The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195146417 ISBN 13: 9780195146417

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Offering a wealth of reliable information, The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible provides more than 300 articles that cover everyone from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ and everywhere from the Garden of Eden to Golgotha and Gethsemane.
Readers will find fascinating, informative entries on virtually every major figure who walked across the biblical stage. Here are Hebrew Bible figures such as Cain and Abel, Noah and Methuselah, Abraham and Isaac, David and Goliath, Solomon and Sheba, Moses and Aaron, Naomi and Ruth, and Samson and Delilah. The New Testament is likewise well covered, with pieces on Peter and Paul, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, the apostles (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot, and of course Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Articles also define groups of people who figure in the Bible, such as Angels, Archangels, and Demons, the Magi, the Tribes of Israel, and Women. Entries on the significant places of the Bible, both ancient and modern, include kingdoms and countries (Egypt, Assyria, Mesopotamia) and cities (Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Sodom and Gomorrah), as well as geographical features such as the Sea of Galilee and Mount Hebron. The guide includes a detailed index for ease of use, and 14 pages of color maps, providing an accurate, detailed portrait of the biblical world.
Here then is the first place to turn to find factual information on the people and places of Holy Scripture. Written by an international team of noted biblical experts, it is an essential addition to any family library as well as a useful, reliable resource for scholars and students.

About this title

About the Author

Bruce M. Metzger is Collard Professor Emeritus of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. A recognized authority on the text of the New Testament, he was chairperson of the NRSV Bible Committee, which produced the New Revised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan is Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. A widely regarded interpreter of the biblical world, he is the editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of the Biblical World and co-editor (with Bruce Metzger) of The Oxford Companion to the Bible.

Reviews

Written by an international team of biblical experts, this reliable resource covers the people, places, and groups (e.g., angels, tribes of Israel) found in the Bible and also considers what the Bible says and how biblical traditions have been interpreted by scholars. The over 300 alphabetical and signed articles cover virtually every major biblical figure from Adam to Jesus and significant places from Egypt and Assyria to Bethlehem and Sodom, as well as geographical features such as the Sea of Galilee and Mount Hebron, all in excellent detail. The content reflects recent findings of archaeologists and current research methods, making the work authoritative as well as comprehensive. Metzer, Collard Professor Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and chair of the NRSV Bible Committee, which produced the New Revised Standard Version, and Coogan (religious studies, Stonehill Coll.), editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of the Biblical World, have created a timely and lasting work. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries, this is also worth considering by for high school libraries with advanced students. (Color maps not seen.) Leroy Hommerding, Fort Myers Beach P.L., FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This dictionary is a spinoff from The Oxford Companion to the Bible (1993), from which the compilers have extracted the articles about people and places. Many of the more than 300 articles in People and Places are exactly the same as those in the larger Companion, except that the frequent parenthetical references to biblical passages have been deleted. Some articles are extracts from longer articles in the Companion.

Articles range in length from a short paragraph, such as the nine lines devoted to Gethsemane, to as many as nine pages (for Jerusalem) or thirteen pages (for Jesus Christ). Longer articles are divided into sections, each with a topical subheading. The accompanying 14 biblical maps, plus the separate index to these maps, are slightly smaller reproductions of the maps and index in the Companion. The bibliography has been updated to include references as recent as 2000.

Like the Companion, People and Places is selective, covering only the "major" figures and places of the Bible, in contrast to Harper's Bible Dictionary (1993), which includes an entry for every person mentioned three or more times in the Bible. However, the rather comprehensive subject index does provide access to topics, persons, and places lacking their own entries, and also to discussions of major persons and topics within other articles. The index is generally well done with generous subdivisions for the more important headings. The publisher, however, has neglected to insert continuation lines when subheadings carry over to a new twopage spread, forcing the user to consult the previous page.

Except for the updated bibliography, there does not appear to be any material in People and Places. Thus, libraries that own the Companion may not wish to purchase this spinoff, unless their users would find a smaller volume devoted only to people and places a useful reference work.

RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195146417
• ISBN 13: 9780195146417
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 436
• Editor: Metzger Bruce M., Coogan Michael D.