This book is not only educational, but its fun for kids to read. This book focuses on fire safety and how a smoke detector saved a families life. This is definately a book that should be kept by the nightstand. Jim Laster did such an excellent job. All three of his books are excellent!

George Knight relates a story in the prologue: There was an old British radio show that frequently had guests of all kinds. At one point they had a theologan on. The host asked him what 12 books of the Bible he would bring if he were stranded on a desert island. "Well, I certainly wouldn't bring Leviticus," was the theologan's reply. That is the case with many Christians. To them, many of the Old Testament books "just aren't important," but they ALL are still the word of God.

George Knight gives us a very readable and practical commentary on the book of Leviticus (a manuel for Israel's priests and a "Holiness Code"--moral commands--for the people). The book consists of a half-chapter (give or take) of Scripture followed by Knight's commentary. Knight often gives some very insightful commentary showing what this type of animal sacrifice shows about God's personality or explaining why the people could only have one type of crop in a given field.

Although Knight succeeds in making a normally dull book (especialy when compared with Genesis, Joshua, 2 Samuel, the Gospels, etc) seem exciting, there do exist some faults with the book. One chapter in Leviticus deals with rules agains homosexuality. Instead of coming right out and saying what he believes Leviticus says about the subject, Knight tip-toes and tap-dances so much, I'm still not really quite sure WHAT he believes about it. I'm not sure if he's delicately trying to say that God is wrong about gay folk or if he's just a little afraid to actually condemn homosexual practices.

There are other places in the commentary where Knight does a similar tap-dance routine, but overall, this is an extremely good commentary that really aided in my understanding of Leviticus.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of Leviticus with reflections on our times and our issues.

In many cases we read Genesis and Exodus then run right to the New Testament failing to understand Leviticus and are uncomfortable defending the Word of God as expressed in the images of a B.C. nomadic people; their rituals; and their sacrifices.

As you read each of these pages the images become clearer to us as the same images are seen in our world today and God's Word and its meaning becomes clearer.

Read this book and then move on through the Word of God without lingering doubts and know His Word truly holds the answers to our life.

Thank you George Knight for such an illuminating book.

The Layman's Bible Dictionary edited by George W. Knight & Rayburn W. Ray contains over 2,500 entries from A to Z. It's comprehensive and accurate. It's laid out so that it's easy to understand. Key words are based on the King James Version, but one can use any bible version. Each entry is cross-referenced with the scripture for indepth study. It's very helpful in explaining all the obscure terms of the KJV Bible. It's simply written that anyone with very Bible knowledge can understand. Every entry is concise with essential facts about the most significant Bible people, places, things and ideas.

I find this to be practical and reliable. For added interest it's illustrated with about 27 black and white photographs. It's a great compact size to keep handy along with your Bible for a quick reference. I think this is an excellent resource for students or anyone wanting to expand on their Bible knowledge. It'a also priced just right. I'm sure this would be a valuable source of information to those who are eager to learn more about the Bible. What is NOT included is the pronunciation of names. An excellent source in this area is 'Pronouncing Bible Names' by W. Murray Severance. My other choice for reference would be the 'Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible' by Allen Myers, 'Dictionary of Paul & his Letters' by G.F. Hawthorne and 'Oxford's A Dictionary of the Bible ' by W. Browning as extended supplemental study.

"Grace Abounding" is a critical commentary on the book of Hosea in the Old Testament. It analyzes important themes in each chapter of Hosea, breaking the chapters down into verses with a single theme. It is useful in presenting an overall picture of Hosea. It presents different interpretations of some phrases which is useful in getting a different angle on the original meaning of the author. However, for someone who is taking an advanced theology class, this book is not technical enough to be a really good resourse for writing an exegesis paper. It seldom presents the actual Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words which are controversial in their interpretation.