 Making books  The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 1, Posted January 24, 2001
Arland J. Hultgren’s The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000, 522 pp., $35) first considers the nature of parables and their interpretation. There we learn that, depending on who is counting and the definition used, between 30 and 70 parables of Jesus are recorded in the Gospels. Hultgren then offers learned and lucid commentary on 38 parables from the Synoptic gospels, beginning with helpful notes on the text and his translation of each parable. Extended interpretative comments follow, explaining the Biblical and historical context of each parable. A brief exposition and select bibliography conclude each study. All who delight in fresh yet faithful insights into the Word of God will find this work a welcome and trustworthy guide. With nearly 5,000 entries, Eerdmans’ Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000, 1425 pp., $45), edited by David Noel Freedman, is designed to “identify all persons and places named in the Bible, as well as cultural, natural, geographical and literary phenomena.” Recent archeological discoveries are incorporated, as are contemporary literary, historical and sociological insights. Each book of the Bible gets its own entry, as do important issues in Biblical theology. One finds both the expected, “cubit,” and the unexpected, “cucumber,” in this comprehensive work, which quickly will prove a valued resource for Bible students at all levels. Sometimes it is difficult to find a title that equally is descriptive of a book’s content and suitable for marketing. Such is the case with Dictionary of New Testament Background (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000, 1228 pp. $39.99) edited by Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter. As Porter notes, “The word ‘background’ can be taken to mean of less importance or in some ways marginal. We don’t mean that in any sense.” Instead, this impressive collection of more than 300 scholarly articles is designed “to clarify the world of thought and experience in the light of which the New Testament should be read and the early Christian church understood.” The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000, 832 pp., $29.99), edited by John H. Walton, et al, takes a different approach. Rather than focusing on general articles, it moves sequentially through the Old Testament, giving overviews of the major literary genres, then providing background on specific details in selected texts, such as the significance of “the time when kings go off to war” in the story of David and Bathsheba. The entries are brief and the language is non-technical, making this reference well-suited to its intended lay audience. These resources help us meet Paul’s challenge to Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15). Robert P. Mills |
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