yes the DBI as it is called in the Wilhoit house is the bestest book ever (after the Bible of coarse!). i have been meandering arround his office and old students have come in and told him what a great book this was!!! Buy it!! I come in like a billion languages (Korean, Chinese, and English)
~Juliana Wilhoit

This is a very extensive, yet concise topical dictionary that explores the countless metaphors and images so prevelant in the Bible. It is amazing how much God used symbolism to represent Himself or His promises, and most people (including the OT Jews) never caught it.

One point of interest to me was the meaning behind the lampstand God had Moses contruct. Most people overlook the details God gave concerning it's construction and what it referred to, but not this book...

If you are a fan of the IVP series that includes such volumes as "Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels," "Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments," "Dictionary of Paul and His Letters," you will thoroughly enjoy this reference book.

I really had no clue as to how important biblical imagery was before i read many parts of this dictionary. Biblical imagery isn't just for Catholics anymore! Biblical imagery is so important to the bible because the bible is wrapped up in imagery.

Why does God refer to His followers as sheep? What was the significance of the prodigal son getting a robe, ring and sandals when he returned home? How are various metaphors used in scriptures? How does Old Testament imagery relate to New Testament writings? All these are questions that many of us have entertained and are answered in great depth in this dictionary. I don't remember what course this book was necessary for in bible school, but I am sure glad that I got my hands on it.

If you are a preacher, pastor or a leader in the church you need to get your hands on this book too. Biblical imagery is too important for us to be ignorant of. God uses imagery to emphasize points or principles and we need to know what He is saying instead of being confused at why such a figure would be used to tell a parable or story.

Every ten years or so, publishers come out with "new" Bibles to make words and concepts more in line with the current culture. The Everyday Study Bible acomplishes this goal and more by giving the student a translation that operates efficiently, yet communicates effectively. In addition to the readablity, there is uncanny scholarship within the notes and articles by Joel B. Green and Tremper Longman. What these guys have expertly done is point the reader in the proper direction without actually telling them what to think. They let the Bible do that. There are excellent topics on contoverial issues within the church that are presented with clarity and completeness. Some hardline KJV'ers will cringe at the thought of having The Word clear and simple. Yet that is exactly what this Bible does-and what America needs. Anything that furthers Gospel truths ought to be applauded and embraced. This Bible is harder to find and somewhat less trendy than the NLT or NIV, but it certainly surpasses them in simplicity and uniqueness. God wants us to UNDERSTAND His Word. This study Bible manages that request and more! I highly reccommend this version!

The New Century Bible is outstanding! I have been an avid King James Version reader since I was a child but the New Century Bible speaks like a letter written yesterday, not two thousand years ago. I would only wish that their next edition comes in a higher quality leather and with center references. Great work.

This book includes 6 (small) books: 1) Has the church misread the Bible? 2) Literary Approach to Biblical Interpretation 3) God, Language, and Scripture 4) the Art of Biblical History 5) Science and Hermeneutics 6) The study of theology.

Each size is around 80 - 130 pages. They don't have to be read in this order, so people can choose the topics they like. I read some of part 1, 5, and 6.

I am a conservative evangelic christian. I think I am very serious about the Christian Theology and the like. When I read the first part, I found Dr. Silva asks very good questions and presents the important issues in the interpretations. These issues definitely affect our understanding of the Bible. Some issues are philosophy, linguistics, history and theology... If Bible is the ultimate authority of the christian religion, then we should treat these issues seriously because the meaning in the text closely connects with our presupposition.

Part 5 is really interesting. The author uses Romans 7 as an example to illustrate how our "model" will effect our interpretation. He keeps going on searching the anology of model in science and the model in Biblical interpretation. The writing is very clear.

Part 6 is also very good. Dr. Muller discusses the necessity of the theology. He thinks the theology is not only for the people in the ivory tower but also for believer's daily life. He gives many examples in Old/New Testament Theology, Doctrinal Theology. These examples show that how we can share the Gospel in a stimulating way, as it should be in the first century, base on these study of theology.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to share the God's word with people. Very helpful.

An intermediate level discussion of the impact that several fields (linguistics, literary studies, science, and theology) have had upon contemporary hermeneutics.

Tremper Longman III's "How To Read the Psalms" is a wonderfully informative book on the basics of the Psalms. A person who is either wanting to learn the basics about the Psalms or those wanting to direct their Biblical study in this direction will get a solid foundation. Longman offers other titles to perhaps further one's knowledge in the topics covered in this book.

The book is very easy to read, articulate, informative and Biblically sound. Longman also makes good use of personal application as well as good theological insight. The sections I found particularly interesting were sections on "parallelism", "imagery" and a Chapter titled "The Psalms: Mirror of the Soul". Longman's conclusions are theologically sound and therefore solid.

The author's exercises are good practice for analyzing the Psalms. For me, having an understanding of Psalms makes the context and purpose easier to discern. A good book to add to your library.

I believe that this book is a good tool to help one understand the Psalms. It is easy to read and it uses language that the common man can understand. I like how the book starts off with showing how the Psalms fit in the Bible. I like how it explains them as a mini Bible in itself. I think that Longman does a good job explaining the different types of psalms that are in the book of Psalms. I like the way that Longman explained parallelism and the other elements of poetry that are visible. I was always afraid of poetry and all the different things that it included but it makes more sense. It is very good for Longman to provide some psalms in the back and give an example of what he just wrote about in his book. It makes it easier to understand when there is an example provided. At the end of each chapter it also provides a psalm study of things that were just explained in the chapter. This helps the reader practice what they are learning and I think that that is a good idea. I think that the author did a good job of showing how the psalms relate to the common man. He showed how people could use them to worship and how they can learn from them. Longman did a good job of getting his purpose across and helping one to read the Psalms better.

This book is a thinker! It sheds a totally new light on the book of Ecclesiastes, and talks deeply about life in a way that all of us can relate to. The balance of non-fiction and fiction keep it mucho interesting. I read this book slowly on my lunch breaks, and each day I'd go back to work in a quiet, introspective mood. The book covers so much, it's hard to really summarize it. It will cause you to rethink the way you live, and how you define true Christianity.

I was quite pleased by Tremper Longman's treatment of this often missunderstood text. He spends a good deal of time introducing the genere of the book so we can better understand the type of lit. that is falls in, and from there he takes you on a verse through verse journey of what "qohelet" (the author of the book) has to say to the everyman. Also as a side note his footnotes on this volume can lead you into some exciting research of your own. I recomend this volume to anyone that is serious about understanding the wisdom lit. of the Bible better

I am looking forward to Longman's commentary on the Proverbs. Longman is a solid exegete of OT wisdom books.

Tremper Longman does an excellent job of focusing, for the Bible students, the need to understand Old Testament. The questions that he addresses concerning the need for a proper appreciation of the Old Testament are refreshing and necessary for the church today. It is a very readable treatise for anyone who wants to know why the Old Testament is inportant for Chrsitians today. I teach Bible and have made it part of my introductory lectures on the need for studying the Old Testament. If this is a subject you are interested in you may want to read his Introduction to the Old Testament, or He Gave Us Stories by Richard Pratt.

The title of this book says it all. Dr. Longman's personal style makes this book easy enough for the layman and advanced enough to be useful for the more scholarly minded. Read this book and find out how to read the Bible as God created you, a whole person!

This volume is a good starting point for Old Testament studies. One word that comes to mind is "comprehensive" -- the authors have accomplished a remarkable feat in packing so much information into one volume. As one reviewer has noted, this one might be worth the price just for the bibliographic references in each section. All things considered, however, one would be remiss to stop at this book only, or fail to complement one's studies with other volumes.

The structure of this work follows a book-by-book introduction format: after an introduction that scratches the surface of historiograpy, archaeology, criticism, and other pertinent issues surrounding Hebrew Bible / Old Testament studies, one chapter is devoted to each book in the Protestant canon.

Each chapter surveys the history of scholarship behind the book, offers some structural and literary guidance, touches on its possible theological messsage(s) and significance, and moves hastily on to a somewhat forced, unwelcome, very brief, and perhaps obligatory section entitled "Approaching the New Testament." Sufficient attention is seldom given to the theological message of any given book, much less the theological message of the many possible divisions within which each book falls (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim, Deuteronomistic History, etc.)

One would be wise to consult specialist volumes, commentaries, and monographs in addition to this work. It serves well as a comprehensive and well-researched introduction, but the operative term is "introduction." Also, one would be well advised to bear in mind that the book is written from a very specifically evangelical & Protestant standpoint: little to no attention is given to Catholic scholarship or the "Apocryphal Books." Read away, but don't stop here.

I find this Old Testament Introduction easy to read, but also reasonably comprehensive. It is not as complete as R. K. Harrisons' 1970 work, but much more inviting. It is both a handy reference work, and a book to read from cover to cover.

The New Testament applications at the end of each article are thought-provoking and essential for the Christian, for whom the New Testament opens and explains the Old.

Highly recommended.

This Old Testament Introduction maintains the delicate balance between scholarly pertinence and practical usefulness. Dillard & Longman capably present the various issues necessary to address in OT Introduction--authorship & dating, textual issues, etc.--while always offering thorough theological understanding & New Testament/Christological significance. This volume is difficult to put down; this is not simply a reference book but also a book that can be read from cover to cover. This is the best way to understand Dillard's & Longman's overall perspective of the OT. An insightful & incisive work.