Bible Dictionaries

Book(S)
Term which often refers to a scroll. A document written on parchment or papyrus and then rolled up. The “book” may be a letter (1 Kings 21:8 ) or a longer literary effort (Daniel 9:2 ). See Writing ; Letter ; Library . Several books are mentioned

Daniel, Book of
of the most perplexing questions they ever seek to answer. Too often so much ink is used talking about the problems that little information about the book itself can be learned. Thus this article will look at the facts and teachings of the book before investigating a few of the problems. Literary Features

Deuteronomy, the Book of
English name of fifth book of Old Testament taken from Greek translation meaning, “second law.” Deuteronomy is the last of five books of Law and should not be read

Ecclesiastes, Book of
Ecclesiastes is the English title of this wisdom book derived from the Greek Septuagint's translation of the original Hebrew, “Qoheleth.” The word Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes 1:1 ; Ecclesiastes

Ephesians, Book of
(e' fee' shuhnss) While it is not the longest of the Pauline Epistles, Ephesians is the one which best sets out the basic concepts of the Christian faith.

Exodus, Book of
The central book of the Old Testament, reporting God's basic saving act for Israel in the Exodus from Egypt and His making of His covenant with the nation destined

Ezra, Book of
obvious that possibly one person wrote and compiled all three. This unknown person is referred to as the Chronicler. Ezra and Nehemiah were actually one book in the ancient Hebrew and Greek Old Testament. Each book contains materials found in the other (e.g., the list in Ezra 2:1 is also in Nehemiah 7:1

Jashar, Book of
(jassh' uhr) an ancient written collection of poetry quoted by bible authors. see books.

Job, the Book of
some anonymous writer of that or some other age. Second, though most will agree that the character Job lived in patriarchal times, many believe that the book was written many years later. The dates of such a composition will vary from the time of Abraham to that of the Greek Empire. Third, to further complicate

Joshua, the Book of
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book of the English Old Testament. It is the first book of the second division of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Prophets. The book is named after its central

Jude, the Book of
of Jesus (Mark 6:3 ). Although the letter says nothing directly about the date, origin, or destination of the letter, it is generally thought that the book was written later than A.D. 60 and earlier than A.D. 100. This is because the content of the faith is clearly fixed (Jude 1:3 ) and the congregation

Judges, Book of
Second book of the group called the Former Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. In English Bible arrangement following the Greek Septuagint it is the second of the Historical

Lamentations, Book of
(lay mehn tay' shuhnss) Twenty-fifth book of Bible preserving mourning over the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Lamentations are elegies or mournful poems which lament some great loss. The biblical

Life, Book of
theological teaching behind the concept is predestination. Many works of apocalyptic literature not preserved in the Bible speak of a counterpart, a book of destruction. According to this literature one's name can be removed from the book of life for certain sins against God. The Bible speaks only of

Maccabees, Book of
see apocrypha .

Micah, Book of
(mi' cuh) A prophetic book named after the eighth century B.C. prophet containing some of his messages. The prophet Micah's name means, “Who is like Yah?” People

Numbers, Book of
Fourth book of Old Testament that teaches the identity of the people of God, God's provision for authority over His people, and God's plan for their fulfillment

Obadiah, Book of
(oh buh di' uh) The shortest book of the Minor Prophets, preserving the message of Obadiah, the prophet. The Prophet No source outside his book mentions Obadiah. “Obadiah”

Proverbs, Book of
an entire life in love, worship, and obedience to God. Date and Composition Though the title of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1 ) seems to ascribe the entire book to Solomon, closer inspection reveals that the book is composed of parts and that it was formed over a period of several hundred years. It is difficult

Psalms, Book of
canonical form, the Psalter has five divisions in the current Hebrew text. These divisions have been compared with the division of the Pentateuch into five books. Each book concludes with a doxology or closing formula. The books follow this division: (1) Psalm 1-41 ; (Psalm 2:1 ) 42–71 ; (3) 73–89;

Revelation, the Book of
The last book of the Bible, an apocalyptic work pointing to future hope and calling for present faithfulness. Revelation is a work of intensity, forged in the flames

Romans, Book of
24,1738, upon reading Luther's introduction to Romans. Where was Paul when he wrote Romans? Paul discussed his situation at the time he wrote Romans in the book itself (Romans 15:25-29 ), indicating that he was about to leave for Jerusalem. He stated that his purpose was to deliver the monies given by the

Zechariah, Book of
The Book of Zechariah is the eleventh of the so-called Minor Prophets. When the book was written In 538, Cyrus the Great, emperor of the Persian Empire, issued an edict (Ezra 1:2-4 ; Ezra 6:3-5 ) allowing the Jews in Exile in Babylon

Zephaniah, Book of
Israelite. The Date of Zephaniah According to Zephaniah 1:1 Zephaniah's ministry occurred during the reign of Josiah (640-609 B.C.). Most scholars date the book in 630 or between 630,621. In 621King Josiah instituted a sweeping reformation of worship in Judah (see 2 Kings 22:3-23:25 ), which officially