Footnotes are typically used to provide bibliographic details (in traditional citation style) and discussions that supplement the main argument. Footnotes can also indicate where a work has been previously published or presented, acknowledge the author’s gratitude for another’s assistance in preparing the current work, or, in the case of Festschriften, express the author’s sentiments toward … Continue reading Special Footnotes
Image Captions
Authors frequently include figures in their works (e.g., line drawings, photographs, maps). Each figure should generally be referenced within the body of the work (e.g., see fig. 3), so readers know why it has been included or to what the figure relates. In addition, the figure should be accompanied by a caption that provides a … Continue reading Image Captions
Publisher Name Changes
Publishers often change names over the course of their histories, as they restructure internally or merge with other publishing houses. For example, when Westminster Press merged with John Knox Press in the early 1990s, the publishing house Westminster John Knox Press was created. In bibliographic entries, the name of the publisher should match the name … Continue reading Publisher Name Changes
Abbreviations Lists
Although not every work needs a list of abbreviations, it is often advisable to include such a list at the beginning of monographs and edited collections, even if one is following the SBL Handbook of Style. This allows a reader quickly to discern the meaning of a given abbreviation without consulting another source that may … Continue reading Abbreviations Lists
Series Volume Identifiers: Old/New and Concurrent Series
Formatting series volume identifiers can be problematic when a series begins anew or is divided into distinct concurrent sections. In such cases, the notation 1/ or 2/ distinguishes the different series. 1. Consecutive Series When a series begins anew, we prefer that authors distinguish between the old and new series with the appropriate label: 1/ … Continue reading Series Volume Identifiers: Old/New and Concurrent Series
Series Volume Identifiers
Publishers use a variety of methods to identify volumes within a given series. This post explains how to format series identifiers in bibliographic entries. 1. Series with Volume Numbers Many publishers today assign volume numbers to volumes in a series. When a volume has an assigned series volume number, it is appropriate to include the … Continue reading Series Volume Identifiers
Electronic Journals with Individually Paginated Articles
An earlier post provided guidelines on how to format citations from HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies (HvTSt), an online journal that no longer has a print counterpart. The principles outlined there apply equally to other online journals that lack a print counterpart or are paginated differently than the print edition, such as the Journal of Hebrew … Continue reading Electronic Journals with Individually Paginated Articles
Multiple Cities of Publication
Bibliographic citations should include the city in which a publisher is headquartered: Hamori, Esther J., and Jonathan Stökl. Perchance to Dream: Dream Divination in the Bible and the Ancient Near East. ANEM 21. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2018. Some publishers have headquarters in more than one location, leaving one to wonder which location should be included … Continue reading Multiple Cities of Publication
Journals Identified by Issue Number
Academic writers frequently need to cite articles in various types of serial publications: journals organized by volume, each of which contains multiple issues that are paginated consecutively (see SBLHS 6.3.1–2); magazines that are arranged by volume and issue but not consecutively paginated across issues (see 6.3.9 and here); journals organized by issue only or by … Continue reading Journals Identified by Issue Number
Modern Author Names
Ideally, the names of modern authors would be listed in bibliographic references in the same form as they appear in their published works (CMS 14.73). However, not all authors spell their names consistently in published works, due to changes in authorial preference, editorial oversight, changes made to the legal name, or variations in publisher preferences. … Continue reading Modern Author Names
SBL Handbook of Style 