Catholic Bible Dictionary for every Bible lover and Christian reader

If you want a Bible dictionary with entries on the names, places, and topics in the deuterocanonical aka apocryphal books, the Catholic Bible Dictionary, edited by Scott Hahn and published by Doubleday, provides that and more.

When I first saw and ordered the review copy offered for free on the Blogging for Books site, I thought this dictionary might define the rites, rituals, and liturgy of the Catholic Church. Come to find out, others have made this mistake, too, but, as the title clearly states, this is a dictionary on the Catholic Bible. Therefore, the text includes information on Judith, Tobit, the Angel Raphael, and others mentioned in the deuterocanonical / apocryphal books but generally omitted from most Bible dictionaries.

Like any dictionary, religious or otherwise, this one has no need for an index as each topic is already alphabetized for an easy A to Z search. A clear font and spacious leading make the conversational entries easy to read, while clear maps in the back of the book make the movements through biblical places easier to envision. Also, in the back matter the chronologies of kings and historical movements help us to get grounded in what happened, with whom, and when, whereas the entries themselves offer insight into why.

For those insights and other information, we have the extensive research of former Protestant pastor, Scott Hahn, who has become well-known as an author, Christian apologist, and Catholic theologian. To further ensure accuracy in the material, the book has the official Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur of the Church to show freedom from doctrinal or moral errors.

To give you an example of the entries, I turned to a word rarely found in a religious dictionary “purgatory.” The closest entry in most Bible dictionaries might be “purge,” which eliminates or eradicates some type of impurity. To definite “purgatory,” however, the Catholic Bible Dictionary says:

“PURGATORY (Latin, ‘cleansing’ or ‘purifying’) Defined by theologians as the condition of those who died in the state of grace but with lingering attachment to sin. In purgatory these souls are purified for a time before being admitted to the glory and happiness of heaven. In this period of passive suffering, they are purged of unrepented venial sins, satisfy the demands of divine justice for temporal punishment due for sins, and are made ready for the beatific vision."

As the entry goes on to say: "The doctrine of purgatory is found in Scripture but is not fully developed. The two passages most clearly related to it are 2 Macc 12:45 and 1 Cor 3:12-15.”

For another example, let’s look at the entry for Tobit, a book unfamiliar to many Christians:

“TOBIT, BOOK OF The story of two Israelite families whose lives were touched by God in the Assyrian Exile. They were brought together by marriage and the intervention of the angel Raphael. Tobit is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament that is deemed scriptural by Catholics but not by modern Jews or Protestants” – the key word being “modern” as both Jewish and Christian readers originally accepted these books from the Greek Bible or Septuagint.

And, as the entry for “Septuagint” explains:

SEPTUAGINT (Latin septuaginta, ‘seventy’) The most ancient and important translation of the Old Testament into Greek. It was produced between the third and first centuries B.C.,” so Jesus and the Apostles would undoubtedly have been familiar with these books, which came about because “King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt requested a copy of the Jewish Bible to be placed in his famous library at Alexandria 9ca. 250 B.C.) Unable to read Hebrew, the king brought seventy-two scholars from Palestine to Alexandria to make a translation of the Hebrew Torah….”

That desire – to present the Bible in the language of the reader – has led to many translations of Holy Scriptures into English with excellent resources such as this to clarify our understanding and electrify our interest in embracing the Bible as an everyday part of our worship, our faith, and our lives.

©2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet, writer, and reviewer, is a lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church in all its parts.


Catholic Bible Dictionary, hardback

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Waiting for review copies of new study Bibles to arrive from a couple of publishers, I attempted to free up some needed space on the bookshelves by my desk, but I did not get too far before a reference book I’ve referred to for several years caught my eye - the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Thinking about the Bible teachers, students, writers, and other communicators for Christ who might want to hear about a highly recommended resources like this, it occurred to me to intersperse such reviews with discussions of the new translations, children’s Bibles, and study Bibles I especially love to talk about and read.

Beginning with biblical reference books I have on hand, the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible gave me an outstanding place to start, not only because of the eclectic list of outstanding biblical scholars who contributed to this massive work but also because of the awards for “Outstanding Reference Source” and “Outstanding Academic Title” by the American Library Association.

With over 1400 pages, this hefty volume (yes, it’s heavy!) defines and discusses approximately 5,000 entries on such subjects as the influence of archeology and extra-biblical writings. As you might expect, the A to Z topics also include virtually all of the people and places mentioned in the Bible with references, too, to pertinent cultural events, literary features, and geographical concerns.

When I opened the book to look for an example of the interesting discussions you’ll find, I immediately spotted an unexpected entry on “Coat of Mail.” Frankly, I think of that type of armor as originating sometime around the Middle Ages, long after Christians ceased fire on the Bible canon (pun intended.) However, the entry on page 266 described “Coat of Mail” as being “Armor consisting of 400-600 plates of metal, which were pierced and sewn to a cloth or leather undercoat. The plates overlapped to provide maximum protection; the armor was weakest at the joining of the sleeve to the tunic body and between the scales (I Kgs.22:34=2 Chr. 18:33). Such armor was probably developed to free the hands from having to hold a shield, thus enabling charioteers to drive and soldiers to wield the bow and yet still have protection.”

Does this matter to you or me? Maybe not. But as a re-teller of Bible stories in poems and other writings or in Bible study groups, this unforeseen entry adds interesting, intricate detail to, say, the story of David and Goliath as found in I Samuel 17 or the lesser known story of Uzziah, King of Judah, as told in II Chronicles 26.

Also, after the exiles returned to Jerusalem, Nehemiah 4:16 says the leaders stationed themselves around the wall, wearing coats of mail as they protected the laborers trying to rebuild. In addition, the Prophet Isaiah (59:17) and the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 6:14 and I Thessalonians 5:8) talk about putting on armor as a metaphor for protecting ourselves spiritually, most likely intending a coat of mail, rather than the Knight in Shining Armor many of us envisioned.

If that doesn’t interest you, pick any Bible subject that does, and you’ll surely find information you’ll be glad to know. I certainly did. For example, the back pages of most of my Bibles have maps of biblical places, which I appreciate, but I kept wanting one showing modern sites, and, yes, that’s included. The downside is that the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible has such thorough information, this reference book will definitely not be chosen to free up any of the needed space on my crowded bookshelves.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, who despite the lack of shelf space, remains eager to receive review copies of new translations (English), new children’s Bibles, new study Bibles, and new formats or treatments of older translations. However, the hotlinks to Bible passages mentioned above came from a highly recommended Internet resource, Bible Gateway, whose numerous translations and reference materials need no shelf space.




…