Customer Reviews

The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible

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

 

 

This is an excellent reference work, and I refer to it regularly during Bible class and other study. The write-ups are full of great information and well done.

Unfortunately, the Kindle version's navigation features are almost non-existent. The table of contents does not let you jump to a letter of the alphabet and there is no search function (as there is in the dictionary included in the Kindle and other encyclopedias). You are left to page through one page at a time, or use the go to function and hope you get close to the desired topic. Your best option is probably to book mark every letter and use that as a means to more quickly get around.

This is a very good book (I would give the print version five stars), but the Kindle version's lack of navigation makes it too cumbersome to use as a handy reference, which is what it is supposed to be. I recommend the hard copy of this work but caution those considering the Kindle version.

This is a very concise guide to all of the fascinating characters and places in the Bible. The Directory of Contributors lists over 140 names of the scholars who have put together the text. They hail from the United States, Italy, Ireland, England, Israel, Switzerland, Scotland, Canada, South Africa, Germany and Australia. The author of each entry is identified by name and the reader can check into the directory in the front of the book and find their scholastic background.

Written in alphabetical order and starting with AARON, the book covers the people and places of both Testaments. Fourteen Bible Maps based on the Oxford Bible Atlas are also included.

The guide reads like an encyclopedia and makes a terrific companion book to the Bible. For instance, if you want to know exactly who were the PHARISEES or read the story of JACOB, and what he did to win the beautiful RACHEL each entry is there to be found.

This is really a great source of reference for finding specific data.

This is well worth its price as it is a succinct guide to all people and places in the bible. The alphabetical listing of the people and places is intuitive making this a user friendly encyclopedia. One feature I really like about this work is that each entry is attributed to the author allowing for additional research if you so desire and allowing you to contextualize the commentary if you are doing scholarly work.

Note: Unlike the previous reviewer's book, mine does not begin with "Aaron", it starts with "ABBA." I suspect she was actually referring to the "Oxford Companion to the Bible," another must-have for those interested in this subject.

This is a worthwhile condensation and update of the Oxford Companion to the Bible. Only leading scholars of religion are found in this Guide. While browsing through its 374 pages (with index), I happened to read the entry on the Samaritans. It was refreshing to see that, instead of offering simplistic "black and white" statements about the Samaritans' relation to Judaism, the contributor addresses rather than overlooks the inherent complexities of Biblical scholarship. The definition of the word "Judaism," for instance, is thoughtfully examined, rendering claims such as "The Samaritans are simply an offshoot of Judaism" indicative of flimsy, second-rate thinking.

This, of course, is what decent scholarship is all about. And that is precisely why I purchased this highly useful edition.