For the student who desires to depend on personal knowledge of Scripture rather than taking for granted the scholarship of someone/anyone else, we suggest the following sources as a bare minimum. Obtaining and learning to use these resources, is costly in terms of both time and money. But if you are to break free from dependence on the word of others, your expenditure, time, and effort will be more than amply rewarded by mastering these tools of Bible research.

Learning the true meaning of words is absolutely essential to learning what the Bible says. One can find the original meaning of all Bible words, plus helpful examples of their usage in different texts, by examining these volumes. These scholars are objective and dependable. These volumes can be used easily without knowledge of Greek or Hebrew.

• Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (merely a beginning point. Grow beyond Strong’s).
• Figures of Speech Used in The Bible, E. W. Bullinger.
• A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament, E. W. Bullinger.
• Nestle's Interlinear Greek-English New Testament.
• Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine.
• Theological Dictionary Of the New Testament, Kittel and Friedrich, (Abridged in one vol., ed. by Geoffrey W. Bromley).
• The Complete Word Study Old Testament, Spiros Zodhiates.
• The Complete Word Study New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates.

Any additional effort to learn the basics of Greek and Hebrew will be that much more valuable in one’s study of Scripture.  For material on cultural and historical background, these volumes will be very helpful:

• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Eerdman's Bible Dictionary
• Davis's Bible Dictionary