The field of biblical studies is dynamic, with new discoveries, new methodologies, and new perspectives continually enhancing the interpretation of the Bible. There is thus a need for an up-to-date, comprehensive, authoritative, and balanced series of reference works for biblical scholars and students.
The
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, published as a two-volume print work and made available digitally through Oxford’s Digital Reference Shelf, is the first in this series of specialized reference works, each addressing a specific subfield within biblical studies. The series aims to produce high-level scholarly reference works that are accessible and in-depth, going beyond the basics to provide more specialized coverage.
Books of the Bible provides a single source for authoritative reference overviews of scholarship on some of the most important topics of study in the field of biblical studies. The Encyclopedia contains almost 120 in-depth entries, ranging in length from 500 to 10,000 words, on each of the canonical books of the Bible, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important noncanonical texts, and thematic essays on topics such as canonicity, textual criticism, and translation.
Books of the Bible has extensive cross-references to other useful points of interest within the Encyclopedia, and comprehensive lists of abbreviations. Illustrations of various types supplement the text. Bibliographies for all entries further add to its usefulness.
Michael D. Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum, Lecturer on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Harvard Divinity School, and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Biblical Studies Online. Collaborative works that he conceived and edited include
The New Oxford Annotated Bible (4E),
The Oxford Companion to the Bible, and
The Oxford History of the Biblical World. His most recent book is
The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (Oxford University Press, 2006).
e-reference edition ISBN: 9780199755417
Print edition ISBN: 9780195377378
Print edition publication date: 2011
Publishing history: First published 2011
Copyright: © Oxford University Press 2011
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