Quiz: Is a Bible Dictionary like a Webster's Dictionary? 

  


Because a Bible Dictionary is organized by topic, rather than in verse order, a Bible Dictionary might be thought of as a Reverse Study Bible.  

In a Bible Dictionary, the information in  articles that might appear scattered throughout a Study Bible is collected in one place and the various verse references are contained within the Bible Dictionary article.    

Your reading of the Bible text itself  guided by other Bible passages and the Holy Spirit is the best way to grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord, but always in love first.  

Quiz choices were:

a. Yes, both are boring. 
b. Yes, but a Bible Dictionary lists only the 9,000 words used to write the OT and the 6,000 words used to write the NT.
c. Yes, the ones with lots of pictures look impressive on the coffee table.
d. Yes, and both are unneeded if your spouse knows which animals were taken on the Ark in single pairs and which were taken in seven pairs and can spell well.  That's a good- spelling spouse, not 14 smart oxen.


Bible Dictionaries can help you see the big picture if you cannot make sense of the details.

Answer...All the "Yes" answers are wrong. A Bible Dictionary is NOT a Webster's dictionary of Bible words.  

It's called a dictionary because it has Bible articles arranged in alphabetical order.  A Bible Dictionary is like a one volume encyclopedia with interesting articles on Bible books, doctrine, people, places, and things in the Bible.  It has short paragraph-length and multi-page descriptions of all the Bible topics you might think about while reading the Bible.

And to avoid confusion on choice b., there are about 9,000 different Hebrew words in the OT and about 6,000 different Greek words in the NT. There are about 12,000 different English words in the KJV.  However, if you counted all the times those words are used in actual sentences, you would find  about 600,000 words in the OT and about 180,000 words in the NT depending on the translation.  

And to avoid conflict at home regarding choice d, there is no implication that any spouse gained such knowledge by having been on the Ark.

        

 

 

 

 
Where can you find a book of definitions of the Biblical Hebrew and Greek words?  Hold on Scotty, the ride gets bumpy from here.  There are such books, but they often have "Lexicon" or "Word Studies" in the title rather than "dictionary." 

Word Study books are the 5th type of book your library should contain.

 

 

What's the difference between a Bible Dictionary and a Bible Encyclopedia?