Customer Reviews

Zondervan Handbook to the Bible

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

 

 

I found this book to be fascinating and highly readable. It is both scholarly and well-balanced. The book does not seem to push either a fundamentalist or liberal theology. It is well organized, giving the reader a helpful overview of each book of the Bible, chapter by chapter. It also pulls together interesting historical information aided by graphs, maps, and wonderful photographs. I consider The Handbook to the Bible an invaluable aid to anyone wishing to increase their understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.

This is an excellent introduction to the Scriptures. Contrary to the other reviewer, I did not find this book to be liberal at all. If anything, it makes a determined effort to take a more "catholic" (universal) approach that avoids sectarian views. I heartily recommend it to anyone wanting an overview of the Bible.

I haved owned a number of Bible handbooks over the years, but this is by far the best of the lot. Certainly the new pictorial layout is the best feature of this new revision. The pictures are simply stunning. But a lot of other useful information is contained in the book.

Although there appears to be a liberal slant to whatever theology is presented in this work, I personally do not use a bible handbook to study theology, but only for a very general overview of the Bible. And in this respect, I believe that Zondervan's Bible Handbook is the best out there!

I have given a lot of Bibles to my friends. Unfortunately, most will fall asleep after reading the first page. This handbook served as an excellent icebreaker. It has interesting historical backgrounds and informative general articles. The colorful pictures helped to keep the interest burning. Currently, I have a handful of friends who were successful in reading the Bible from cover to cover.

Gives the Bible pictures and background. Learn in more than one modality.

Excellent companion to your bible study or just to read.

This is Basically the Bible in Textbook form. The main content is an overview of each of the books of the Bible with a smattering of historical content and cultural relevance. Several authors add more insight on specific topics, allowing readers to go deeper into the history. I felt it was well organized and offered a thorough view of what goes on in the Bible. There were small maps throughout the text to assist with locating where the events were happening. I liked the Photos of the artifacts and areas being discussed.

I love the Zondervan Handbook to the Bible. It helps me when I am reading my Bible. If there is something I don't understand what they are talking about, I can go to the Handbook and it explains thing where you can understand it.

Ruby Potts

This book is not a good choice for anyone interested in a serious Bible study.

The authors inject opinion where facts cannot support their position in several areas. It is obvious to me, at least, that certain doctrines are assumed to be correct and therefore written into this book. Also, there are several incorrect statements that would confuse novice readers, such as, "Out of all his followers, Jesus chose 12 men to be his disciples (Mark 3: 13-19), giving them the title 'Apostles' (Luke 6: 13)" (p. 557). Anyone who can read these verses knows that Jesus chose 12 men to be Apostles out of his many disciples. He, in fact, had numerous disciples, but only 12 Apostles.

I had to buy this for a college course in Biblical Perspectives, but wouldn't buy it for any other reason. I own several other Bible handbooks and consider them to be far superior in content.

If you are looking for a handbook that minimizes the inspired stance of the Bible, and explains the acts of God as natural phenomenon, then this book is for you. There are some good features, such as archealogical and historical background that make it an interesting read. However, you better be theologically sound before you read it. I would not take this book as my primary authority on the Bible.

There were a number of examples in this book where the authors seem to question the truth of God's word--1: "...it might be unwise to seek to reconstruct Israel's earliest history from the stories in Genesis..." (p63) 2: "Creation is described as taking place in six days...This is not a chronological account..."(p116) 3: "Noah's story: As with creation, we should approach this account as story..."(p122) There were others I don't have the space to mention.

I personally believe that Satan is using his first and greatest ploy within this book: "Did God really say...?" (Gen 3:1) It is subtle, but it does cause the reader to question God's Word.

As long as I'm the librarian of my church, this book will not make it to the shelves.