Customer Reviews

Holman Bible Dictionary

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having just finished four years of seminary, I found the Holman Bible Dictionary to be invaluable. Often, I needed some source verse, or a specialized meaning for a Bible term, and Holman had it at my fingertips. Everything from Aaron to Zuzite plus a wealth of other information including maps, photographs, and illustrations rounds out a first rate reference for the seminarian, pastor, lay person, or even crossword puzzler! I can not do without Holman as a constant source for facts, ideas, and verse citations. I recommend this book highly as the first one to serve as the foundation for your personal library.

This little gem has more than meets the eye. Granted, it is a conservative (but not lacking in information) approach, but avoids the liberal academic pitfalls so often found in their literature (critical analysis etc). This is a user friendly book, thick in size and content is generous. Most of all it comes across trustworthy and reliable, not full of conjecture. A quiet authoritive spiritual treatment without the heavy-handness to go with it. I have used one for years after using many others of the same genre and I prefer Holman's for overall satisfaction after reading it.

This is a very thorough dictionary that covers just about everything in a non-biased manner considering all opinions and possibilities. This is in the top 2 of Bible Dictionaries I've seen, hence why I have it. All serious Bible students need to have access to this one.

This is one of the finest reference works that I have ever seen. The subjects it covers,and they are many, are covered more thoroughly than any other work I have encountered.

A Bible dictionary is a great investment for those pursuing serious Bible study. Essentially every word you might want to look up from the Bible is laid out in dictionary style - from Abronah to Nicolaitans to Zaphon, each with at least a few sentences, and usually more, to explain what is known about them. There are also more extensive sections on occupations of Biblical times, charts of political parties, parables, weights and measures, maps, time lines and much more.

This Holman dictionary has over 600 illustrations and plenty of photos of landscapes from the Holy Land, etc. There are other good Bible dictionaries available, but this one is the best illustrated and attractively arranged that I know of. The other dictionaries I've seen may have more text per entry, but I find Holman to be completely adequate in this regard. The text is also typeset cleanly so it is easy to read; this is not always the case with other dictionaries. Holman's dictionary is a terrific tool for helping your study come to life in a vivid way.

I would recommend a Bible dictionary even if you have a good study Bible. There is a lot more information in the dictionary than any Bible can really present. Holman's dictionary is keyed to match several popular Bible translations so whichever English translation you prefer, you'll likely find the entries in Holman's to match. Halley's Bible Handbook is also a useful tool for getting a high level overview of information as you study. A Bible handbook does not overlap with the dictionary, they each serve a distinct purpose, but the dictionary is the more valuable of the two if you must choose between them.

May God bless your time in His Word

The staff at Holman Bible Publishers have produced a high-quality, well-written dictionary with an easy-to-read format!

Most of the subjects have comprehensive information such as: Bible verse(s) reference, origin, how the subject relates to other Bible subjects and other pertinent info.

Throughout the book are colorful and attractive photos of certain topics (usually geography, buildings, towns, and artifacts of biblical times).

The book is divided into such sections as: 1) charts of biblical time lines, 2) scale reconstructions of biblical artifacts (temples, tabernacles, etc.), 3) maps of the biblical lands, 4) Bible backgrounds and culture, and 5) doctrines and ethics.

All in all, a highly recommend read and excellent resource for the pastor, teacher, or student!

Very useful and it has at not least very nice fashion. Nice pictures, a lot of text, historical timelines. I recommend to everyone who studies the Bible.

Do you get what you pay for when you purchase one of the cheaper dictionaries? Yes and no. The book itself reminds you from the moment you open it that it was cheap: the paper is not the best quality around; the book creaks and groans as you page through it (just how long will it be before the spine cracks and breaks?); the quality of the photos is, in general, nothing short of abominable (in the 1960's and 1970's they would have been acceptable).
The dictionary entries are good, if you like conservative biblical scholarship. Reference to various (modern) translations of the bible makes it quite a useful book. But one essential ingredient of a good scholarly work is missing: a bibliography. Of the three dictionaries I know (Eerdmans, HarperCollins and this one from Holman), the Holman is the only one totally lacking any kind of bibliography. For the lay-user maybe not a problem. For an academic user a great problem. I would advise academic users to consider either the Eerdmans or the HarperCollins publications.
For the lay-user this is a useful publication at a good price. For academic users this might be handy to have as a second dictionary but it is, thanks to its lack of a bibliography, unsuitable as a sole work of reference.

It is ridiculous for this book to be offered at $95.00, when the cover photo shows it being for sale at $29.97. Also, you can go into any good Christian book store and find the book for about $30.00. Beware the price gouging! This one was published in 1991. Look at the one published in 2003.

I really enjoy reading this book and perusing the pages. There is so much information. They went to great lengths to be accurate it seems. This is more than a Dictionary it is almost like a mini Encyclopedia. I would recommend this to everyone. It is a must have for the Bible Student or just someone who wants to understand the Bible better and the places mentioned there. What are you waiting for? BUY IT!!!!!!!!! You won't be disappointed.