The Oxford Companion to the Bible

by Bruce M. Metzger (Editor), Michael D. Coogan (Editor), Hector Ignacio Avalos (Contributor)

The Bible has had an immeasurable influence on Western culture, touching on virtually every aspect of our lives. It is one of the great wellsprings of Western religious, ethical, and philosophical traditions. It has been an endless source of inspiration to artists, from classic works such as Michaelangelo's Last Judgment , Handel's Messiah , or Milton's Paradise Lost , to modern works such as Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers or Martin Scorsese's controversial Last Temptation of Christ . For countless generations, it has been a comfort in suffering, a place to reflect on the mysteries of birth, death, and immortality. Its stories and characters are an integral part of the repertoire of every educated adult, forming an enduring bond that spans thousands of years and embraces a vast community of believers and nonbelievers.

The Oxford Companion to the Bible provides an authoritative one-volume reference to the people, places, events, books, institutions, religious belief, and secular influence of the Bible. Written by more than 250 scholars from some 20 nations and embracing a wide variety of perspectives, the Companion offers over seven hundred entries, ranging from brief identifications--who is Dives? where is Pisgah?--to extensive interpretive essays on topics such as the influence of the Bible on music or law.

Ranging far beyond the scope of a traditional Bible dictionary, the Companion features, in addition to its many informative, factual entries, an abundance of interpretive essays. Here are extended entries on religious concepts from immortality, sin, and grace, to baptism, ethics, and the Holy Spirit. The contributors also explore biblical views of modern issues such as homosexuality, marriage, and anti-Semitism, and the impact of the Bible on the secular world (including a four-part article on the Bible's influence on literature).

Of course, the Companion can also serve as a handy reference, the first place to turn to find factual information on the Bible. Readers will find fascinating, informative articles on all the books of the Bible--including the Apocrypha and many other ancient texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, and the Mishrah. Virtually every figure who walked across the biblical stage is identified here, ranging from Rebekah, Rachel, and Mary, to Joseph, Barabbas, and Jesus. The Companion also offers entries that shed light on daily life in ancient Israel and the earliest Christian communities, with fascinating articles on feasts and festivals, clothing, medicine, units of time, houses, and furniture. Finally, there are twenty-eight pages of full-color maps, providing an accurate, detailed portrait of the biblical world.

A vast compendium of information related to scriptures, here is an ideal complement to the Bible, an essential volume for every home and library, the first place to turn for information on the central book of Western culture.

Genres: Reference, Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction, History, Christian, Theology

910 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 1993

About the author

Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society and United Bible Societies. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament, and New Testament textual criticism, and wrote prolifically on these subjects. Metzger is widely considered one of the most influential New Testament scholars of the 20th century.[1][2]

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

1830s Germany called. They want their scholarship back. We had to read this at the liberal baptist college I went to. Some of the articles, despite themselves, are fairly decent. It does not engage in any interaction with critical sources that challenge its main theses.

[Jeremiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who the heck am I as trans-amateur of Christian theology to criticize anything by the mighty Bruce Metzger (co-editor)? I just kept finding myself disagreeing over and over with the contributors to this anthology. On all of the essential, core doctrines to the faith all of the entries were from the far left, liberal side of the spectrum. On occasion there would be a short reference to a traditional view but not often. I kept reading the entries outloud to my wife and talking them over with her...mostly laughing because of how biased this volume was. I just recently gave it to the Goodwill because I wasn't getting anything of value out of it except a largely one-sided view. I don't mind if something is one-sided, but in a large text like this from something like an Oxford press, I expected a more balanced approach.

[sologdin · Rating 3 out of 5]

kickass little reference keyed to the NRSV. should annoy teabaggers.

[J.C. Paulk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent and exhaustive reference. There have been a few times, though, where what I was looking for either wasn't referenced or was too short. Of course, who wants a five thousand page companion?

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

so far, medium whoa, the folding of legends gilgamesh into old testament noah floods and the cascading of other conceptual battles into this non-singular form is decidedly ill but riveting

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in the day of the Net, this is still a handy book to have if you want to go beyond your Biblical studies, find a reference you don't understand, or simply quickly settle an argument.

[Walker Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

****1/2