The DK Illustrated Family Bible [Hardcover]

Claude-Bernard Costecalde (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 1997

Explications of particular passages and clear explanations of key words are backed up by extensive maps, works of art and photographs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether you see the Bible as a literal revelation of God's word, a guide for life, or a wonderful set of stories, The DK Illustrated Family Bible--a colorful, accessible reference source---can be the cornerstone of your family's knowledge of scripture. Based on the modern English of the New International Version Bible, this stunning, lavishly illustrated 384-page book is an interpretation of the Bible rather than a complete edition. The most important stories, such as "The Tower of Babel" and "The Sower," are presented chronologically with full-color illustrations supported by helpful captions. Each story is complemented by illustrated side panels explaining key words and concepts, as well as by photographs of actual sites, artifacts, and works of art. The people of the Bible are defined in appendices for both the Old and New Testaments and throughout the text as needed.

The production team for the book included advisors from different denominations, ensuring that all faiths are treated with equal respect. Jewish and Middle Eastern history and traditions are explained in context, providing a better understanding of the period and the rise of Christianity. As a reference for both youngsters and adults, this beautifully designed, thoughtfully arranged book offers a superb introduction to the basic Biblical stories and to the significance of the Bible. (Ages 10 to adult)

Review

This new visual approach to Biblical stories and interpretations provides color photos of places and artifacts to supplement retellings of the Bible stories. The idea is to place the stories within their social, historical and geographic context: chapters use original texts selected from the New International Version of the Bible. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (March 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789415038
• ISBN-13: 978-0789415035
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Christian Family should own a copy!, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The DK Illustrated Family Bible (Hardcover)

Noting with horror that "Teen Witch" is number 1 in the "teen - spirituality" category on amazon.com, I am at least pleased to see this book to be sitting currently at number 2.

This is a great book, we have it as part of our christian family library that we keep out in the open for everyone to use. I often just end up opening the book to any page and reading, every page is absolutely FASCINATING and gives a deep historical perspective to the bible. Lots of pictures to break up the text and give dimension to the topics.

Help bring the bible alive in your home with this companion book!

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ideal starting place, July 10, 2002

By 

Michael Hoffman (Egodeath.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The DK Illustrated Family Bible (Hardcover)

This book provides an excellent presentation because it smoothes out the Bible and provides a coherent, easily comprehensible, linear framework of understanding. The most helpful aspect of this arrangement of material is that in the section covering the Gospel books, it presents selected chapters in chronological order (Sunday School materials might have set a precedent here).

It's like an ideally arranged compendium of Sunday School booklets, with helpful background sections introducing major parts of the Bible. It uses a classic style of graphics, combined with various types of art as DK Publishing excels in.

Everyone who is studying Christianity should read this first, to set up a basic framework of understanding. This book portrays clearly and efficiently a point of reference to answer "What is the orthodox conventional reading of the Bible?"

This book reveals the anti-Semitism that builds up in the book of Acts; the Jews who supposedly persecuted the Christians are always shown in a two-dimensional, cardboard way, with mean expressions on their faces. This book clearly portrays the conventional Christian reading of this material. It's a good, clear portrayal of the standard orthodox way of reading the Bible.

There is an appendix of people's names in the back. The book lacks, most of all, a set of genealogy diagrams. It has a fairly good map in front, but could use more maps or at least a guide to the little maps that are dispersed throughout.

It has a great index. After reading the book cover-to-cover, I highlighted the 50% of the index entries that are least clear to me, to do a 2nd, review pass. I played a Bible trivia game and was inspired to read this book because I lacked too many of the standard Bible stories. I can tell that I'll do much better in that Bible trivia game, and will do even better after reviewing more of the unfamiliar entries I found in this book's index.

I felt that getting through this book required the most perseverance when wading through the section about the kings who did or didn't worship God, and the section about Jesus' parables -- these are covered well, but these weren't the sections of the Bible I was most interested in. My favorite sections of the book -- the subjects I was already most curious about -- were the stories between Eden and the later kings, and the stories between the Crucifixion and Revelation. The book has a nice treatment of Revelation and explains its political context. In the middle of the book, the parables and wisdom literature is covered.

I treasure this book and am glad to have read the Bible in this clear and understandable form. Next, I may read the Bible Handbook by DK Publishing (John Bowker). I'm reading Bowker's 2002 book from DK Publishing, God: A Brief History. I've also read the pocket-size Bible handbook from DK Publishing, which isn't very enlightening -- it's a tiny, somewhat random subset of the Illustrated Family Bible. I also recommend the books by DK Publishing, which I have read, covering Christianity, Myth, World Religions, and Philosophy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DK brings a greater understanding to God's Word., December 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The DK Illustrated Family Bible (Hardcover)

Understanding the cultural and political environments of Biblical times may help your family better understand the Bible. Dorling-Kindersley blends illustration, historical perspective, and the political reality of the day to present an informative and scholarly look at the life and times of the Bible.

An example is the story of the Magi visiting the baby Jesus. Historical and political references point out that the Magi did not visit the Christ Child on the day of His birth, but rather later, at His "house". This insight, along with the information about the shepherds and why they were told the "Glad Tidings" first, help bring the Joyous Christmas Story to life. This title is highly recommended as a supplement to a family's Bible Study hour. Use it to answer questions and to encourage further study into our Father's Word.