Q. How do I find biographical information about Bible characters?

There are several good places to look for information on Bible characters.

Use a Commentary: The first suggestion would be to find where in Scripture the character is introduced and then look up that passage in a commentary for more information. Here are some instructions in find commentaries online in our library:

1. Navigate to the main library website at https://www.liberty.edu/library/.
2. Find the search box in the middle of the screen. Above the search bar select Books. Options will appear directly below the search bar that allows you to choose Print books, E-books, or Audiobooks. Make sure E-books is the only box selected.
3. Type in the name of the Bible book that you are wanting the commentary for in the box and type in the word commentary after the book. For instance, your search may be John commentary. Click on Search.
4. You will find a list of e-books that fit the search you just performed.
5. Click on the title of the book you would like to read. Either this will take you directly to the book or you will be directed to a page with information about that book. If you are directed to the information page, you will want to locate the View Online section. Under Full text availability, you should locate a link or multiple links that will take you to the e-book.
6. The next page will look different, depending on which database is displaying the e-book. You will always want to find the table of contents and then click on the chapter that you want to read.

Use EBSCO QuickSearch: You could also try a feature called EBSCO QuickSearch that searches in several databases. Here are some instructions:

1. Navigate to the main library website at https://www.liberty.edu/library/. 
2. To the right, under Databases by Subject select Browse All Databases.
3. On the A-Z Databases page, select the letter E.
4. In the list that comes up select the link to EBSCO QuickSearch.
5. Once on the EBSCO search page, you will see three search bars in the top left. Type in the name of the character. Then click on the green Search button. Please note that in order to ensure that you are getting the appropriate character, you may want to try phrases like "Apostle Peter" or "Saint Peter" instead of simply "Peter”. You might also try searching "Saint Peter AND Scripture”, or other similar terms, depending on the history of the character you are studying.
6. On the next page, you can choose only Full Text articles by selecting that option on the left of the page in the margin. The articles found will then be available to be read online.

Use the Theological Journal Library: You could search in the database called the Theological Journal Library:

1. Navigate to the main library website at https://www.liberty.edu/library/. 
2. To the right, under Databases by Subject select Browse All Databases.
3. On the A-Z Databases page, select the letter T.
4. In the list that comes up select the link to Theological Journal Library.
5. Once you open up the database page, choose Search Journals on the right of the page.
6. You will now see a search bar to enter in the name for your desired Biblical character.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to us at (434) 582-2220 or at research@liberty.edu.