This is the first one-volume resource to introduce readers to the Bible by providing a complete overview of the world of biblical history and scholarship, plus commentary on the text Indexable 1,824 pp This volume combines a cultural guide to the biblical world and an annotated Bible. Its notes feature the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish scholars. The Editor's Preface xi(4) Preface to the Revised English Bible xv(3) Churches Sponsoring the Revised English Bible xviii(1) The Books of the Bible and the Apocrypha xix(2) Alphabetical Listing of the Books of the Bible and the Apocrypha xxi(2) Abbreviations of the Books of the Bible and the Apocrypha in Alphabetical Order xxiii(2) Other Abbreviations and Notes xxv(2) Measures, Weights, and Values xxvii UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE AND ITS COMMUNITIES General Articles 3(30) Reading the Bible* 3(6) MARY ANN TOLBERT Reading This Bible* 9(3) M. JACK SUGGS Literary Forms of the Bible* 12(21) LEANDER E. KECK GENE M. TUCKER Communities in Context 33(58) Historical Contexts of the Biblical Communities* 33(15) W. LEE HUMPHREYS The Contributions of Archaeology* 48(9) CAROL MEYERS Literature of the Ancient Near East* 57(11) CHOON-LEONG SEOW The Social World of the Old Testament* 68(11) DAVID L. PETERSEN The Social World of the New Testament* 79(12) WAYNE A. MEEKS The Literature of the Biblical Communities 91(50) Communities and Canon* 91(10) JAMES A. SANDERS The Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Jewish Literature* 101(11) CAROL A. NEWSOM Early Christian Literature* 112(10) DENNIS R. MACDONALD Hebrew Scriptures in Early Post-Biblical Judaism, with Special Reference to the Rabbinic Tradition* 122(7) ROBERT GOLDENBERG Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church* 129(12) ELIZABETH A. CLARK The Communities' Experiences of God 141 Deity in the Biblical Communities and among Their Neighbors* 141(13) JOHN H. HAYES Torah and Covenant* 154(10) RICHARD ELLIOTT FRIEDMAN The Phenomenon of Prophecy* 164(8) JAMES L. MAYS The Perspective of Wisdom* 172(9) DIANNE BERGANT The Apocalyptic Vision* 181(9) MARTHA HIMMELFARB Relationship to God: Public and Private Worship* 190 BYRON E. SHAFER THE BIBLICAL TEXT WITH ANNOTATIONS The Old Testament 3(1000) Introduction to the Old Testament 3(4) The Pentateuch 7(4) THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 11(992) The Apocrypha 1003(258) Introduction to the Apocrypha 1003(2) The Place and Significance of the Apocrypha 1005(4) THE BOOKS OF THE APOCRYPHA 1009(252) The New Testament 1261(316) Introduction to the New Testament 1261(2) The Gospels 1263(4) THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 1267(310) Select Index to People, Places, and Themes in the Bible 1577(20) Maps following page 1597 Note: The page numbering distinguishes between the two sections of this volume: the articles section (which provides general scholarly information about the Bible and its times as a background for study) and the biblical books with annotations and introductions. The biblical text is numbered uninterruptedly in ordinary Arabic numerals from Genesis to the Revelation of John, including the Apocrypha. The page numbers of the articles are marked with an asterisk (*). Readers will thus be able to determine immediately where they are in the text.