This is the most extensive Bible dictionary ever created. It is the first major Bible dictionary to be published in America in 30 years. It includes: 6 volumes of approximately 1,200 pages each; more than 6,000 entries; and, more than 7,000,000 words. It features nearly 1,000 contributors - all the biggest names from around the world. It is multicultural and interdisciplinary in scope. It provides an unprecedented interfaith exploration of the Bible. It is illustrated throughout with easy-to-find references. It includes endpaper maps of the Near Eastern world keyed to text for quick location of archaeological and biblical sites. It is extensively cross-referenced for comprehensive coverage of topics. It offers easy-to-read article and chapter headings for speedy location of material. It provides full bibliographic references following all major entries.Inside you'll find: exciting articles on pseudepigraphic and apocryphal texts, Nag Hammadi tractates, and individual dead Sea Scrolls - including the very latest on the most recently published sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls; "Minor entries" on personal and place-names that go well beyond the one- or two-sentence descriptions found in other Bible dictionaries; outstanding summaries of the latest research on the historical Jesus; fascinating new articles discussing the growing reappraisal of early Christianity's relationship with Judaism (was Christianity an "offspring" or "sibling" of rabbinic Judaism? ); many articles illustrating the literary artistry of the biblical text; intriguing discussions of everyday life in Bible lands - including articles that help us to understand health and disease, the role of animals and plants in the ancient ecosystem, and the demographics of human settlement in ancient Palestine; and, a richness of information unequaled in the history of biblical studies.