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95/85 The Oxford Companion to the Bible Edited by Bruce M Metzeger and Michael D. Coogan Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1993, xxi + 874 pp., ISBN 0-19-504645-5, 30
The Bible is the key text for much of our civilization. It is not only a sacred book for believers in two major religions and an important religious source for a third but is also the prime influence on much of our culture. The Oxford Companion to the Bible sets out to reflect both of these facets. It describes itself as "an authoritative reference for key persons, places, events, concepts, institutions and realities of Biblical times". The Companion is published and edited in the USA. While the majority of the distinguished body of contributors are North American, the range is truly international including, from this side of the Atlantic, scholars of the calibre of Sebastian Brock, Richard Coggins and Mathew Black. Judaism is as well catered for as Christianity and this is reflected in the range of contributors.
Each book of the Bible has substantial entry devoted to it. All are summarized with detailed summaries of historical context, structure, language and textual problems. These...