Edited by Katherine Doob Sakenfeld
Nashville: Abingdon, 2009.
Available through Alban Books in the UK.
I am probably one of the elite few biblical scholars who did not write entries for the NIDB. When it comes to reference resources, normally I prefer the Anchor Bible Dictionary since it is thorough and compromised of entries written by experts on their respective areas of speciality (and it is a good replacement to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia which is now dated). That said the ABD itself is now getting on a bit since 1992 when it was published. More recently, I've been flicking through volume four of the NIDB and it is pretty good. Some helpful articles here on "obedience" (M. Eugene Boring), "resurrection" (Alan Segal), "Paul, the Apostle" (Calvin Roetzel), "Peter, the Apostle" (Pheme Perkins), "Pharoah" (Carolyn Higginbotham), "Philo" (Ellen birnhaum), and others. These are solid pieces, not always mind-blowing, but good summaries of what are often obscure and technical subjects. Very ideal of students and pastors. The only criticism I have is that I wish the bibliographies were as thorough as those in the ABD.
1 comment:
I've thought about purchasing this set. It seems very well done, though I wish more evangelicals contributed to it. It's not a bad thing that they didn't, there just seems to be very few who did for some reason. I wonder if the goal of the NIDB is to replace the ABD. If they do the right marketing and such, it probably will. The good thing about it is that it is more reader-friendly and succinct than the ABD.
It's quite expensive though.
Post a Comment