What can you say about a classic except to call it a classic?

This is no longer the very last word in Bible dictionaries; the Anchor dictionary is newer and perhaps slightly fuller. But this is still an immensely valuable set of volumes. Almost every noun, and every proper name, in the Bible, is included, using both the King James and Revised Standard translations. So are many other words, and important background concepts. The Hebrew and Greek originals of these words are given. Much external history is provided, about nations such as Egypt and Assyria and Babylon and Persia. Many illustrations are included, including almost all relevant archaeological discoveries.

Can one quibble? Certainly. There isn't much church tradition in this volume; you won't find out what medieval Catholics (say) thought was true of Biblical characters. I wish there were more about the methods of disciplines such as archaeology and paleography; I also wish the material on textual criticism, and the various ancient translations, were fuller. There really ought to be more on the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament, for instance. To put it bluntly, I wish the book had more science and more secular history. On the other hand, I've heard conservative Christians attack it as not being true enough to the literal interpretation, so perhaps it strikes a good balance even there.

Even now that it is rather out of date, this book provides a brilliant look at the understanding of the Bible as it was in the middle of the twentieth century. If you want to study the Bible in detail, this set will surely serve you well. ( )