The Handy Bible Answer Book

Jennifer R. Prince

Description

Get More from the Bible

The Bible is a beloved text owned by nearly all Americans. It’s probably on your reading list, but it can be a daunting work to master. The Handy Bible Answer Book illuminates the secrets and reveals the wisdom of the Bible. Through easy-to-understand explanations to common questions, this book examines, story-by-story, the origins and history of the meanings of chapters, verses, and parables.

Offering enlightening explanations and defining key terms, people, places, and events, this user-friendly guide is for anyone interested in learning more about the Bible. It brings context to readers by answering more than 1,700 commonly asked questions about the Good Book, including:

• How has archeology contributed to understanding the Bible?
• What are some of the most notable Bible translations through the ages?
• What was the Day of Atonement?
• How did Gideon obey God’s call?
• According to Peter, what was the benefit of faith?
• What is the Apocrypha?

This comprehensive resource provides concise, straightforward information, drawing from five different translations of the Bible and other sources, it's designed to let even casual readers dig deeply into the Bible. It helps bring the Good Book's parables, stories, history, and power to your life.

Sujets

• Bible Study Guides
• Biblical Studies
• Handbooks
• Biblical Reference
• EDUCATION
• Philosophie et théologie
• Martín Lutero
• Jesús de Nazaret
• Questions and answers
• God
• Jesus
• General officer
• Mary (mother of Jesus)
• Old Testament
• New Testament
• Mary Magdalene
• Moses
• John the Baptist
• Gospel of John
• Gospel of Matthew
• Gospel of Luke
• Gospel of Mark
• Acts of the Apostles
• Moïse
• Religion
• General
• Ten Commandments
• Abraham
• Judas Iscariot
• Mary
• Jésus-Christ
• Gospel
• Jésus de Nazareth
• Martin Luther
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578595167
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

About the Author

Jennifer R. Prince is a youth services librarian at a public library in North Carolina. She holds a bachelor s degree in literature from UNC at Asheville and a master s in library and information science from UNC at Greensboro. A long-time book reviewer for local newspapers and professional journals, including a weekly column about books for children and teens in the Asheville Citizen-Times and reviews in the School Library Journal , Ms. Prince has made a lifelong habit of reading and studying the Bible and participating in many in-depth Bible studies. She is excited that her first book is The Handy Bible Answer Book . Ms. Prince lives in North Carolina.
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THE HANDY BIBLE ANSWER BOOK
THE HANDY BIBLE ANSWER BOOK
Copyright 2014 by Visible Ink Press
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or website.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Visible Ink Press 43311 Joy Rd., #414 Canton, MI 48187-2075
Visible Ink Press is a registered trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC.
Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, www.visibleink.com , or 734-667-3211.
Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile
Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski
Typesetting: Marco Di Vita
Proofreaders: Paul Cain and Sharon Gunton
Indexer: Shoshana Hurwitz
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prince, Jennifer Rebecca.
The handy Bible answer book / by Jennifer Rebecca Prince. pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57859-478-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Bible-Miscellanea. 2. Bible-Introductions. I. Title.
BS612.P67 2014 220.6 1-dc23
2013044595
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

I NTRODUCTION
P HOTO C REDITS
BUILDING THE BIBLE
The Intertestamental Period
The First and Second Centuries C.E.
The Third and Fourth Centuries C.E.: Forming the Canon
Early Translations and Transcriptions
The 1400s and the Printing Press
The 1500s: The Protestant Reformation
1558: Enter Queen Elizabeth I
An English Bible for English Catholics
Post-King James Translations and Adaptations
OLD TESTAMENT
THE PENTATEUCH
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
HISTORICAL BOOKS
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
I and II Samuel
I Kings
II Kings
I and II Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
WISDOM AND POETICAL BOOKS
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
NEW TESTAMENT
GOSPELS AND ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Introduction to the Gospels
The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of John
The Acts of the Apostles
PAUL S LETTERS
Romans
I Corinthians
II Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
I Thessalonians
II Thesalonians
I Timothy
II Timothy
Titus
OTHER LETTERS
Philemon
Hebrews
James
I Peter
II Peter
I John
II John
III John
Jude
REVELATION
MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE
APOCRYPHA
THE BIBLE AND ARCHAEOLOGY
THE BIBLE AND POP CULTURE
G LOSSARY
V ERSIONS OF THE B IBLE
W ORKS C ONSULTED
I NDEX
Photo Credits

Berthold Werner: p. 346 .
Haffitt: p. 100 .
John M. Kennedy T.: p. 12 .
Jojojoe: p. 124 .
P re Igor: p. 74 .
Shutterstock: pp. 9 , 25 , 30 , 32 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 49 , 51 , 56 , 58 , 62 , 65 , 72 , 83 , 85 , 94 , 138 , 140 , 143 , 149 , 161 , 167 , 169 , 173 , 174 , 181 , 184 , 187 , 190 , 193 , 195 , 200 , 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , 207 , 208 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 214 , 215 , 216 , 218 , 219 , 222 , 224 (top and bottom), 225 , 226 , 227 , 228 , 229 , 230 , 231 , 232 , 236 , 239 , 241 , 243 , 245 , 247 , 249 , 253 , 255 , 257 , 262 , 263 , 268 , 279 , 280 , 283 , 295 , 299 , 307 , 311 , 313 , 336 , 337 , 353 , 365 , 367 , 373 , 376 , 377 .
Yair Haklai: p. 339 .
Yoav Dothan: p. 344 .
All other works are in the public domain.
Introduction

What is in this book?
A Jewish saying goes, There are 70 ways to interpret the Torah and all of them are correct. The same thing can be said for the entire Bible. No one book can provide all of the variations on thoughts about and interpretations of the Bible. The purpose of The Handy Bible Answer Book is to provide the casual reader with an introduction to the people, places, and events in the Bible.
This is not a project I undertook lightly. Every day before I sat down to work on this book, I prayed. I prayed for God to enlarge my understanding of the Bible and grant me the ability to write about it in a meaningful, accessible way.
My name appears as the author of this book, but really there are so many people who helped make this possible. First, I thank Scott and Rookie. Also, I thank Abby, Ann, Ariel, Avery, Carolyn, Debbie, Etta, Gerald, Jane, John, Karen, Katie, Laura, Maggie, Marge, Meg, Rocky, Ruth Ann, Sally, Sallyanne, Shellie, Sherie, Sharon, and Tricia for their invaluable insights, ideas, proofreading abilities, and encouragements. Some of these folks are clergy; some are not. All of them helped immeasurably.
I used several translations of the Bible throughout the book in order to provide the reader with an idea of how the translations are similar and different. Each translation has its own flavor, so to speak. They are cited in quotes with the following abbreviations:
NRSV: The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha , third edition, edited by Michael D. Coogan, Oxford University Press, 2007. This is the translation I used most frequently.
NIV: The Life Application Study Bible: New International Version , Tyndale House Publishers and Zondervan, 1997.
NLT: The Life Application Study Bible: The New Living Translation , Tyndale House Publishers, 1996.
The Message: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Lanuage , by Eugene H. Peterson, NAVPress, 2002.
KJV: The Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version , Holman Bible Publishers, 1987.
The Message does not have the content of chapters divided into verses, so the verse numbers are approximations based on verse numbers in other translations.
Also, in this book the terms BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are used to designate the years before and after the birth of Jesus.
BUILDING THE BIBLE
What is the Bible?
The Bible is the most widely distributed book in history. It has been translated more times and into more languages than any other book. The word bible comes from the Latin word biblia , which means books. So the Bible is a