Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

by Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III

Overview

Christianity Today 1999 Book of the Year

Every reader of the Bible has encountered the powerful, comforting and sometimes puzzling imagery of Scripture. These concrete pictures with their hidden force have struck sharp and lasting impressions on our minds. Their imprint has etched itself on the language and grammar of Christian faith and Western culture.

Why then do traditional Bible dictionaries and reference works offer so little help to explorers of the Bible's galaxy of verbal pictures? They excel in describing the climate, borders and location of Galilee or Sinai. But they are often blind to the artistic expressions and deaf to the musical meanings that echo from within the world of the biblical text.

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is the first contemporary reference work dedicated to exploring the images, symbols, motifs, metaphors and literary patterns found in the Bible. More than that, it examines the Bible's universal archetypes or master images--including the plot motifs and character types that recur throughout life, literature and the Bible.

This unique dictionary explores the dazzling variety in which the Word of God comes dressed in clothes of everyday life. It traces the trail of images from Eden to the New Jerusalem. It captures the plotted patterns of biblical narrative. It surveys the imaged texture of each book of the Bible. In short, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is an inviting, enlightening and indispensable companion to the reading, study, contemplation and enjoyment of the Bible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830814510
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	11/02/1998
Pages:	1079
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 2.30(d)

About the Author

Leland Ryken (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of more than one hundred published articles and essays, and he has written, edited or contributed to more than twenty-five books. His books include The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation (Crossway), The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing (Shaw), Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (InterVarsity Press), The Discerning Reader: Christian Perspectives on Literature and Theory (Baker) and A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible (Zondervan).

James Wilhoit is professor of Christian education at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered, coeditor of the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery and, with Leland Ryken, author of Effective Bible Teaching.

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is also visiting professor of Old Testament at Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and adjunct of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Preface
How to Use This Dictionary
Abbreviations
Transliterations
Contributors
Introduction
Dictionary Articles
Scripture Index
Subject Index