New Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Exploring the Unity Diversity of Scripture (IVP Reference Collection)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology quickly established itself as an essential building block of every library of biblical reference books. Building on its companion volumes, the New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary, this work takes readers to a higher vantage point where they can view the thematic terrain of the Bible in its canonical wholeness. In addition, it fills the interpretive space between those volumes and the New Dictionary of Theology.
At the heart of this work is an A-to-Z encyclopedia of over 200 key biblical-theological themes such as atonement, creation, eschatology, Israel, Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, redemption, suffering, wisdom, and worship. Students and communicators of the Bible will be well served by articles exploring the theology of each biblical book. And for those interested in the wider discipline of biblical theology, major articles explore foundational issues such as the history of biblical theology, the challenges raised against biblical theology, and the unity and diversity of Scripture.
Over 120 contributors drawn from the front ranks of biblical scholarship in the English-speaking world make the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology a work of distinction and a benchmark of evangelical biblical theology at the turn of the 21st century. Bibliographies round out all articles, directing readers to research trails leading out of the Dictionary and into crucial studies on every subject. Cross-references throughout send readers through the varied maze of reading pathways, maximizing the usefulness of this volume.
Comprehensive, authoritative, and easily accessible, the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is certain to establish itself as an essential resource for students of the Bible and theology.
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- Features tightly focused articles on biblical-theological themes
- Offers expansive articles on major issues in biblical theology
- Highlights the theology of each biblical book
- Includes helpful bibliographies and cross-references
Top Highlights
“What is biblical theology? To sum up, biblical theology may be defined as theological interpretation of Scripture in and for the church. It proceeds with historical and literary sensitivity and seeks to analyse and synthesize the Bible’s teaching about God and his relations to the world on its own terms, maintaining sight of the Bible’s overarching narrative and Christocentric focus.” (Page 10)
“Unlike midrash, pesher, or even allegory, typology is primarily interested in biblical events and not in the biblical text.” (Page 79)
“Similarly, biblical theology may be defined as the cooperation of various disciplines, and with reference to its various processes or methods and its intended product.” (Page 3)
“Thus, there are two main challenges to biblical theology: first, the argument against confining study to the ‘Bible’ as defined in the canon; and secondly, the argument against the basic theological unity of the biblical authors and books.” (Page 20)
“Finally, biblical theology maintains a conscious focus on Jesus Christ, not in some naive and implausible sense, where Christ is found in the most unlikely places, but in noting God’s faithfulness, wisdom and purpose in the progress of salvation history. It reads not only the NT, but also the OT, as a book about Jesus.” (Page 10)
The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is a valuable resource for teachers, preachers, and students. There are excellent surveys of key issues such as ‘The Unity and Diversity of Scripture’ and ‘Relationship of Old Testament and New Testament,’ plus more detailed articles on biblical books, themes, characters, etc. Most of those I have read reflect thorough research and breadth of knowledge. Helpful bibliographies are provided after each article. . . . The emphasis on the theological significance of the topics covered is a distinctive contribution of this work.
—David L. Baker, senior lecturer in Old Testament, Trinity Theological College, Perth, Western Australia
The idea that the writings of the Old and New Testaments form a coherent whole is at odds with current scholarly fashion. The Christian ‘Old Testament’ has become a supposedly more neutral ‘Hebrew Bible,’ only loosely related to the New Testament; and the emphasis on the distinctiveness of the individual biblical texts has led to a systematic neglect of their deep interrelatedness. This fragmentation of the Bible undermines its single though diverse testimony to the action of the triune God in and for the world. Evangelical scholarship has always been concerned with the whole Bible and is uniquely well placed to resist this trend toward fragmentation. The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is a timely challenge to contemporary scholarship to reconsider its prejudice against coherence. It is a welcome sign that biblical theology continues to flourish and that reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.
—Francis Watson, professor, department of theology and religion, Durham University, England
At least once in each generation, change of such magnitude takes place in a field of study that standard reference books have to be revised and new ones written. What Kevin Vanhoozer has called in this volume the ‘second coming’ of biblical theology in the twentieth century is just such a change. It has stimulated fresh interest in the theological unity of the Bible and renewed study of themes across the whole sweep of biblical revelation. The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is keenly attuned to this welcome development and draws on the best of contemporary evangelical scholarship. It is a quality volume, which I’m sure will become a standard reference work for all serious Bible students, especially those committed to teaching and preaching the whole Bible as Christian Scripture.
—Barry G. Webb, senior research fellow in Old Testament, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia
The advent of the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is both timely and highly significant. It is timely because of the increasing recognition in both scholarly and popular Christian circles of the need to integrate biblical themes, ideas and passages into the message of the Bible as a whole (whatever diversity there may be within it). The volume is important because of the quality and scope of its articles, which are helpfully divided into three sections: those dealing with fundamental issues relating to biblical theology, articles about various books and corpora of the Scriptures, and those on key biblical topics. This dictionary will be an invaluable aid to all students and teachers of the Bible who want to understand the relation of the parts to the whole thrust of the Scriptures.
—Peter O’Brien, senior research fellow, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia
- Title: New Dictionary of Biblical Theology
- Authors: T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D. A. Carson, Graeme Goldsworthy
- Edition: electronic ed.
- Publisher: IVP
- Print Publication Date: 2000
- Logos Release Date: 2002
- Pages: 886
- Era: era:Contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible › Theology--Dictionaries
- Resource ID: LLS:14.0.22
- Resource Type: text.monograph.biblical-theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-24T16:07:00Z
T. Desmond Alexander is director of Christian training at Union Theological College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. From 1980 to 1999, he was lecturer in Semitic studies at the Queen’s University of Belfast. His main field of research is the Pentateuch, about which he has written extensively in academic journals and books. Alexander also has a special interest in the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. He is the author of From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Main Themes of the Pentateuch and Abraham in the Negev, and he is a coeditor (with Brian S. Rosner) of the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (IVP, 2000), available from Logos.
Brian S. Rosner is a senior lecturer in New Testament and ethics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia.
Donald A. Carson is a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Graeme Goldsworthy was formerly a lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology, and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia.
Reviews
36 ratings
David Anfinrud
6/13/2024
IT is a nice combination of theology per book of the Bible and Individual Biblical Themes.
Bilisuma werkisa
7/22/2023
Jonathan Yap
5/24/2023
R.J. Lago
2/7/2023
Ken McClurkin
12/17/2022
Joseph
8/21/2021
Ryan Whitaker
2/23/2020
Rev. Delwyn X. Campbell Sr
12/4/2019
Reading the article on Baptism and salvation I found an interesting quote: "The Corinthians conceived of baptism as a sacrament which united them to Christ and thus gave them protection from all spiritual powers, unlimited authority and a confident hope of final resurrection. This erroneous view may have led some of them to be baptized on behalf of their dead, unbelieving relatives." M. O. Fape, “Baptism,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 396. It just happens that the Church Catholic has shared the sacramental view of baptism for its entire history. It was only with the rise of the radical reformers/restorationists, beginning with the Anabaptists, that this understanding of baptism was challenged. The "erroneous view," in this case, lies not with the Corinthian Christians, but with the Anabaptist sympathizer who wrote this article. The Lutheran perspective on this is found in Augsburg Confession Article V: [V. Concerning the Office of Preaching] [1] To obtain such faith God instituted the office of preaching, giving the gospel and the sacraments. [2] Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit who produces faith, where and when he wills, in those who hear the gospel. [3] It teaches that we have a gracious God, not through our merit but through Christ’s merit, when we so believe. [4] Condemned are the Anabaptists and others who teach that we obtain the Holy Spirit without the external word of the gospel through our own preparation, thoughts, and works. Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 40. I suspect that this book, like many, suffers from the lack of a Confessional Evangelical perspective. It is a common short-sighted error that thinks only in terms of Calvin and Arminius, forgetting the one who preceded them both, Dr. Martin Luther.
Greg Balzer
2/11/2019
I have found this publication to be a great help in getting a better overall understanding of the Bible, its central themes, and how those themes weave throughout the Biblical cannon. I purchased this publication about one year ago, and it is a source that I always consult when I am trying to understand the central theme and broader thought of a particular Biblical book. If you struggle to get a better handle of the entirety of scripture, get this publication today.
