Hi Adam,

Chicago doesn’t specifically state why this is, but it’s a common standard across various different citation styles. To the best of my understanding, it’s just because the Bible is a very commonly cited source that comes in thousands of different editions but has standardized divisions (book, chapter, verse) and is readily available online. This makes it easy to recognize a Bible citation as long as it includes that information, so a bibliography entry is unnecessary.

I have a question regarding bible citation in Chicago Style formatting. I understand that though the name of the specific book, chapter and verse, and version of the bible need to be added as a footnote if used, but why is it not entered in the bibliography? Is it because it is considered public knowledge? I am just curious since everything else I cite in my footnotes must be included in the bibliography. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Adam Shepard