Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary is an up-to-date sourcebook of biblical information that is accurate, thorough, dependable, and easy to understand. More than 7,000 entries on the people, places, things, and doctrines of the Bible appear in the book, making it one of the most comprehensive one-volume Bible dictionaries ever published.

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary consists of the most current, dependable findings and insights to enrich one's study and teaching of the Bible. Some of the world's leading evangelical scholars produced articles for the original edition- Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary edited by Herbert Lockyer, Sr., and published in 1986. Drawing upon the groundbreaking work of Dr. Lockyear, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison, and others on that project, Ronald F. Youngblood undertook the general editorship of this comprehensive revision. Every entry in the dictionary was reviewed, revised, corrected, replaced, rewritten, and updated as needed to provide the most comprehensive, current, and dependable Bible dictionary available.

In addition to the complete revision and update, special new features include: the largest typeface of any Bible dictionary on the market for easier reading; The Visual Survey of the Bible; a how-to-use guide for effective Bible study; a new full-color page design throughout to enhance user friendliness; full-color three-dimensional maps that bring Bible events and locations to life; Nelson's color Fan-Tab indexing to help find entries more quickly; and a fully updated cross-reference system.

Readers of Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary will also appreciate many of the features from the original edition, including: over 500 full-color photographs throughout; the easy-to-use study and teaching outlines of books of the Bible; tables, charts, and diagrams that further illustrate Bible teachings and life in Bible times; and indexed maps to biblical places.

Users will benefit from the book's extensive cross-reference system, which makes it easy to use with most of the popular English translations of the Bible available today. The key words in each article in the book are based on the New King James Version of the Bible (NKJV), but variant names from five additional translations-KJV, NASB, REB, NIV, and NRSV-are fully cross-referenced to this list.

Throughout the book, readers are also referred to related articles in the dictionary for further information. The article on the "Levites," for example, contains a reference to priests (appears in large and small capital letters: "Priests"). This format refers the reader to the article on priests in the Dictionary that contributes to a better understanding of the Levites.

Finally, a selection of full-color maps for major periods of biblical history appear at the end of the book. A handy index preceding these maps helps the reader locate sites of specific cities, rivers, mountains, and nations in biblical times. Articles within the Dictionary referencing selected sites also refer the reader to the actual grid coordinates for these respective places on the maps.

Written in plain language, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary enables Bible readers and teachers to do authoritative research, making their own Bible study and teaching more rewarding. The publisher sends forth this new edition trusting that it will provide a gateway of understanding to the full riches of the Word of God.

The Publisher