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Encyclopædia Biblica, Vol. 1: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religious History, the Archæology Geography and Natural History of the Bible; A to D
Excerpt from Encyclopaedia Biblica, Vol. 1: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religious History, the Archaeology Geography and Natural History of the Bible; A to D
The idea of preparing a new Dictionary of the Bible on critical lines for the benefit of all serious students, both professional and lay, was prominent in the mind of the many-sided scholar to whose beloved memory the present volume is inscribed. It is more than twelve years since Prof. Robertson Smith began to take steps towards realising this idea. As an academical teacher he had from the first been fully aware of the importance of what is known as Biblical Encyclopaedia, and his own earliest contributions to the subject in the Encyclopaedia Britannica carry us as far back as to the year 1875. If for a very brief period certain untoward events arrested his activity in this direction, the loss of time was speedily made up, for seldom perhaps has there been a greater display of intellectual energy than is given in the series of biblical articles signed 'W. R. S.' which appeared in the Encyclopaedia Britanica between 1875 and 1888. The reader who is interested in Bible study should not fail to examine the list, which includes among the longer articles Bible, Canticles, Chronicles, David, Hebrew Language, Hosea, Jerusalem, Joel, Judges, Kings, Levites, Malachi, Messiah, Micah, Philistines, Priest, Prophet, Psalms, Sacrifice, Temple, Tithes, Zephaniah: and among the shorter, Angel, Ark, Baal, Decalogue, Eli, Eve, Haggai, Lamentations, Melchizedek, Moloch, Nabataeans, Nahum, Nazarite, Nineveh, Obadiah, Paradise, Ruth, Sabbath, Sadducees, Samuel, Tabernacle, Vow.
Nor should the students of our day overlook the service which this farseeing scholar and editor rendered to the nascent conception of an international biblical criticism by inviting the co-operation of foreign as well as English contributors. That names like those of Noldeke, Tiele, Welhausen, Harnack, Schurer, Gutschmid, Geldner, appeared side by side with those of well-known and honoured British scholars in the list of contributors to the Encyclopaedia was a guarantee of freedom from dangerous eccentricity, of comprehensiveness of view, of thoroughness and accuracy of investigation.
Such a large amount of material illustrative of the Bible, marked by unity of aim and consistency of purpose, was thus brought together that the Encyclopaedia Britannica became, inclusively, something not unlike an Encyclopaedia Biblica. The idea then occurred to the editor and his publishers to republish, for the guidance of students, all that might be found to have stood the test of time, the lacunae being filled up, and the whole brought up, as far as possible, to the high level of the most recent scholarship. It was not unnatural to wish for this; but there were three main opposing considerations.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
The idea of preparing a new Dictionary of the Bible on critical lines for the benefit of all serious students, both professional and lay, was prominent in the mind of the many-sided scholar to whose beloved memory the present volume is inscribed. It is more than twelve years since Prof. Robertson Smith began to take steps towards realising this idea. As an academical teacher he had from the first been fully aware of the importance of what is known as Biblical Encyclopaedia, and his own earliest contributions to the subject in the Encyclopaedia Britannica carry us as far back as to the year 1875. If for a very brief period certain untoward events arrested his activity in this direction, the loss of time was speedily made up, for seldom perhaps has there been a greater display of intellectual energy than is given in the series of biblical articles signed 'W. R. S.' which appeared in the Encyclopaedia Britanica between 1875 and 1888. The reader who is interested in Bible study should not fail to examine the list, which includes among the longer articles Bible, Canticles, Chronicles, David, Hebrew Language, Hosea, Jerusalem, Joel, Judges, Kings, Levites, Malachi, Messiah, Micah, Philistines, Priest, Prophet, Psalms, Sacrifice, Temple, Tithes, Zephaniah: and among the shorter, Angel, Ark, Baal, Decalogue, Eli, Eve, Haggai, Lamentations, Melchizedek, Moloch, Nabataeans, Nahum, Nazarite, Nineveh, Obadiah, Paradise, Ruth, Sabbath, Sadducees, Samuel, Tabernacle, Vow.
Nor should the students of our day overlook the service which this farseeing scholar and editor rendered to the nascent conception of an international biblical criticism by inviting the co-operation of foreign as well as English contributors. That names like those of Noldeke, Tiele, Welhausen, Harnack, Schurer, Gutschmid, Geldner, appeared side by side with those of well-known and honoured British scholars in the list of contributors to the Encyclopaedia was a guarantee of freedom from dangerous eccentricity, of comprehensiveness of view, of thoroughness and accuracy of investigation.
Such a large amount of material illustrative of the Bible, marked by unity of aim and consistency of purpose, was thus brought together that the Encyclopaedia Britannica became, inclusively, something not unlike an Encyclopaedia Biblica. The idea then occurred to the editor and his publishers to republish, for the guidance of students, all that might be found to have stood the test of time, the lacunae being filled up, and the whole brought up, as far as possible, to the high level of the most recent scholarship. It was not unnatural to wish for this; but there were three main opposing considerations.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
610 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2014
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