"Every student serious about pursuing biblical studies and every pastor committed to solid exegetical work should keep a copy of this indispensible volume within arm's reach."

"Editors Longman and Enns have assembled a truly outstanding team of both senior and junior scholars who present up-to-date research with current bibliographies on all the major issues confronting the interpreter of these important books. If you are only going to buy one encyclopedic dictionary on the Bible, this is the one I would recommend."

"Authors and editors have taken great care to make the articles both scholarly and readable, and one can say that they have succeeded in producing a work that supplements all existing biblical reference works."

"This useful addition to this series of dictionaries provides an excellent resource for students and others who require an accessible overview of the study of biblical books and general topics in the wisdom and poetry category."

"Students and professors of Scripture have, in this volume, a precious and incredibly up-to-date resource."

"The Dictionary offers a lot of helpful, accessible material at a reasonable price."

"A beautiful accession to the series, and its price is unbelievable!"

"The volume covers much ground and covers it well. Well worth the price for any layperson, student, or scholar who wishes to engage the varied corpus that this dictionary covers."

"An excellent resource for students and others who require accessible overview of the study of biblical books and general topics in the wisdom and poetry category."

"This Dictionary should be in the collection of any library covering Biblical studies regardless of religious affiliation. Once again IVP has done the scholarly community a great service."

"Worth a read as it is up to date and gives a flavour of recent studies in wisdom literature."

"This useful addition to this series of dictionaries provides an excellent resource for students and others who require an accessible overview of the study of biblical books and general topics in the wisdom and poetry category."

"As in preceding volumes, a long article is devoted to each biblical book; this dictionary, however, also contains an article focusing on each book's ancient Near Eastern background and history of interpretation. An impressive work of reference."

"A compendium of contemporary biblical scholarship with the inclusion of the contributed effort of the best scholars and critics in their respected fields. A great achievement, comprehensive in scope and provides substantial insights in understanding the text and world of the Old Testament. This is an outstanding text, an indispensable reference for individuals working in the discipline of Biblical Studies. It is unimaginable that students and scholars, and even interested laymen of the Hebrew Bible would defer the purchase of a reference copy of this volume."

"A series whose every volume is worth waiting for and worth owning. Written in a scholarly but accessible style. Very highly recommended."

"This volume on wisdom, poetry, and writings covers over 100 topics like acrostic poetry, Old Testament ethics, Psalms of lament, Messiah, retribution, rhetorical criticism, and worship. The articles are scholarly but accessible and unintimidating. Both pastors and laymen will be able to profit from this dictionary without having to know or read Hebrew."

"Having access to recent contemporary scholarship on the biblical canon in a dictionary format is extremely helpful to professors, graduate students, upper level undergraduate students, and informed members of the public with an interest in remaining au courant with the best of recent thinking on biblical issues. IVP Academic Press is publishing such a series of dictionaries on the entire biblical canon in a number of volumes. It is a series whose every volume is worth waiting for and worth owning. The seventh volume examines the Wisdom, Poetry and Writings sections of the Hebrew Bible. It is written in a scholarly but accessible style. Very highly recommended."

"[A] must have for anyone who wishes to do in-depth Bible study."

"Whatever your academic standpoint, at 1,000 pages this volume will need to be a to-hand resource for anybody working on the field of Wisdom, Poetry or Writings. I am very glad to have [this book] on my shelf and I will make regular use of it."

"Not only is this a very attractive dictionary, but it is also chock-full of the technical data a researcher requires. Each article is clearly outlined, long enough to adequately cover the subject, and short enough to be read in one sitting. It must also be mentioned that these articles are not limited to either lexical, exegetical, historical or theological matters; but rather to all of these matters."

"The contributors have done a fine job of presenting a balanced and scholarly overview of the various topics, although there is a slant toward a Christian interpretation. This dictionary is an excellent choice for just about any public, church, or academic library, as well as for specialty theological collections."

"This volume in the acclaimed InterVarsity Press Bible dictionaries will serve to further enhance the reputation of the series. Longman and Enns have brought together a great team of authors to cover wisdom, poetry and writings of the Old Testament. This volume is comprehensive and up to date as, for example, the articles on history of interpretation and intertextuality indicate. This volume will be an invaluable resource for students, pastors and scholars as they seek to hear God's address through these biblical books. The Wisdom and poetic books have not always received the attention they deserve, and this volume will play a significant role in addressing that imbalance. Highly recommended!"

"At last, a fully comprehensive, fascinating compendium of information about Psalms, Wisdom literature and other writings of the Old Testament! From characters such as Ruth to major Wisdom books such as Job, from scholarly method to major theological themes, this volume gives us articles of real depth and substance. Its broad and thorough remit includes contributions on Jewish and Christian tradition, festival worship, ancient Near Eastern background and Hebrew language from a range of highly qualified experts in the field. An essential reference book for all serious-minded students of the Hebrew Scriptures."

"A stellar cast of younger and senior scholars has put together a handbook for the study of the writings of the Old Testament. While one will find easy access to the expected and necessary basic information on the various books of wisdom and poetry, there will be some interesting surprises for readers as the authors take up theological, rhetorical, metaphorical and sociological dimensions of this literature. An important sign of the times is the fact that for each biblical book, major attention is given to the history of its interpretation."

"A stellar cast of younger and senior scholars has put together a handbook for the study of the writings of the Old Testament. While one will find easy access to the expected and necessary basic information on the various books of wisdom and poetry, there will be some interesting surprises for readers as the authors take up theological, rhetorical, metaphorical and sociological dimensions of this literature. An important sign of the times is the fact that for each biblical book, major attention is given to the history of its interpretation."