Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

David Noel Freedman (Editor)
1425 pages
William B. Eerdmans, 2000
Retail Price: $45.00
See Amazon's discounted price

Review
At the dawn of the Twenty First century it is fair to say that there is a veritable glut of English language Bible dictionaries on the market. Over a dozen and a half have been published or revised over the past twenty five years. These dictionaries vary from one volume to multiple volume sets. So with the publication of Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible one wonders what could be "new" or what needs an "updating."

What is "new" is 5000 alphabetically ordered articles by 600 biblical scholars from all over the English-speaking world. The entries in the dictionary identify all persons and places named in the Bible, as well as cultural, natural, geographical and literary data helpful in the interpretation of the Bible. The editors have been very careful to strike a good balance between providing too much and too little information on most topics. This is to be commended for the dictionary sets forth a vast amount of data. The biblical citations follow the New Revised Standard Version versification for the editors deem that in so doing they are accommodating the best nuances of the English Bible.

What the editors have "updated" are all the bibliographies at the end of each entry as well as providing theological meaning along with scholarly and critical information. In addition, a 16 page section of user-friendly color maps is provided as well as 134 highly informative and helpful photographs, charts, and illustrations. All of which enhance the overall quality of the dictionary.

I sampled the entries "God," "Covenant," "Creation," and "Jesus Christ," and found them to be thorough and well written; while the entries on "Prayer," "Resurrection," and "Disciple" though clearly written. are too brief and leave something to be desired. The entry entitled "Women in Israelite Cult" is woefully inadequate for it stresses the role of women only in the Old Testament and only in relationship to worship. Further, the dictionary does not include an entry on "Women in the New Testament." This is odd, for two reasons. First many of the scholars who were contributors were women, and second, the editor, David Noel Freedamn was also the editor of the highly acclaimed six volume Anchor Bible Dictionary which does contain extensive entries on women in both testaments of the Bible.

This one volume dictionary is a clearly written good reference work. It is wholeheartedly recommended for pastors, teachers, catechists, college students and general readers. It belongs along side the Bible on the desk of any serious student of the Bible.

—Arthur E. Zannoni is an award winning freelance writer, teacher, theologian and Biblical scholar. His most recent book is Tell Me Your Name: Images of God in the Bible.




			Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible David Noel Freedman (Editor) 1425 pages William B. Eerdmans, 2000 Retail Price: $45.00 See Amazon's discounted price Review At the dawn of the Twenty First century it is fair to say that there is a veritable glut of English language Bible dictionaries on the market. Over a dozen and a half have been published or revised over the past twenty five years. These dictionaries vary from one volume to multiple volume sets. So with the publication of Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible one wonders what could be "new" or what needs an "updating." What is "new" is 5000 alphabetically ordered articles by 600 biblical scholars from all over the English-speaking world. The entries in the dictionary identify all persons and places named in the Bible, as well as cultural, natural, geographical and literary data helpful in the interpretation of the Bible. The editors have been very careful to strike a good balance between providing too much and too little information on most topics. This is to be commended for the dictionary sets forth a vast amount of data. The biblical citations follow the New Revised Standard Version versification for the editors deem that in so doing they are accommodating the best nuances of the English Bible. What the editors have "updated" are all the bibliographies at the end of each entry as well as providing theological meaning along with scholarly and critical information. In addition, a 16 page section of user-friendly color maps is provided as well as 134 highly informative and helpful photographs, charts, and illustrations. All of which enhance the overall quality of the dictionary. I sampled the entries "God," "Covenant," "Creation," and "Jesus Christ," and found them to be thorough and well written; while the entries on "Prayer," "Resurrection," and "Disciple" though clearly written. are too brief and leave something to be desired. The entry entitled "Women in Israelite Cult" is woefully inadequate for it stresses the role of women only in the Old Testament and only in relationship to worship. Further, the dictionary does not include an entry on "Women in the New Testament." This is odd, for two reasons. First many of the scholars who were contributors were women, and second, the editor, David Noel Freedamn was also the editor of the highly acclaimed six volume Anchor Bible Dictionary which does contain extensive entries on women in both testaments of the Bible. This one volume dictionary is a clearly written good reference work. It is wholeheartedly recommended for pastors, teachers, catechists, college students and general readers. It belongs along side the Bible on the desk of any serious student of the Bible. —Arthur E. Zannoni is an award winning freelance writer, teacher, theologian and Biblical scholar. His most recent book is Tell Me Your Name: Images of God in the Bible. † Back to the Top
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