Summary

The Bible is one of the masterpieces of world literature. It is the most widely distributed of all books and contains some of the world’s greatest writing—from the songs of praise in Psalms to the great stories in the book of Genesis.

Critical Companion to the Bible examines the Bible as a work of literature, focusing on its language and verbal structures and on the imaginative quality of its thought. This invaluable resource is an essential addition to high school and college literature and religion classes.

Critical Companion to the Bible is a comprehensive guide to this endlessly fascinating book.

Coverage includes:

• An essay entitled "Reading the Bible," providing an overview of the various approaches critics have taken to interpreting the Bible and of the historical development of the biblical canon
• In-depth alphabetical entries—each containing a synopsis, a commentary section, and subentries on the main figures—on all the books of the Bible
• Alphabetical entries on important people, places, concepts, and topics related to the Bible
• Appendixes, including a list of the books of the Bible as categorized by different faiths; a chronology; and a list of important secondary resources, including scholarly Web sites.

Specifications

Black-and-white illustrations. Maps. Index. Appendix. Bibliography. Cross-references. Chronology. Web sites.

About the Author(s)

Martin H. Manser has been a professional reference book writer and editor since 1980. He is the author of The Facts On File Guide to Good Writing; The Facts On File Guide to Style; The Facts On File Dictionary of Allusions; The Facts On File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases, Second Edition; and The Facts On File Dictionary of Proverbs, Second Edition. His other books include the Zondervan Dictionary of Bible Themes, Macmillan Dictionary of the Bible, and Learner’s Dictionary of English Idioms.

Associate editor David Barratt was for many years Senior Lecturer in English at Chester College, now the University of Chester in England. He has also taught in Pakistan and the United States. He is the author of Narnia: C.S. Lewis and His World.

Associate editor Pieter J. Lalleman is currently Academic Dean and tutor of New Testament at Spurgeon's College in London, England.

Associate editor Julius Steinberg teaches at the Seminary of the German Free Evangelical Churches in Ewersbach, Germany and at the Protestant Theological Faculty in Leuven, Belgium. His main area of study is the literary approach to Old Testament theology.

Reviews and Awards

"...the clarity and succinctness of each entry is well suited for high school classes, lower-level college literature courses, or any reader beginning an exploration of the Bible as literature. Recommended."

"...a clearly written and concise overview..."