What Is a Good Bible Dictionary?

Home > Magazines > BAR > November/December 1986

Since the 1960s Bible dictionaries have been appearing in record numbers. In 1985 the Society of Biblical Literature joined with Harper & Row in the production of one of the handsomest. The venture itself was noteworthy: A scholarly society worked out terms with a commercial publisher to share the production and the proceeds of a scholarly work, the entire contents of which the society and its members contracted to provide. This year, one of the world’s largest producers of Bibles, Thomas Nelson Publishers, put together a very attractive and comprehensive Bible dictionary, the product of the labors of […]

You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.

Join the BAS Library!

Already a library member? Log in here.

Institution user? Log in with your IP address or Username

Footnotes

The Apocrypha are the 14 (sometimes 15) writings from the Jewish community that are not a part of the Hebrew canon of Scripture, and therefore are not included in Hebrew Bibles, but are found in Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible produced in early Christian times. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities regularly include the Apocrypha in the Christian Old Testament; Protestant churches include them in a separate section of the Old Testament with the label “Apocrypha” or (rarely today) eliminate them entirely.

In the numerical ratings at the end of each Bible dictionary description 5 is the highest rating; 1 is the lowest.