New Testament Dictionaries Online

In the pages of the Bible, we come to know God through Jesus Christ. Thus the importance of the Bible for our spiritual formation cannot be overstated. If we are honest, though, the Bible is not always easy to understand. For example, the places named in the Bible can seem strange, and the number of people mentioned is virtually countless. This comprehensive dictionary intends to help people read the Bible with increased understanding and confidence. It contains articles on major topics as well as places and people, even if they just appear in a single verse in the Bible. Its articles cover theological topics, biblical words, biblical imagery, and historical topics. This A to Z dictionary includes more than *1,700 full-color pages *400 color illustrations, maps, and photos *5,000 articles by leading evangelical scholars The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary is an informative, colorful, and easy-to-understand resource that will be an indispensable reference for your own personal study or in preparation for teaching.

The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is an authoritative and accessible reference work for a twenty-first-century audience. Its entries, written by eminent scholars, define the spiritual and intellectual concepts and religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish experience; they discuss central personalities and places, formative events and enduring literary and cultural contributions and they illuminate the lives of ordinary Jewish men and women. Essays explore Jewish history from ancient times to the present and consider all aspects of Judaism, including religious practices and rituals, legal teachings and legendary traditions and rationalism, mysticism and messianism. This reference work differs from many others in its broad exploration of the Jewish experience beyond Judaism. Entries discuss secular and political movements and achievements and delineate Jewish endeavors in literature, art, music, theater, dance, film, broadcasting, sports, science, medicine and ecology, among many other topics from the Bible to the Internet.

This book describes and illustrates each plant mentioned in the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha. The book draws on Lytton John Musselman's extensive field investigations from Beirut to Borneo and from the Atlas to the Zagros mountains and includes his original images of each plant. Incorporating new research on their use, the text also reviews recent analytical studies of plants used in materials and technology as well as ancient grains, beer production, medicine, tensile materials, soap, and other articles. Based on these materials, Musselman provides several new plant identifications for controversial biblical passages. In addition, the book surveys the history of Bible plant literature from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the present and reviews and correlates it with Bible plant hermeneutics. To aid readers, extensive references for further study are provided, along with an index to all verses containing references to these plants, which enables the reader to quickly locate the plant of interest in its textual setting.

A Christianity Today 1999 Book of the Year!Every reader of the Bible has encountered the powerful, comforting and sometimes puzzling imagery of Scripture. These concrete pictures with their hidden force have struck sharp and lasting impressions on our minds. Their imprint has etched itself on the language and grammar of Christian faith and Western culture.Why then do traditional Bible dictionaries and reference works offer so little help to explorers of the Bible's galaxy of verbal pictures? They excel in describing the climate, borders and location of Galilee or Sinai. But they are often blind to the artistic expressions and deaf to the musical meanings that echo from within the world of the biblical text.The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is the first contemporary reference work dedicated to exploring the images, symbols, motifs, metaphors and literary patterns found in the Bible. More than that, it examines the Bible's universal archetypes or master images--including the plot motifs and character types that recur throughout life, literature and the Bible.This unique dictionary explores the dazzling variety in which the Word of God comes dressed in clothes of everyday life. It traces the trail of images from Eden to the New Jerusalem. It captures the plotted patterns of biblical narrative. It surveys the imaged texture of each book of the Bible. In short, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is an inviting, enlightening and indispensable companion to the reading, study, contemplation and enjoyment of the Bible.

Selected by Choice as an "Outstanding Academic Book of 1996" and now extensively revised, the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, co-published by Eerdmans and Brill, is the only major reference work describing the gods, angels, demons, spirits, and semidivine heroes found in Scripture. Written by 100 leading experts in the field, the more than 400 alphabetically arranged articles cover every deity whose name occurs in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, including the Apocrypha. In this second edition of the Dictionary, thirty entries appear for the first time. More than 100 others have been brought up to date with the latest research. A typical entry contains: -- discussion of each deity named and its meaning; -- the religio-historical background of each deity and the biblical passages in which it is found; -- an up-to-date bibliography and cross-references to related information found in the dictionary. Unique in subject matter and exhaustive in coverage, this volume willbe an indispensable resource tool for scholars and students from a broad range of disciplines.

1993 ECPA Gold Medallion (Reference Text)1993 Christianity Today Critics' Choice AwardThe 2014 ECPA Christian Book Award Winner (Bible Reference)2014 Readers' Choice Award WinnerPreaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Gospels and Jesus)The second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is a thoroughly reconstructed and revised version of the critically acclaimed 1992 first edition. Since that groundbreaking volume was published, a wave of Jesus and Gospel scholarship has crested and broken on the shores of a new century.Jesus has been proposed as sage, shaman, revolutionary, marginal Jew, Mediterranean peasant or a prophet of Israel's restoration. The non-canonical Gospels have been touted, examined and reassessed. There are revised understandings of historiography, orality, form criticism, empire and more. The second edition of the DJG amply weighs and assess the gains and shortcomings of this new scholarship.Here is a self-contained reference library of information and perspective essential to exploring Jesus and the Gospels. This volume bridges the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and interested readers who want thorough treatments of key topics in an accessible and summary format. Articles cover each Gospel, major themes in the Gospels, key episodes in the life of Jesus, significant background topics, as well as issues and methods of interpretation.Among other benefits, it allows multiple opportunities for each of the Gospels to be weighed and heard in its own voice. Bibliographies are full and up to date, putting readers in touch with the best work in the field. All of this allows the articles to serve as launching pads for further research.When the first edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels was published, it was immediately recognized as an innovative reference work. By taking a particular corpus of biblical books and exploring it with in-depth articles written by specialists in the field, it refashioned a staple reference genre. This dictionary model has now been applied to each segment of the biblical canon in successive volumes.Those who have enjoyed and benefitted from the wealth in the first edition will find the second edition an equally indispensable companion to study and research. Over ninety percent of the articles have been completely rewritten, and the rest thoroughly revised and updated. Here is the doorway into a reliable and comprehensive summary and appraisal of the last twenty years of Jesus scholarship. A new generation of scholars has opened the way to make this a Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels for the twenty-first century.

2001 ECPA Gold Medallion (Reference Works)The Dictionary of New Testament Background joins the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters and the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments as the fourth in a landmark series of reference works on the Bible. In a time when our knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world has grown by leaps and bounds, this volume sets out for readers the wealth of Jewish and Greco-Roman background that should inform our reading and understanding of the New Testament and early Christianity.The Dictionary of New Testament Background takes full advantage of the flourishing study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and offers individual articles focused on the most important scrolls. In addition, the Dictionary encompasses the fullness of second-temple Jewish writings, whether pseudepigraphic, rabbinic, parables, proverbs, histories or inscriptions. Articles abound on aspects of Jewish life and thought, including family, purity, liturgy and messianism. The full scope of Greco-Roman culture is displayed in articles ranging across language and rhetoric, literacy and book culture, religion and cults, honor and shame, patronage and benefactors, travel and trade, intellectual movements and ideas, and ancient geographical perspectives.No other reference work presents so much in one place for students of the New Testament. Here an entire library of scholarship is made available in summary form. The Dictionary of New Testament Background can stand alone or work in concert with one or more of its companion volumes in the series. Written by acknowledged experts in their fields, this wealth of knowledge of the New Testament era is carefully aimed at the needs of contemporary students of the New Testament. And its full bibliographies and cross-references to other volumes in the series will make it the first book to reach for in any investigation of the New Testament in its ancient setting.

1994 ECPA Gold Medallion (Reference Books)The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters is a one-of-a-kind reference work. Following the format of its hightly successful companion volume, the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, this Dictionary is designed to bring students, teachers, ministers and laypeople abreast of the established conclusions and significant recent developments in Pauline scholarship.No other single reference work presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background and scholarship. In a field that recently has undergone significant shifts in perspective, the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters offers a summa of Paul and Pauline studies. In-depth articles focus on individual theological themes (such as law, resurrection and Son of God), broad theological topics (such as Christology, eschatology and the death of Christ), methods of interpretation (such as rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches), background topics (such as apocalypticism, Hellenism and Qumran) and various other subjects specifically related to the scholarly study of Pauline theology and literature (such as early catholicism, the center of Paul's theology, and Paul and his interpreters since F. C. Baur). Separate articles are also devoted to each of the Pauline letters to hermeneutics and to preaching Paul today.The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels in presenting the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century--commited to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.

One of the 1998 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year!Voted one of Christianity Today's 1998 Books of the Year!1998 ECPA Gold Medallion (Reference Works)The third of IVP's critically acclaimed series of dictionaries of the New Testament provides focused study on the often-neglected portions of the New Testament: Acts, Hebrews, the General Epistles and Revelation. Furthermore, its scope goes beyond the life of the New Testament church to include the work of the apostolic fathers and early Christianity up through the middle of the second century.The Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments offers a summa of New Testament studies. Designed to bring students, teachers, pastors and general readers up to date and up to speed, this one-of-a-kind reference volume presents more information than any other single work--dealing exclusively with the theology, literature, background and scholarship of the later New Testament and the apostolic church.In-depth, comprehensive articles focus on theological themes, methods of interpretation, background topics and various other subjects specifically related to the study of New Testament theology and literature. Expert contributors include Darrell Bock, George R. Beasley-Murray, I. Howard Marshall, Ben Witherington III and James D. G. Dunn. Wide-ranging articles range from the books of James and Jude to household codes, from the Roman emperor cult to gnosticism and docetism, questions of canon to second-century church leaders like Ignatius and Polycarp.The Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels and Dictionary of Paul and His Letters in presenting mature evangelical scholarship--committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining a dialogue with contemporary scholarship and the challenges facing the church.

This abridgment of Colin Brown's original four volume work is arranged with its entries in Greek alphabet order, which makes it easy to find the discussion of a particular word. All Greek words are transliterated into English and linked with their Goodrick/Kohlenberger numbers. This book was formerly titled The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words. Now it has been reset in double columns and wider margins.

The New Interpreter's® Dictionary of the Bible (NIDB) in five volumes provides the best quality in contemporary biblical scholarship on a comprehensive range of topics from the Old and New Testaments, the Deuterocanonical books, and from contextual studies of the ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman worlds and their literatures. The dictionary contains maps, charts, and illustrations to further clarify the written material. The biblical text used is the NRSV translation. A diverse group of 900 scholars from 40 countries have contributed 7100 fresh new articles with 8400 entries including persons, places, things, theological concepts, and much more. These contributors were selected by the editorial board for their expertise in their field and for the quality of their scholarship in publication. Special care was taken to select authors who could provide a variety of perspectives from different theological traditions (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish), diverse theological trajectory (conservative and liberal), and from the social locations of gender, ethnicity, and race.  Topics are listed in alphabetical order from A-Z and evenly divided among the five volumes. The main entry (in bold) includes a pronunciation guide. Hebrew and Greek origins of the entry follow, with transliteration. Longer articles contain an introduction that summarizes the topic and include a helpful outline to guide the reader. Articles conclude with a short bibliography and cross references to related articles. In each definition, authors strive to incorporate as many biblical instances of the term as possible in the given amount of space, and to discuss the theological, social, or ecclesial implications of the topic, so that the definitions are practical aids to the tasks of preaching, teaching, and study of the Bible. Volume Structure; 1. A - C 2. D - H 3. I - Ma 4. Me-R 5. S - Z Readers who are trained in ancient languages will appreciate the discussion of Hebrew and Greek terms, while at the same time, readers who are not familiar with Hebrew or Greek should not have difficulty following the articles, because transliteration and complete definitions are used throughout. "The New Interpreter's Bible Dictionary combines the latest biblical scholarship with the practical needs of pastors, teachers and students in a way that will deepen their understanding and enliven their experience of the living Word in scripture." Rev. Jim Harnish, Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, Florida       "I'm looking forward to the New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible so I may continue with the work of the church. I've read many articles already, and it is very helpful when you are working on a sermon, a presentation, or preparing for a Bible study class." Rev. Evelene "Tweedy" Navarrete-Sombrero, Holbrook United Methodist Church, Holbrook, Arizona

The field of biblical studies is dynamic, with new discoveries, new methodologies, and new perspectives continually enhancing the interpretation of the Bible. There is thus a need for an up-to-date, comprehensive, authoritative, and balanced series of reference works for biblical scholars and students. The two-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible is the first in this series of specialized reference works, each addressing a specific subfield within biblical studies. The series, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible, aims to produce high-level scholarly reference works that are accessible and in-depth, going beyond the basics to provide more specialized coverage. Books of the Bible provides a single source for authoritative reference overviews of scholarship on some of the most important topics of study in the field of biblical studies. The Encyclopedia contains almost 120 in-depth entries, ranging in length from 500 to 10,000 words, on each of the canonical books of the Bible, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important noncanonical texts, and thematic essays on topics such as canonicity, textual criticism, and translation. Books of the Bible has extensive cross-references to other useful points of interest within the Encyclopedia, and comprehensive lists of abbreviations and an index for ease of use. Illustrations of various types supplement the text and enhance its appeal. Bibliographies for all entries further add to its usefulness. RUSA/ALA Outstanding Reference Source

This Encyclopedia brings together the vast array of historical research into the reality of the man, the teachings, the acts, and the events ascribed to him that have served as the foundational story of one of the world's central religions. This kind of historiography is not biography. The historical study of the Jesus stories and the transmission of these stories through time have been of seminal importance to historians of religion. Critical historical examination has provided a way for scholars of Christianity for centuries to analyze the roots of legend and religion in a way that allows scholars an escape from the confines of dogma, belief, and theological interpretation. In recent years, historical Jesus studies have opened up important discussions concerning anti-Semitism and early Christianity and the political and ideological filtering of the Jesus story of early Christianity through the Roman empire and beyond. Entries will cover the classical studies that initiated the new historiography, the theoretical discussions about authenticating the historical record, the examination of sources that have led to the western understanding of Jesus' teachings and disseminated myth of the events concerning Jesus' birth and death. Subject areas include: the history of the historical study of the New Testament: major contributors and their works theoretical issues and concepts methodologies and criteria historical genres and rhetorical styles in the story of Jesus historical and rhetorical context of martyrdom and messianism historical teachings of Jesus teachings within historical context of ethics titles of Jesus historical events in the life of Jesus historical figures in the life of Jesus historical use of Biblical figures referenced in the Gospels places and regions institutions the history of the New Testament within the culture, politics, and law of the Roman Empire.

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary provides a visually stimulating journey for anyone interested in learning more about the world of the Bible. Through the articles, sidebars, charts, maps, and full-color images included in this volume, the text of the Old and New Testaments will come alive for you as never before. As a condensation of the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, the information contained within this reference work is solid and biblically sound. The material is based completely on the NIV and cross-referenced to the King James Version, and it contains over 7,200 entries, 500 full-color photographs, charts, and illustrations, 75 full-color maps, and a Scripture index ... making this wonderful Bible study resource a must-have whether you're a general reader of the Bible, a pastor, or a student.