The Essential Bible Companion: Key Insights for Reading God's Word

by John H. Walton, Mark L. Strauss, Ted Cooper Jr.

At your the most vital information you need for reading and truly understanding the Bible. The Essential Bible Companion is a unique, easy-to-use reference guide that gives you clear, crisp insights into the Bible, book by book.

Developed by two world-class Bible scholars and the creator of The Bible in 90 Days curriculum, this compact reference tool visually lays out the key details for each book of the Bible,

Essential background information, such as the underlying purpose, the key terms and concepts, and the key teachings about God in that book.An easy-to-reference timeline of the book with callouts for notable events.Important people to know.Key verses, maps, and historical introductions. 

Between the brief introductions you might find in a study Bible and the overwhelming amount of detail in an exhaustive reference handbook or commentary, The Essential Bible Companion strikes the perfect balance of manageable information that doesn't distract or detract from Scripture itself.

This richly informative volume will assist you on your journey toward a well-grounded biblical faith.

Genres: Religion, Christian, Reference, Old Testament, History, Nonfiction, Theology

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2006

About the author

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament; Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context; Covenant: God’s Purpose, God’s Plan; The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; and A Survey of the Old Testament.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See:

John H. Walton, Agriculture
John H. Walton, ceramics.

Reviews

[Cherop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this Bible Study Companion. I am currently reading my way through the Bible (chronologically) and this is one of the tools I use to help me better understand the time and context of each book of the Bible. It is beautifully illustrated, has maps to show you where the events took place and each Book of the Bible is summarized in 2 pages each.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Essential Bible companion gives two pages of background for every book in the entire bible. For its brevity it is amazing, and probably pretty inexpensive. It was required by both my New Testament and Old Testament profs independent of each other which certainly shows the quality of work done here.

[Melanie Wenninger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this summary! I did the read the bible in 90 days and really needed this quick summary to go back to to find key teachings and review the material I had read. I found it very helpful and recommend this book (as a brief summary/touching base point) to all Christians.

Nothing should be used as a replacement but this is a great resource!

[Lynn Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great companion book while reading The Bible in 90 Days. I read the pages for the book I was reading prior to reading the book of the bible and then re-read it when I finished each book of the bible. Very helpful!

[Eric Sullenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and concise overview of the Bible. I read it to go hand in hand with the Ten Minute Bible Hour podcast (TMBH) is it covered one book of the Bible every weekday. For the most part I read this first, then listen to the podcast, and then read through that book of the Bible using the New Living Translation (NLT). They complimented and checked one another. At times there were photos or text just to fit the format and fill the page, but other than that it was good and well-balanced in its interpretation and view of Scripture.

[Ani Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this for a theology class I was taking at the uni as an agnostic & honestly, coming to Christ, this textbook helped alot for someone barely starting out in their faith walk.

Maps, themes, timelines, key people & terms, OT & NT, key teachings, etc. - I really enjoyed how easy & straightforward this book is.

I would recommend it to beginners & those already advanced in the faith to get more historical and cultural context of each book in the Bible.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really great for those who are new to the Bible and youth. It's really simple so theres no frustration, it explains what the books of the New and Old Testement are about, and who the writers were, theres color photos describing where events in the Bible took place. It's really interesting, but i'd recommend a different more in depth book to someone who is more advanced in the Bible

[Caryn Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be true to its title. It is my first time reading the bible, and each time I started a new book, I would start with the corresponding summary in this book. It really sets the stage and was extremely helpful for context of much of the writings.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized, great maps, illustrations, photographs which added so much to my reading of the Bible from cover to cover.

[Wesley Machiela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book in middle-high growing up. It was good to get this again for the cultural references.

[Missyjohnson1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very helpful to read along with the Bible in 90 days. Short concise and informative descriptions of the books.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I purchased "The Essential Bible Companion: Key Insights for Reading God's Word". I recently began a Bible Challenge where we are to read the whole bible in a year. This little book (just 140 pages) is amazingly helpful. I read it at the beginning of each book for the brief, thorough overview that it gives, which helps me understand the setting. Most books of the bible have two pages dedicated to them; in the Old Testament they include: Key Concepts, Key Terms, Key Teachings about God, a timeline and colorful maps. In the New Testament, the Gospels include a Summary Overview, Key Themes, Information about the Purpose, Author and Key Recipients, again with colored maps.

This is certainly a book that could stand alone and be read for the knowledge of the Bible but when used as a tool to reading and understanding the Bible, I am finding it invaluable. I recommend it highly. I know I will read/use this over and over. A must for bible study groups and even those just interested in history of biblical times.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion to the Bible. Interesting and informative.

[Jadezaa Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

another one of my text book when I studied at Biola... great compact book that contain many important notes...

[Jean-michel Pigeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petit livre simple donnant une bonne idée de la structure et du contenu de chaque livre de la bible.

[ALAGBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/16 Recommended by Cynthia S.