Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000. New Edition, First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xxxiii, [1] 1425, [21--including color maps] pages. Two column format. Illustrations. This is a heavy volume and if shipped outside of the United States will require an additional shipping payment. Information printed inside front and back covers and on fep and rep. Contents includes a List of Maps; Consulting Editors, Contributors, Preface, Introduction, Abbreviations, and Entries A-Z. Two terms in the title of this volume require some comment (i.e. definition or explanation and elaboration): "Bible" and "Dictionary". "Bible" refers to the Christian Bible, as commonly used in places where the great majority of the people have some affiliation with the christian Church, and includes both the Old and Net Testaments. The OT for Protestands is the same as the Hevrew Scriptires acknoledges by the Jewish community as sacred Scripture. Catholic Christians also accept the Apocrypha or Deuterocaonicals as part of the OT. all of the above are treated in this Dictionary, as well as the NT, which is accepted as canonical scripture by practically all Christian groups. As for the second term, Bible dictionaries generally come in two sizes: multivolume versions and one-volume dictionaries like the familiar Eerdmans Bible Dictionary of which the present volume represents not merely a new edition but in essence a fresh beginning. The one-volume Bible dictionary is interned to be a rapid-response reference work. It should supply sufficient factual information about books and persons, places and events, define words and longer expressions, and thereby fulfill the basic purpose of any dictionary: to explain. More