We all know the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom, five wise and five foolish. They were all caught sleeping when the bridegroom’s coming was announced. If you want to gain insight into the biblical narrative and, in some cases, help yourself to a proper interpretation, you must understand the customs of the Middle-Eastern culture.
Abraham, in great prophetic insight, named the mountain “Jehovah-Jireh” where he offered up Isaac. Jacob was renamed “Israel” by the Lord in that famous wrestling match. Names and places in the Bible mean something and the meanings will give insight into the passage.
What is the hypostatic union, or what do we mean by saying that a man is a Calvinist? Theological terms or names given to certain ways of interpreting the Scripture are used in conversation around us and it is helpful to understand what these terms mean.
Customs and manners of the Bible, meanings of proper names and places and definitions of theological terms are all to be found in a Bible encyclopedia. Encyclopedias come in a variety of sizes and prices. The one-volume kind can be so general and the articles so short that the help is minimal at best. Or you can spend all of next month’s wages on a large, technical, multi-volume encyclopedia, only to be swamped with information that complicates and confuses rather than clarifying the subject at hand.
The happy medium, which I have found to be large enough to be useful and small enough to be affordable, is the two-volume Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia edited by Charles Pfeiffer, Howard Vos, and John Rea and published by Moody Press. Mr. Pfeiffer is a professor of ancient languages, Mr. Vos, a professor of history and archaeology, and Mr. Rea is an author. They have combined their skills and know-how from their three disciplines, along with more than two hundred contributors, to create a very readable, comprehensive and informative work.
In this encyclopedia, the meaning of each proper name and place in the Bible is given along with all the important theological, historically significant, and culturally relevant information.
One of the chief assets of this work is that all the contributors are conservative. They believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, the pre-millennial return of Christ, and all the basic tenets of the Christian faith. This is an important feature of a volume such as this. You can be assured that this kind of volume will defend the deity of Christ and the historicity of the biblical narrative as you seek to understand passages or terms you are researching.
Each article that exceeds 150 words includes a bibliography, so you can study further on the subject handled in the article. Charts, illustrations, and maps also add to the general value of this publication. This work can be of great value as you seek to understand the Scriptures and will be a useful tool to have in your library.
The word encyclopedia is derived from two words meaning “the entire circle of knowledge.” As an effective aid, it will help you in drawing your circle to encompass more and more of the truth in God’s blessed Book.