should be enclosed in parentheses within the sentence in which the reference appears.
Name of Author mentioned in the text, when there is only one work listed in the "Short Bibliography" and no page reference; nothing is needed in the text.
Name of Author mentioned in the text, only one work listed in the "Short Bibliography" and a page reference needed; give page reference thus: (56).
Name of the Author mentioned in the text, more than one work listed in the "Short Bibliography": give year and page reference thus: (1974:56).
Author not mentioned in the text, only one work listed in "Short Bibliography," give author and page thus: (Roberts: 56).
Author not mentioned in the text, more than one work listed in "Short Bibliography," give author, year, and page thus: (Bultmann, 1963:56).
Author not mentioned in the text, more than one work listed in the "Short Bibliography," no page reference, thus: (Roberts, 1974).
Two or more works by the same author, thus: (Bultmann, 1963:56, 1964a:56, 1964b:56).
A mixture of items, thus: (Barthes, 101; Beardslee, 1970b:70; Crossan, 1973; Bultmann, 1963:56-66).
3. SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Short Bibliography should be limited to 5 to 10 works (books or articles) which form the immediate background for the essay and/or are part of the documentation. It is perfectly appropriate to list works to which specific reference is not made, providing one wishes to announce the use of those works in some more or less general sense or to direct the reader to them for greater background or perspective.
Bibliographical entries should be as full as possible. Give full first names of authors, give names of editors and translators, give full series information, full publication data.
In "Short Bibliography," entries should appear in alphabetical order by author; author's last name should be flush with the left margin, followed by given names; the publication date of the work is given indented under the author's name; the title of the entry is further indented on that same line and this indentation is maintained for as many lines as the title needs. If there is more than one entry for an author, that author's entries should be ordered chronologically from the earliest to the latest work. If there are two or more entries for a single author in a given year, those entries are alphabetized by title, and the letters a, b, c, etc., appended to the year.
In bibliography use the following order;
(1) books by author in chronological order (from the earliest to the latest work);
(2) books edited by that author;
(3) books edited by that author and another.
Please note the following:
Author(s): At least one given name should be spelled out; if more than one author, the first is reversed but the others are not (e.g. Smith, Ronald D. and Robert Blanche).
Editor(s): If this comes before the title of the book, it should appear as "ed." or "eds." (no parentheses); if after title, it should be "Ed." which stands for "edited by".
Translator(s): If this comes before the title of the book, it should appear as "trans." (no parentheses); if after the title, it should be "Trans." which stands for "translated by".
Series: Either use the abbreviation for those on JBL list (e.g. VTsup 31) or, for those not on the list and not widely known, use the full title (e.g. English Folklore Monographs 32). No commas before series number in either case.
Article in a book: Following the title of the article or chapter, use: Pp. 245-89 in Title of Book. Ed. Randal J. Fritz.
Facts of publication: Use the shortest designation, e.g. "Fortress" and not "Fortress Press." With university presses, use the full designation, "Harvard University Press" (not Univ.).
Article: title should be in quotes and end with a period; use only volume number and not part number, e.g. 36 and not 36/3; note that volume number is followed by a colon, no space, and then page numbers, e.g. 36:41-67. (NOTE: For article in a Journal, page number is not preceded by Pp.)
Page numbers: See the Chicago Manual of Style 8.67 and 16.108;
Under 100, use all digits: 3-17, 23-25;
100 or multiple, use all: 100-103;
101 to 109, use partial: 104-7, 505-17;
110 to 199, use two digits: 321-25.
Examples:
Book
Allen, Richard F.
1971 Fire and Iron: Critical Approaches to Njals Saga. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Book in a series
Beyerlin, Walter
1959 Die Kulttraditionen Israels in der Verkundigung des Propheten Micha. FRLANT 72. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Book with Editors
Hedrick, Charles W. and Robert Hodgson Jr., eds.
1986 Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, and Early Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
Article in a Book
Long, Burke O.
1977 "Prophetic Authority as Social Reality." Pp. 3-20 in Canon and Authority. Ed. George W. Coats and Burke O. Long. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Article in a Journal
Flanagan, James W.
1978 "The Relocation of the Davidic Capital." JAAR 46:224-44.
4. LANGUAGES
Due to the fact that the GBC is aimed at readers in a diversity of fields, students, and lay people one cannot presuppose that a great diversity of languages can be easily read by everyone.
Quotations from foreign language sources (including Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Coptic, Latin, German, French, Spanish sources, to name a few) are to be limited to a minimum and must be translated in English.
Parenthetical phrases or words in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek will be exceptional and should be transliterated. For the proper way to transliterate Greek and Hebrew, click here.
5. SPACING
All manuscripts (text, quotations, notes, Short Bibliography) are to be double-spaced.
6. ABBREVIATIONS FOR BIBLICAL BOOKS
Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Gen Genesis
Exod Exodus
Lev Leviticus
Num Numbers
Deut Deuteronomy
Josh Joshua
Judg Judges
Ruth Ruth
1-2 Sam 1-2 Samuel
1-2 Kgdms 1-2 Kingdoms (LXX) 1-2 Kgs1-2 Kings
3-4 Kgdms 3-4 Kingdoms (LXX)
1-2 Chr 1-2 Chronicles
Ezra Ezra
Neh Nehemiah
Esth Esther
Job Job
Ps/Pss Psalms
Prov Proverbs
Eccl Ecclesiastes (or Qoheleth)
Song Song of Songs (Song of Solomon, or Canticles)
Isa Isaiah
Jer Jeremiah
Lam Lamentations
Ezek Ezekiel
Dan Daniel
Hos Hosea
Joel Joel
Amos Amos
Obad Obadiah
Jonah Jonah
Mic Micah
Nah Nahum
Hab Habakkuk
Zeph Zehaniah
Hag Haggai
Zech Zechariah
Mal Malachi
New Testament
Matt Matthew
Mark Mark
Luke Luke
John John
Acts Acts
Rom Romans
1-2 Cor 1-2 Corinthians
Gal Galatians
Eph Ephesians
Phil Philippians
Col Colossians
1-2 Thess 1-2 Thessalonians
1-2 Tim 1-2 Timothy
Titus Titus
Phlm Philemon
Heb Hebrews
Jas James
1-2 Pet 1-2 Peter
1-2-3 John 1-2-3 John
Jude Jude
Rev Revelation
Apocrypha and Septuagint
Bar Baruch
Add Dan Additions to Daniel
Pr Zaar Prayer of Azariah
Bel Bel and the Dragon
Sg Three Song of the Three Young Men SusSusanna
1-2 Esd 1-2 Esdras
Add Esth Additions to Esther
Ep Jer Epistle of Jeremiah
Jdt Judith
1-2 Macc 1-2 Maccabees
3-4 Macc 3-4 Maccabees
Pr Man Prayer of Manasseh
Ps 151 Psalm 151
Sir Sircah/Ecclesiasticus
Tob Tobit
Wis Wisdom of Solomon
For the proper way to transliterate Greek and Hebrew, click here.