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The Bible Companion: The Complete Illustrated Handbook to the Holy Scriptures
The Bible -- considered the sacred word of God by many in the Western world -- consists of 66 different books composed by a diverse group of prophets, kings, statesmen, shepherds, poets, tax collectors, musicians, fishermen and priests.
Spanning a time period of about 1,600 years, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the Bible begins at the dawn of creation and ends with the apocalypse and the Last Judgment. Containing poetry, stories, proverbs, historical narration, laws and prophecy, many believers of many faiths find the Bible to be an invaluable source book for solving practical everyday problems and dilemmas as well as comfort in difficult times.
The Bible Companion seeks to demystify this sacred text, giving context and analysis to the stories and enriching one's reading experience of the Bible.
From the Pentateuch -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy -- through the books of Joshua, Judges, Kings and Prophets, each book of the Old Testament is described, analyzed for its special significance, accompanied by famous artworks and further enriched by sidebars that explain the money and measurements of the day, prayers and prayer books, and landmarks like Solomon's temple.
The New Testament section begins with a survey of life in the time of Jesus, followed by the Gospels according to the saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Chronology of the gospels, and the Epistles.
Some of the most interesting religious artworks ever created accompany every book, and extra spreads and sidebars discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls, Bethlehem and Nazareth, and contain maps of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This book will give many hours of pleasurable reading and browsing, but also unlock relationships, chronologies and philosophies as they change through the stories and the writers of the Bible.
Spanning a time period of about 1,600 years, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the Bible begins at the dawn of creation and ends with the apocalypse and the Last Judgment. Containing poetry, stories, proverbs, historical narration, laws and prophecy, many believers of many faiths find the Bible to be an invaluable source book for solving practical everyday problems and dilemmas as well as comfort in difficult times.
The Bible Companion seeks to demystify this sacred text, giving context and analysis to the stories and enriching one's reading experience of the Bible.
From the Pentateuch -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy -- through the books of Joshua, Judges, Kings and Prophets, each book of the Old Testament is described, analyzed for its special significance, accompanied by famous artworks and further enriched by sidebars that explain the money and measurements of the day, prayers and prayer books, and landmarks like Solomon's temple.
The New Testament section begins with a survey of life in the time of Jesus, followed by the Gospels according to the saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Chronology of the gospels, and the Epistles.
Some of the most interesting religious artworks ever created accompany every book, and extra spreads and sidebars discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls, Bethlehem and Nazareth, and contain maps of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This book will give many hours of pleasurable reading and browsing, but also unlock relationships, chronologies and philosophies as they change through the stories and the writers of the Bible.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2024
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April 1, 2026
A book written about the Bible from a seemingly non-Christian perspective, although the author appears to have written books on some Catholic subjects, so I can’t say for sure what her religious beliefs are. Regardless, she obviously lacks anything other than a superficial understanding of Scripture, and offers so much incorrect information that my eye seemed to constantly be twitching.
The OT section is fairly straight forward in that it’s a collection of summaries for each book, with very few “companions” to describe the culture or history happening around different books, leaving the OT a seemingly dismal, chaotic, and confusing portion of the Bible with what appears to be an angry and distant God. Indeed, when writing about some of God’s judgements and decisions, she takes a decidedly disparaging tone. She glosses over a lot of heavy themes and nuanced situations, leaving many portions of the books with a “well, God hates everyone” kinda vibe. The OT is complicated, which I understand, but it’s full of tradition, history, and complex culture, and it deserves to be handled with respect, which I feel the author fails to do. Again, lots of wrong information being spread throughout, too.
The NT, again, fairly straight forward with summaries for each book, but this time with lots of “companions” to explain the theology and current events. The author definitely takes a decidedly more Catholic perspective, and while that’s totally fine, I think she does gloss over a lot and, again, offers a cursory glance at some heavy themes and core doctrines. She has a far less disparaging tone in this section than in the OT, but by the time I got to the NT, I felt pretty grumpy with her and didn’t much care for what she was now offering.
Overall, I’d say this book is an okay collection of summaries. But with so much incorrect information in it, I wouldn’t rely on it for much other than superficial understanding. Plenty of much better “companions” out there to better understand the Bible.
The OT section is fairly straight forward in that it’s a collection of summaries for each book, with very few “companions” to describe the culture or history happening around different books, leaving the OT a seemingly dismal, chaotic, and confusing portion of the Bible with what appears to be an angry and distant God. Indeed, when writing about some of God’s judgements and decisions, she takes a decidedly disparaging tone. She glosses over a lot of heavy themes and nuanced situations, leaving many portions of the books with a “well, God hates everyone” kinda vibe. The OT is complicated, which I understand, but it’s full of tradition, history, and complex culture, and it deserves to be handled with respect, which I feel the author fails to do. Again, lots of wrong information being spread throughout, too.
The NT, again, fairly straight forward with summaries for each book, but this time with lots of “companions” to explain the theology and current events. The author definitely takes a decidedly more Catholic perspective, and while that’s totally fine, I think she does gloss over a lot and, again, offers a cursory glance at some heavy themes and core doctrines. She has a far less disparaging tone in this section than in the OT, but by the time I got to the NT, I felt pretty grumpy with her and didn’t much care for what she was now offering.
Overall, I’d say this book is an okay collection of summaries. But with so much incorrect information in it, I wouldn’t rely on it for much other than superficial understanding. Plenty of much better “companions” out there to better understand the Bible.
Displaying 1 of 1 review