George Arthur Buttrick (1892–1980)

The introductory sections (the first 436 pages) of this volume provide an excellent overview of mid-20th century academic biblical study. They are detailed, and deeply reasoned, yet may not suit the needs of the average user; however, the exegetical and commentary material on the actual texts is much more accessible. Each biblical book has its own introduction, and the biblical text is presented in two English versions (KJV and RSV). [For a less 'old-school' academic approach, see the New Interpreter's Bible [1994], which uses the texts of the NIV and NRSV Bibles---the two sets of commentaries side-by-side provide a very thorough set of introductory, exegetical, and interpretive tools.]… (más)

Age cannot wither, and all that.

At the time this set was published, it was the best Bible dictionary available, and the fifth, supplemental, volume just made it better. That is perhaps no longer true, now that works such as the Anchor Bible Dictionary have been published -- but it is still a great work.

There are several types of articles in this compendium. Perhaps the most common are the biographical. Want to know who Ahimelech was? There is an entry. (Several, in fact, since there were several Ahimelechs.) The articles give the origin of the person's name (e.g. Ahimelech is assembled from the parts Ahi- and melech, "brother" and "king," so "My brother is king"). Then comes a short biography. And a list of references, which are usually complete for people who aren't mentioned too many times.

There are also historical and chronological entries, containing the best archaeological information available at the time of writing. And then there are broad entries -- topics such as "Christianity" or "Theology" or "Textual Criticism." These have to be somewhat limited to keep the publication within reasonable grounds, but they will often serve as a good starting point that will let the reader seek more detailed information.

The only caution about this set is that it is based on all sources, not just the Bible, so it often disagrees with those who believe in inerrancy. As long as you're willing to deal with all the data, this can be an incredibly useful reference, even today.… (más)

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.… (más)