Are you looking for the best reference work for obtaining book-by-book, chapter-by-chapter Bible background information for history, geography, archaeology, and culture? I highly recommend Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (5-volume set) for the Old Testament edited by John H. Walton. Top-notch Old Testament scholars who contributed to this set include:
- Numbers, R. Dennis Cole
- Deuteronomy, Eugene E. Carpenter
- Joshua, Richard S. Hess
- Judges, Daniel I. Block
- 1 & 2 Samuel, V. Philips Long
- 2 Chronicles, Frederick J. Mabie
- Ezra and Nehemiah, Edwin M. Yamauchi
- Esther, Anthony Tomasino
- Isaiah, David W. Baker
- Joel and Zephaniah, Mark W. Chavalas
- Obadiah and Nahum, Alan R. Millard
- Habakkuk, Victor H. Matthews
- Malachi, Andrew E. Hill
- Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, Duane Garrett