The
Editor's
aim
has
been
to
provide
a
complete
and
independent
Dictionary
op
the
Bible
in
a
single
volume
and
abreast
of
present-day
scholarship.
1.
Complete.
—
The
Dictionary
gives
an
account
of
all
the
contents
of
the
Bible,
the
articles
being
as
numerous
as
in
the
largest
dictionaries,
but
written
to
a
different
scale.
The
Index
of
the
Dictionary
of
the
Bible
in
five
volumes
by
the
same
Editor
has
been
taken
as
basis,
and
such
additions
made
to
it
as
the
latest
research
has
suggested.
The
persons,
places,
and
important
events
in
the
Bible
are
described.
There
are
articles
on
the
Biblical
theology
and
ethics,
on
the
antiquities,
and
on
the
languages
—
English
as
well
as
Hebrew
and
Greek.
The
books
of
the
Bible
are
carefully
explained
in
their
origin,
authorship,
and
contents;
and
full
account
is
taken
of
the
results
of
literary
criticism
and
archseological
discovery.
2.
Independent.
—
The
Dictionary
is
not
a
condensation
of
the
five-volume
Dictionary.
It
is
not
based
upon
it
or
upon
any
other
dictionary.
It
is
a
new
and
independent
work.
All
the
signed,
and
most
of
the
unsigned,
articles
are
written
afresh,
and
(with
few
exceptions)
by
different
authors
from
those
who
treated
the
same
subjects
in
the
larger
Dictionary.
Even
when
the
wording
of
the
large
Dictionary
has
been
retained,
as
in
the
case,
for
example,
of
proper
names
of
minor
importance,
every
statement
has
been
verified
anew.
The
single-volume
Dictionary
wiU
thus
be
found
as
fresh
and
full
of
life
as
the
largest
dictionaries
are.
3.
In
a
single
volume.
—
^This
is
to
bring
the
contents
of
the
Bible,
in
accordance
with
present
scholarship,
within
reach
of
those
who
have
not
the
means
to
buy
or
the
knowledge
to
use
the
Dic-tionary
in
five
volumes.
This
Dictionary
contains
no
Hebrew
or
Greek
except
in
transliteration.
It
is
however,
a
large
volume,
and
it
would
have
been
larger
had
not
the
utmost
care
been
taken
to
prevent
overlapping.
For
the
great
subjects
are
not
treated
with
that
excessive
brevity
which
makes
single-volume
dictionaries
often
so
disappointing.
The
space
has
been
so
carefully
hus-banded
that
it
has
been
found
possible
to
allow
24
pages
to
the
article
on
Israel;
23
pages
to
the
article
on
Jesus
Christ;
and
half
that
number
to
a
further
article
on
the
Person
or
Christ.
There
is
another
way
in
which
space
has
been
saved.
The
whole
subject
of
Magic
Divination
and
Sorcery
for
example,
has
been
dealt
with
in
a
single
article.
That
article
includes
many
sub-topics
each
of
which
is
found
in
its
own
place,
with
a
cross-reference
to
this
comprehensive
article-
and
when
the
word
occurs
in
this
article
it
is
printed
in
black
type,
so
that
no
time
may
be
lost
in
searching
for
it.
4.
Abreast
of
present
Scholarship.
—
That
is
to
say,
of
the
average
scholarship
of
its
day.
There
are
many
reasons
why
a
Dictionary
of
the
Bible
should
not
take
up
an
extreme
position
on
either
side
But
the
reason
which
has
proved
to
be
most
conclusive,
is
the
impossibility
of
getting
the
whole
of
the
work
done
satisfactorily
by
either
very
advanced
or
very
conservative
scholars.
They
are
not
numerous
enough.
And
there
could
be
no
satisfaction
in
entrusting
work
to
men
who
were
chosen
for
any
other
reason
than
their
knowledge
of
the
subject.
*
*
The
Editor
would
call
attention
to
the
Additional
Note
on
the
article
Assyria
and
Babylonia,
which
will
be
found
at
the
end
of
the
volume.
V
