Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

Mining Treasures of Biblical Imagery
Usually dictionaries are not my idea of leisure reading, but InterVarsity Press’s Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is as at home on my bed stand as it is on my desk. From Head to Toe and Happiness to Hanging, the 980 pages between A-Aaron’s rod and Z-Zion contain a wealth of information on the rich imagery and literary patterns of the Bible.So often we approach the Bible from a theological point of view, but God, in His multi-faceted wisdom and creativity, has given us His truth wrapped in dazzling layers of imagery, metaphor, and symbols that engage our affective, emotional faculties as well as our cognitive. He uses story and all its literary conventions to present situations to which our human spirits can relate and experience the lessons therein.His Word is replete with metaphors and motifs that appeal to our image-making faculties. Although aware of the power of pictures, most of us have only a cursory understanding of the layers of meaning they convey, whether universal or contextual. How is my body like a tent? My daughter like a corner pillar? My prayer like an arrow?We have many theological resources available to us, but until now, have had little to open the doors to the literary treasures of the Bible. Editors Ryken, Wilhoit, and Longman have provided us with an informative, engaging, and much needed biblical tool that “explores the patterns that the biblical writers have imposed on life, with a view toward understanding what those patterns clarify about life.”This ambitious work speaks to a large audience. Clearly written, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, will appeal to the lay reader, as well as the scholar. It will help preachers to enrich their presentations of the literal biblical text with a deeper understanding of the concrete images, themes and archetypes common to the human experience. And–a particular bonus to writers– the treasure trove of plot structures, motifs, metaphors, and archetypes contained within these pages will provide writers with enough information and inspiration to sit right down and crank out that elusive masterpiece.

High quality prose covers all 66 books of the Bible, and hundreds of literary themes.
Well edited so it reads as though written by one author. Solid evangelical Christian perspective will appeal to many Bible readers, and stimulate a casual reader to dig deeper into many sections of the New and Old Testaments. The breadth and depth of topics invites the perusing reader into extended study. Very well indexed for several thousand verses and hundreds of subjects. Useful 8 pp Introduction summarizes how this is eminently practical to: 1) improve the reader’s grasp of the literal text, 2) improve our ability to interpret the figurative level of meaning, 3) see the unity and progression of the NT following from OT foreshadowings, 4) enable a study of Biblical images and motifs that help the reader bridge the gap between the Biblical times and our own world.

Excellent book; poor packaging
Book arrived with pages 451 to 638 badly damaged. Book was shipped in a box larger than needed AND without any packing material to keep the book secure in the box while in transit. Not the publisher’s error; an error in the shipping department.

You won’t be disappointed if you purchase
The book is very informative I was disappointed because some of the references are not there like “The Spirit of Jezebel” Overall it is worth buying

I write weekly messages for a faith-based podcast and this book has easily become my most valuable resource. The amount of information I am able to pull out of it, in terms of Imagery associations is phenomenal. I love that I can look up a single word, go down a bunch of rabbit trails & yet still stay organized. I would highly recommend this to anyone in a teaching position or anyone interested in deeper theological studies.

This is a DICTIONARY thus there isn’t a table of contents as one negative reviewer complained. There are few drawings even to speak of. What you will find is detailed descriptions and explanations with scripture references to enrich your understanding if scriptures. Buy and treasure.

good tool for studying the Bible. Gives you an insight of objects and places etc through out hystory.