Customer comments on this selection.
 Biblical essays
Hardcover edition. ISBN 0-19-504645-5
Covers 600+ Biblical topics in dictionary format. For example, entries for Trinity; Canon; Revelation, book of; Computers and the Bible; Incense; and so forth are covered. Not illustrated. Large map section in the back.
Many topics are discussed in short to fairly long essay format. In the case of Bible books, an outline is also provided. Discussions primarily use Biblical-Theology or Liberal (Critical) interpretation methods (Not Literal).
This book does not cover each Bible verse in a blow-by-blow fashion. Also, the number of topics is less than the norm for a dictionary. However, topics which are included have greater depth than the norm. If you would prefer more entries and shorter discussions, there are other one-volume books available (such as: Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ISBN 0-8054-2836-4, and many others).
A Bible College or Seminary student will probably find this book of great value.
 Great Resource, Excellent Scholarship
If you are looking for a great resource that is reader friendly and yet top scholarship that provides good and accurate information then this book will help you. An example if the entry on the "Herdian Dynasty"; You get information on the sources for where we get our information on the Herodian Dynasty followed by the origin of the Herodian Dynasty. You get a break down of each Herod including when they lived, ruled and where. This is one of the best encyclopedia type of bible helps. I would have to say the draw back is that there are not any maps, few charts, and no pictures.
Comprehensive and readable
My only criticism is there is no pronunciation help in the book. I also have the Oxford Bible Dictionary, which also lacks pronunciation guides. Other than that, as an Anglican, I find nothing to quarrel with in its presentation of the issues of the Bible. But since I'm not a fundamentalist, others might.
A worthy companion, electronically...
Oxford University Press has a reputation second to none in the production of scholarly reference works, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. It has certainly upheld that fine reputation for scholarship, objectivity, and authoritative research with its latest 'Oxford Companion to the Bible', edited by Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan.
Pulling together a worthy group of researchers and scholars (the directory of contributors spans seven pages of rather small typeset print), the 'Oxford Companion to the Bible' represents a major work of reference useful in any biblical endeavour. 'Interpretation of the Bible has of course not been consistent, and throughout history the Bible has been used to support contradictory positions on such issues as slavery, the role of women, war and peace, forms of government, and finance. The Companion reflects this diversity: it is consciously pluralistic, and its more than 250 contributors, as well as its editors and editorial advisory board, encompass a wide spectrum of intellectual and confessional perspectives.'
In keeping with the diversity of authorship, the Companion is meant to be useful to a diverse range of Bible readers and religious. The Companion includes systematic treatment of the use, development, and role of the Bible in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, as well as the influence and significance of the Bible in thematic areas such as the arts, literature, politics, law, history, and culture.
This is not a simple Bible dictionary -- it has encyclopedic entries with in-depth analyses that go beyond mere definition, and contains more than 700 articles, each with authorship noted (so that the perspective can be known from whence the essay's asssertions come). Broad topics include:
- Formation of the Bible as a text
- Context and the Biblical World
- Concepts in the Bible (in the various interpretations)
- Uses and Influences of the Bible
While the Companion is arranged alphabetically, it is extensively cross-referenced by keywords, topically, and 'blind entries' (i.e., words that have meanings not expressly covered as separate entries, but are contained in more detail within other entries).
From Aaron to Zion, this is a book which, when pulled from the shelf, rarely remains closed for long -- I often use it to search for a particular theme, and find myself an hour later still perusing the Companion, having been tempted to follow the various strands through the book. While it is a reference book, and thus not one to be read simply by sitting and starting with the first entry, it nonetheless has an interesting, readable character that draws the seeker in. Treasures lie on each page.
From the possible influence of the ancient Gilgamesh Epic to the current practice of possessing and passing on a Family Bible, this reference is second to none in usefulness and comprehensive scope.
This particular electronic version is keyed to the New Annotated Oxford Bible (which includes standard and up-to-date translation of the biblical text) and the New Oxford Bible Maps, so that cross-references and linkages can be used for minimal effort in research and study.
A worthy companion
Oxford University Press has a reputation second to none in the production of scholarly reference works, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. It has certainly upheld that fine reputation for scholarship, objectivity, and authoritative research with its latest 'Oxford Companion to the Bible', edited by Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan. Pulling together a worthy group of researchers and scholars (the directory of contributors spans seven pages of rather small typeset print), the 'Oxford Companion to the Bible' represents a major work of reference useful in any biblical endeavour. 'Interpretation of the Bible has of course not been consistent, and throughout history the Bible has been used to support contradictory positions on such issues as slavery, the role of women, war and peace, forms of government, and finance. The Companion reflects this diversity: it is consciously pluralistic, and its more than 250 contributors, as well as its editors and editorial advisory board, encompass a wide spectrum of intellectual and confessional perspectives.' In keeping with the diversity of authorship, the Companion is meant to be useful to a diverse range of Bible readers and religious. The Companion includes systematic treatment of the use, development, and role of the Bible in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, as well as the influence and significance of the Bible in thematic areas such as the arts, literature, politics, law, history, and culture. This is not a simple Bible dictionary -- it has encyclopedic entries with in-depth analyses that go beyond mere definition, and contains more than 700 articles, each with authorship noted (so that the perspective can be known from whence the essay's asssertions come). Broad topics include: - Formation of the Bible as a text
- Context and the Biblical World
- Concepts in the Bible (in the various interpretations)
- Uses and Influences of the Bible While the Companion is arranged alphabetically, it is extensively cross-referenced by keywords, topically, and 'blind entries' (i.e., words that have meanings not expressly covered as separate entries, but are contained in more detail within other entries). From Aaron to Zion, this is a book which, when pulled from the shelf, rarely remains closed for long -- I often use it to search for a particular theme, and find myself an hour later still perusing the Companion, having been tempted to follow the various strands through the book. While it is a reference book, and thus not one to be read simply by sitting and starting with the first entry, it nonetheless has an interesting, readable character that draws the seeker in. Treasures lie on each page. From the possible influence of the ancient Gilgamesh Epic to the current practice of possessing and passing on a Family Bible, this reference is second to none in usefulness and comprehensive scope.
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