Customer Reviews

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is probably the best new bible dictionary to come along in some time. It contains over 700 full-color photos, illustrations, charts, and maps. And these are not just "eye-candy," they are meaty and well thought-out. For example, under the topic of "Revelation" there is a 5-page chart which summarizes how each of the major interpretive views (amill, historic pre-mill, pretrib premill, preterist, postmill) understands each major point of interpretation or passage (e.g., seven heads of Rev 13, Beast, bride of Christ, etc.). The maps are beautifully done and the text is conservative and information-dense. This is not your typical fluff published to make a fast buck. The topics covered are extremely comprehensive. This may be the best single-volume Bible Dictionary I've seen to date. The only slighly negative observation I could make is the size of the work (over 1700 pages) is a bit large for a single volume and the binding could probably be better. (I haven't had a problem yet, but I can tell that I need to handle it carefully due to its size and weight.)

Having owned the earlier version of the Holman Bible Dictionary, I find this new edition is much more extensive with its content.

Many of the definitions are more like college-level essays on every Bible topic you can imagine. It also includes full outlines on every book in the Bible, full-color maps, and beautiful photographs of the Holy Land.

It is definitely not light reading, but for the serious Bible student or minister, the Holman Bible Dictionary is a volume you will be using again and again. I highly recommend the Holman Bible Dictionary.

I owned other Bible Dictionaries but I can't resist buying this one because of the breath of topics covered in this book. The Timeline of the Biblical World and Christianity versus World Events are very helpful to see clearly how Christianity evolves while other world events are happening. Not only does this book covers topics from several bible translations, what I like most, is that it also covers theological topics that are scholarly written that most bible dictionaries don't cover. All sorts of maps, charts and diagrams add clarity and value to the definitions and foremostly, they are all in color.

I bought this book for my father-in-law, who has eyesight problems to teach his Sunday School class. He is 80 years old. He loves it. The print is large for him. He has found it so helpful in preparing his lessons now. It has given a new enthusiam to his life. He says it is well written and the topics are easy to locate and the illustrations are the best. The man should know, he has been teaching Sunday School for 55 years.

Unlike the Smith Bible Dictionary, the Holman is in color and are real pictures and not drawings. This is a plus in many ways, but Smith's did have some good drawings (of fish for example) that the Holman does not have an equivalent. The maps and reconstruction models are top notch. The articles are for the most part very good. There are some interpretive problems for example when the writer of the article on Paul goes into Paul's theology, he is at points reading anachronistically. Also, in the article on Palestine written by Timothy Trammel, he fails to give a history on how the land came to be called Palestine on the maps. The introductions are good and useful and the stuff on Jerusalem, the Temple, pottery, Spiritual Gifts, the Jewish festivals, death, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and many more besides are top notch. By all means get this book, it is worth it.

I bought the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary on the strength of a friend's recommendation.
This dictionary is very comprehensive.It covers every word I have looked for.
The charts and time-lines are an unexpected bonus.
The binding is excellent.That's important when dealing with a large book.
If you are looking for a Bible Dictionary that covers the most words and has the most information in general,this is probably the one!

I recieved this book as a gift from my wife a couple of years ago and have used it throughout my studies of the Bible and comparative religions. It is now a mainstay as source material for me and the articles and sermons I write. So, this (2nd) purchase was as an additional, follow-up gift for my elderly mother (76) and she loves it. Previously she had thought the only book she needed to read was the Bible alone, but admits this truly helps to understand so much more of what she has read in the Bible and has brought much more insight to her own lifelong studies.I highly recommend this material as a more extensive answer to understanding the people and cultures of the Christian Bible.

This is an excellent book. To be sure that it was thorough and not lacking anything important, I checked it against "Who's Who and Where's Where", which was lacking. Unlike the latter book, this dictionary included important details lacking in that book, such as that the fallen walls of Jericho did exist at the time of Joshua despite what the archeologist Kathleen Kenyon said (she was disproved).

I am very impressed with this Bible dictionary. Just about anything related to Bible study is covered in the book. From Bible translation history, and comparisons, to the Jewish calendar and in-depth introductions to the books of the Bible, the cities referred to in the old and new testaments, the archaic words used in the KJV, and much, much more!

Very nicely presented artistic renditions of the ancient cities as they probably appeared at their apex as well as many photographs of their present state are most interesting. Theological terms and religious practises of the bible civilizations are explained and the illustrations are very well done and informative.

A true encyclopedia of information for almost anything related to what you read in God's Word!

I bought the Holman Bible Dictionary to use in my reference to biblical studies.

I have found this to be an excellent book.

I like the illustrations, the layout and it is very well written. Which makes it easy to locate the topic or word you need information on. And it covers many different topics other Bible dictionaries that I have owned didn't. And the definitions are theologically written yet clear to understand.

And best of all this Bible dictionary has all sorts of maps, charts and diagrams and they ARE IN COLOR.

I especially liked the Timeline of the Biblical World and Christianity versus World Events

If you are preparing a Sunday School lesson or a lesson for a weekly home group I would suggest this book as it would be helpful in preparing your lessons.