Monday, January 5, 2015

Resource Review: Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

I've never understood the purpose of Bible dictionaries. Take Nelson's Illustrated New & Enhanced Edition. It has a clean layout. The paper and ink smell nice. There are lots of photos and colorful illustrations to make it easy on the eye. But then there are entries for names that included the exact same information that you could find in the Bible. If I look up a name, I want more information one the person, not just a reference to the passage I just read! More detailed entries tend to either take liberal stances or take no stance at all. And when I want detail, I want detail. You can give me all sides of the argument as long as you actually give me detailed information. So, as far as Bible dictionaries go, Nelson's works ok. I don't really have anything to compare it to. I chose to review it out of curiosity and out of the hope that there might be some meaty facts in there, but as I read all the way through the A's and skimmed other sections, I didn't really find anything interesting. And I still don't know how to use this book in my regular studies. The beginner's guide is not very helpful.

*I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

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