How to Cite Resources in APA 7- Adapted for Biblical Studies/Church History: Commentaries

 

1. Citing from a volume in a Bible commentary series/set (print or ebook without a DOI), such as WBC, FOTL, Hermeneia, et al.:

    a. A basic template following the example for one volume of a multivolume work, with or without general or series editor(s), without volume editor(s), volume has its own title (10.2. intro, 10.2.30):

   P: (Author, year, p. #)

   R: Author, A. A. (year). Title of main title of multivolume work: Vol. 1 [put whatever Arabic number it is]. Title of volume.  Publisher Name.

If there is a DOI, add after publisher name.

    b. An example:

   P: (Schipper, 2016, p. 96)

   R: Schipper, J. (2016). The Anchor Yale Bible: Vol. 7D. Ruth: a new translation and commentary. Yale University Press. [this book did not provide a middle initial for the author as the template provides.]

(One might follow the 10.2.31. Book in Series example, but treating as a volume in a multivolume work, which is also allowed in Chicago (CMS and Turabian) style, is closer to the reality of the publication type, although the commentaries are termed as part of a commentary series.

  P: (Schipper, 2016, p. 96)

  R: Schipper, J. (2016).  Ruth: a new translation and commentary (Vol. 7D). Yale University Press.

(The series title is omitted in this example's format.)

APA 10.2,  10.2.21, APA Style:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/book-references

1. Citing from a commentary, single volume, not part of a series/set, with an author, no editor (print or ebook without DOI):

    a. A basic template for an authored book without a DOI -- or print version (10.2. intro, 10.2.21):

   P: (Author, year, p. #)

   R: Author, A. A. (year). Title of book. Publisher Name.

    b. An example:

   P: (Alter, 1999, p. 157)

   R: Alter, D. (1999). The David story: a translation with commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel. W. W. Norton.

If the ebook has a DOI (not the same as a permalink), add after publisher name.

APA 10.3,  10.3.39, APA Style:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/book-reference

1. Citing from an authored section/chapter of an edited 1-volume commentary (print or ebook without DOI):   

    a. A basic template for an (authored) chapter in an edited book without a DOI or in a print version (10.3.39)

   P: (Author, year, p. #)

   R: Author, A. A. (year). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (x ed., pp. x-xx [of chapter]). Publisher Name.

    b. An example:

   P: (Newsom, 2012, p. 214)

   R: Newsom , C. A. (2013). Job. In C. A. Newsom, S. H. Ringe, & J. E. Lapsley (Eds.), Women's Bible Commentary (3rd ed., pp. 208-215). Westminster John Knox Press.

If there is a DOI or a nondatabase URL in the version consulted, add after publisher name ( 10.2, 28 and 40).

See the introductory paragraphs below and the example entries for referrals to APA sections and examples. If you want to skip the advanced explanatory content and get to the examples, see EXAMPLES below.

Citing  from what SBL Handbook of Style calls Snippet Text Collections commentary series such as Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) and Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) in APA style presents options.  Below are some suggestions wedding APA 7 guidelines to the SBL example and definition for this type of work. 

For this kind of work even with and because of the complexities of its citable elements and mutable categorization of what type of work it is, two APA example types have been chosen as viable as starting points to create templates/citations. Mixing and matching was then practiced to accommodate the citation elements of these publications. I would recommend the second option.  When using the first option, some nursing faculty would prefer in that model that you consult the original (primary source) work when at all possible.

The first option is indirectly citing the primary source using the Citing from a Secondary Source model -- aka Citing Indirect Sources as labeled by Purdue OWL and others.  For this kind of work a narrative in-text citation is often needed for the primary source work title and/or author or other required details in combination with the other details in the parenthetical part of a narrative model.   The reference list example is for the secondary source.  This guideline in 8.6 for citing secondary sources allows this practice in student papers, especially when the primary source is difficult to track down or published in a language with which you are not familiar (in this case, usually Ancient Greek or Latin, or perhaps in French translation as common in patristics, and not available in English except in the snippet publication excerpt).   You will also be shown an example of how to cite when the work in easily available and accessible in English, ie consulting and citing a publication of the original (primary) source from which the snippet was republished.

The second option is citing a Work in an Anthology, from one edited and titled Volume in a Multivolume Work (10.3.46, 10.2.30) or, similarly, as a Chapter in a Volume of a Multivolume Work (10.3.45).   This might be considered a preferred model to follow as the Secondary Source model was designed in APA style for reported work rather than primary text works as we are dealing with here with theological works.

[*A third option is following the Book in a Series example (9.20, 10.2.31), but the manual is somewhat lacking in guidance for this when applying it to commentary series. See below for more information.]

Ultimately the goal is to try to make the building of these templates as simple as possible while still adhering to APA guidelines, including citing with accuracy and consistency with the goal that the reader will be able to identify and retrieve the work(s) cited (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 313).

Reference: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.)

EXAMPLES:

1. Citing from a volume in a "snippet" Bible commentary series/set (print or ebook without a DOI), such as ACCS, RCS, et al., following guidelines for the Secondary Source model (ie ACCS would be the secondary, the snippet's work would be the primary) in a single volume in a multivolume work, volume has it own title, editor, number, no need to cite series editor nor translator -- this is closest to SBL but modified to APA guidelines (8.6, 9.28, 10.2 intro, 10.2.30)

       a.  A basic description for the in-text citation and reference:

           N: Include the title of the primary work and optionally that work's author in text followed by parenthetical with date of primary work author if not included in the text, year of that work, "as cited in" secondary work author, page #.

           R: Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of series/multivolume work: Vol. #. Volume title. Publisher. 

              The secondary source information is included in the reference list. Use an Arabic number for the volume number.

        b. An example:

           N: In the Commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron 7.1-2, Ephrem the Syrian writes (ca. 303-373 CE, as cited in Just, 2003, p. 144),  "The Son's divinity became known through his healing, and the afflicted woman's faith was revealed through her being healed."

The title of the primary work is capitalized in running text.  The sentence could be reworded and the original author could be moved from the text to within the parenthetical, but name the original work in your text. As you can see, you cite the work you read it in (the secondary source) in the parenthetical (and in the reference list).

         R:  Just, A. A. (Ed.). (2003). Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament Series: Vol. 3. Luke. InterVarsity Press.

Guidelines regarding consulting and citing a publication of the original (primary) source first read in a secondary source under the APA Secondary Source directives:

For most APU students this practice to find the original source needs to be considered when the primary source  read in a secondary source is an English translation edition of a work.  The citation template will vary depending on the particulars of that publication, ie a book of one work versus a collection of works by one author in one book that is not part of a series versus in a volume of a multivolume/series work, with an editor and/or translator, or from a database [remember many ebooks can be cited similar to a print book -- see Ebooks] or from a website and so on, and so no template or example is provided here.  See examples provided on this guide.

When using ACCS, for example, consult the footnote of your snippet for the citation of the primary source publication.  See the Abbreviations section at the front of the volume to find information on that publication in order to cite that work.  If the work is in, say, Greek or difficult to obtain/access,  use and cite the secondary resource. 

For example, Footnote 26 to a snippet of Cyril of Alexandria on p. 145 of the ACCS Luke volume reads CGSL 200-201**.  The Abbreviations list decodes this as from the book Commentary on the Gospel of Luke and that it has a translator, and provides other publication information.  If you can obtain this book, you should use it.  (200-210 are pages numbers and ** means that the editor of the Luke ACCS volume, Just, significantly amended or rewrote the English translation from the CGSL source.)  Conversely, if it had been from, say, CCL , which is decoded as Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina, that series has the primary text in Latin without translation and therefore you should use and cite the secondary source for the primary source content. See the Primary Texts page.

2. Citing from a snippet commentary using the Work in an Anthology example/One Volume of a Multivolume Work (10.3.46, 10.2.30, 10.2.36):

     a. A basic template:

         P: (Author, date of original work/anthology publication date, p. #).   

For Ancient Greek/Roman put ca. and approximate date; use BCE or CE with the year for ancient works; for more modern original works, such as in RCS, put the year; omit original work date if unknown.

        R: Author. (publication year of anthology ie modern volume). Title of original work. In A. A. Editor (Ed.). Title of multivolume work: Vol. #. Volume title ( p. # or xx--xx pp. for page range of original work). Publisher name. (Original work published xxxx or ca. xxx-xxx BCE or CE)

     b. An example:

        P: (Ephrem the Syrian. ca. 303-373 CE/ 2003, p. 144).

       R: Ephrem the Syrian. (2003). Commentary on Tatian's diatessaron 7.1-2. In A. A. Just (Ed. & Trans.), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament Series: Vol. 3. Luke (p. 144). InterVarsity Press. (Original work published ca. 303-373 CE)

[3. Citing from a snippet commentary using the Book in a Series example (9.20, 10.2.31) has been also recommended by some librarians at other institutions, but there is no accommodation for attributing the content cited to the original work author nor mandate to providing the series title information , which is useful identifying information for biblical commentary publications -- and a basic APA guideline is when in doubt, more  information is better than less (APA, 2020, p. 314).

    a./b. A template/example:

    P: (Just, 2003, p. 144)

    R: Just, A. A. (2003). Luke. InterVarsity Press.