The Oxford Companion to the Bible (Oxford Companions)
This latest Oxford Companion contains more than 700 signed entries treating the formation, transmission, circulation, sociohistorical situation, interpretation, theology, uses, and influence of the Bible. Despite its dictionary arrangement and the encyclopedic nature of many of its entries, this volume does not fit the mold of standard Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, which focus primarily on the Bible and on means of understanding it in context. Unlike them, this companion aims to "trace the Bible's ongoing significance in such areas as the arts, law, politics, and literature." Entries written by over 250 leading international scholars reflect the current state of biblical scholarship. Topics are generally well selected, though it is not clear why Mormonism and Christian Science are the only nontraditional Christian groups treated, nor why the Scofield Reference Bible is the only special edition of the Bible considered separately. Still, this well-written, authoritative work will be particularly useful to general readers and to students and scholars working in non-biblical fields.- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.