The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible, 3rd Edition

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Edition: 3rd
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2005-08-02
Publisher(s): DK Publishing, Inc.
List Price: $20.95

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Summary

Published in January 1999, The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Bible was a sensation. Providing a readable overview to the entire Bible, it was praised by readers for its wit, ease of use as a reference tool, and accessible presentation of the amazing stories of the Bible. Including both the old and new testaments, this revised edition continues to walk both experienced Bible readers and those seeking it out for the first time through a chronological, story-by-story and person-by-person experience. Complete with maps of journeys and explanations of the acts and epistles, this book is the best beginner's guide on the market today.

Author Biography

James S. Bell, Jr., owner of Whitestone Communications, has served as executive editor of Moody Press and director of religious publishing at Doubleday. He has authored four Complete Idiot-'s Guides including the Complete Idiot-'s Guide to Prayer.
Stan Campbell is author of the eight-book BibleLog series, the New Testament Quick Studies series, and a host of other Bible-related youth products. He is also the co-author of Complete Idiot-'s Guide to the Book of Revelation.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Before You Begin
1(32)
The B-I-B-L-E, Is That a Book for Me?
3(18)
Check Your Bible IQ
5(3)
What's in It for Me?
8(3)
Bible Knowledge Can Make You a More Literate Person
9(1)
Bible Knowledge Can Make You a More Authoritative Person
9(1)
Bible Knowledge Can Make You a More Virtuous Person
10(1)
Bible Knowledge Can Make You a More Spiritual Person
10(1)
How the Bible Came to Be
11(1)
Has Bible Content Changed over the Years?
12(1)
How Did We Get Our Bible from a Bunch of Manuscripts?
12(3)
Choosing the Best Bible from All the Good Books
15(6)
Translation vs. Paraphrase
15(1)
Familiarity vs. Contemporary Feel
16(1)
Basic Bible vs. Study Bible
16(1)
Other Factors
17(1)
Go Shopping!
17(4)
Claims and Disclaimers
21(12)
Seeing the Whole Elephant
21(7)
The Cultural Problem
22(1)
The Religion Problem
23(1)
The Language Problem
24(1)
The Pronoun/Gender Issue
25(1)
The Authority Debate
25(2)
On a Personal Note
27(1)
Why Put Up with All These Problems?
28(1)
The Layout of the Bible
28(2)
A Little of Everything
29(1)
What's with All the Numbers?
29(1)
Stocking Your Bible Toolbox
30(3)
A Dictionary
30(1)
A Bible Dictionary
30(1)
A Bible Atlas
30(1)
Bible Commentaries
31(1)
Concordance
31(1)
Cross-References
31(2)
Part 2: The Old Testament
33(174)
In the Beginning
35(10)
What Was Before the Beginning? (Genesis 1:1)
35(1)
A Good Day's Work (Genesis 1:1---2:3)
36(1)
Adam and Eve in a Brave Nude World (Genesis 2:4--25)
37(1)
Fall Comes to Eden (Genesis 3)
38(2)
Brother Against Brother (Genesis 4:1--16)
40(1)
A Population Explosion (Genesis 4:17--5)
41(1)
Looks Like Rain ... (Genesis 6--7)
42(1)
Rain, Rain, Go Away (Genesis 8:1--9:17)
43(1)
What Do You Do with a Drunken Ex-Sailor? (Genesis 9:18--29)
43(1)
No Comprende: Conversations at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 10--11)
44(1)
Abraham: A Not-So-Accidental Tourist
45(14)
Go West, Old Man (Genesis 11:27--12:9)
46(1)
Take My Wife---I Mean, Sister ... Please! (Genesis 12:10--20)
47(1)
Lots of Trouble from Lot and His Lot (Genesis 13--14)
48(2)
Gone Today, Heir Tomorrow (Genesis 15)
50(1)
Sarah Problem Here? (Genesis 16)
51(1)
The Sign of (Ouch!) Faith (Genesis 17)
52(1)
Let's Make a Deal (Genesis 18)
52(2)
Hot Time in the Cities (Genesis 19:1--29)
54(1)
A Family Affair (Genesis 19:23--29)
55(1)
All I Want Is the Heir That I Breed (Genesis 20--22)
56(3)
Isaac and Jacob: Lessons in Family Dysfunction
59(14)
Isaac's Mail-Order Bride (Genesis 23--25:18)
59(1)
Birthright Gumbo (Genesis 25:19--34)
60(1)
Like Father, Like Son (Genesis 26)
61(2)
The Old Man and Deceit (Genesis 27--28:9)
63(1)
Stairway to Heaven (Genesis 28:10--22)
64(1)
This Is Not My Beautiful Wife! (Genesis 29:1--30)
65(1)
Baby, Baby, Baby, Etc. (Genesis 29:31--30:23)
66(1)
An Early Experiment in Genetic Engineering (Genesis 30:25--43)
67(1)
On the Road Again (Genesis 31)
68(1)
Getting All Out of Joint (Genesis 32)
69(1)
He Saw Esau (Genesis 33, 35--36)
70(3)
Joseph: Not Your Average Joe
73(12)
Dream a Little Dream of Me (Genesis 37:1--11)
74(1)
Ten Angry Men (Genesis 37:12--36)
74(1)
``Mrs. Potiphar, I'm a Joe---Not a John'' (Genesis 39)
75(1)
A Baker, a Cupbearer, and a Hangman (Genesis 40)
76(1)
Dreaming of the Cows `n' the Corn (Genesis 41:1--40)
76(1)
From Ex-Con to CEO (Genesis 41:41--57)
77(1)
I Never Forget a Face---Much Less Ten of Them (Genesis 42)
77(2)
Ben There, Done That (Genesis 43--44)
79(1)
Family Reunion (Genesis 45--47:12)
80(1)
A Fair Deal from Pharaoh? (Genesis 47:13--26)
81(1)
The Last of the Patriarchs (Genesis 47:28--50:26)
82(3)
Moses: God's Reluctant Hero
85(16)
Four Centuries of Decline, from Joe to Moe (Exodus 1)
85(1)
Rollin' on the River (Exodus 2:1--10)
86(1)
Hit and Run (Exodus 2:11--25)
86(1)
Why? Because the Talking Bush Said So! (Exodus 3--4)
87(1)
Bricks Without Straw (Exodus 5--6)
88(1)
The Plague's the Thing (Exodus 7--11)
89(1)
The First Passover (Exodus 11--12:30)
90(1)
An Order of 600,000 Israelite Families---to Go! (Exodus 12:31--13)
91(1)
Stalk Like an Egyptian (Exodus 14--15:21)
91(1)
Manna Come and Me Want to Go Home (Exodus 15:22--17:7)
92(2)
Smoke on the Mountain and Fire in the Sky (Exodus 19--31)
94(1)
God's Top-Ten List (Exodus 20:1--17)
95(1)
Unholy Cow! (Exodus 32--34)
95(1)
The Group Regroups (Exodus 35--40)
96(1)
Jealousy and Leprosy: Two Contagious Diseases (Numbers 10--12)
97(1)
Spy vs. Spy (Numbers 13--14)
98(1)
Generation Next (Numbers 27--35)
99(2)
The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely
101(14)
Next in Command (Joshua 1)
102(1)
Hiding Out in the Red-Light District (Joshua 2)
102(1)
The Miraculous Water Crossing You Hardly Ever Hear About (Joshua 3--5:12)
103(1)
Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho---But First, Some Laps (Joshua 5:13--8)
103(2)
If You Can't Beat Them, Psyche Them Out (Joshua 9)
105(1)
The First Daylight-Savings Time (Joshua 10--12)
105(2)
Movin' In (Joshua 13--24)
107(1)
The Apathy of Defeat (Judges 1--2)
107(1)
Here Come the Judges! (Judges 3--16)
108(5)
Ehud (Judges 3:12--30)
109(1)
Deborah (Judges 4--5)
109(1)
Gideon (Judges 6--8)
109(2)
Samson (Judges 13--16)
111(2)
No Longer Ruthless (Ruth 1--4)
113(2)
That's Saul, Folks!
115(14)
Prayer? So That's Where Babies Come From! (1 Samuel 1--2:11)
116(1)
Problems with the Priest Hoods (1 Samuel 2:12--26)
116(1)
Speak Three Times from the Ceiling If You Want Me (1 Samuel 3)
116(1)
Raiders of the Lord's Ark (1 Samuel 4--7)
117(1)
King Me! (1 Samuel 8--10)
118(1)
Give In to You? My Eye! (1 Samuel 10--12)
119(1)
Who Is This ``Phyllis Stein,'' and Why Are There So Many of Her? (1 Samuel 13--14)
120(1)
The Bleat Goes On (1 Samuel 15)
121(1)
Harping on Saul's Problem (1 Samuel 16--17)
122(1)
Fee-Fi-Foe-Fight, I Want the Blood of an Israelite (1 Samuel 17)
123(1)
Banned, on the Run (1 Samuel 18--23)
124(2)
A Little Longer Live the King! (1 Samuel 24--26)
126(1)
A Short Ghost Story (1 Samuel 27--31)
127(2)
David: Now for Some King Completely Different
129(14)
Here Comes the New Boss, Not Like the Old Boss (2 Samuel 1--4)
130(2)
King at Last! (2 Samuel 5)
132(1)
Disembarking the Ark (2 Samuel 6)
132(2)
Israel: Growing by Leaps and Boundaries (2 Samuel 8--10)
134(1)
My Kingdom for a House (2 Samuel 7)
135(1)
Splish, Splash, I Was Taking a Bath ... (2 Samuel 11)
135(1)
Not Ewe, Too! (2 Samuel 12)
136(2)
Rape, Revenge, and Regrets (2 Samuel 13)
138(1)
The Hair Apparent (2 Samuel 14--16:14)
139(1)
Plants, Plots, and Perverse Pleasures (2 Samuel 16:15--17:29)
140(1)
A Really, Really Bad Hair Day (2 Samuel 18)
141(1)
Back in Business (2 Samuel 19:9--21)
141(2)
The Riches-to-Rags Story of Israel and Judah
143(18)
Solomon's Successful Succession (1 Kings 1)
144(1)
Wisdom? In Your Dreams! (1 Kings 2--4)
145(2)
Temple Temps (1 Kings 5--9)
147(1)
Queen for a Stay (1 Kings 10)
148(1)
The Odds Against Success Are About a Thousand to One (1 Kings 11)
148(1)
Split Decision (1 Kings 12)
149(8)
The Kings of Israel
150(3)
The Kings of Judah
153(4)
Down Come the Ravens, Up Goes the Chariot (1 Kings 17--19; 2 Kings 1--2)
157(1)
He's a Real No-Hair Man (1 Kings 19:19--21; 2 Kings 2--8:15)
158(3)
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
161(14)
The Long Walk Home (Ezra 1--2)
162(3)
Got No Church; Got No Steeple; All We've Got Is a Bunch of People (Ezra 3)
162(1)
A Temple of Doom? (Ezra 4--6)
163(1)
And Then Along Came Ezra (Ezra 7--8)
164(1)
Next on Jeremiah Springer: Idol Worshipers and the Priests Who Marry Them! (Ezra 9--10)
164(1)
Sayonara, Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1--2:10)
165(2)
Stalling the Walling (Nehemiah 2:11--6:14)
166(1)
Wall-to-Wall Carpentry (Nehemiah 6:15--13)
166(1)
If You Knew Susa Like Esther Knew Susa (Esther 1--2:18)
167(2)
The Plot Thickens (Esther 2:19--4)
169(1)
Queen Save the Godly (Esther 5--7)
170(1)
A Good Job Description (Job 1:1--4)
171(2)
Take This Job and Shove Him (Job 1:5--2:10)
171(2)
With Friends Like These ... (Job 3--37)
173(1)
Another Voice Heard (Job 38--41)
173(1)
Another Happy Ending (Job 42)
174(1)
Old Testament Lit. 101
175(14)
Psing Us a Psong, You're the Psalmist
175(5)
Simile When You Say That
176(2)
Be Honest
178(1)
Top of the Charts
178(2)
Solomon Says
180(3)
Now Listen Up!
180(1)
Beautiful Women, Pig Snouts, and Other Words of Wisdom
181(2)
Ecclesiastes: The Book of Meaning---and Meaninglessness
183(3)
The Song of Songs (Parental Warning: Explicit Lyrics)
186(3)
Tell-a-Vision Personalities
189(18)
Isaiah: Hot Lips, Warm Heart
190(2)
Bad News, Good News
190(1)
Rebels, Rebels Everywhere
191(1)
Don't Cry for Me, Jeremiah
192(2)
This Country Is Going to Pot
193(1)
Being a Prophet Is the Pits!
194(1)
How Deserted Lies the City
195(1)
Ezekiel: This Wheel's on Fire
196(3)
A Face Like an Angel?
196(2)
God and Ezekiel Down by the Bone Yard
198(1)
Fiery Stone Tyres
198(1)
Daniel Is Traveling Tonight on the Plain
199(2)
I Don't Like the Look of This Graffiti
201(1)
You Can't Hide Your Lion Eyes
201(2)
Spending Some Time in the Minors
203(4)
Hosea
203(1)
Joel
203(1)
Amos
203(1)
Obadiah
204(1)
Jonah
204(1)
Micah
204(1)
Nahum
205(1)
Habakkuk
205(1)
Zephaniah
205(1)
Haggai
205(1)
Zechariah
206(1)
Malachi
206(1)
Part 3: The New Testament
207(146)
God's Baby Gift
209(18)
Where Are We Going?
209(1)
What Have We Missed?
210(3)
Unplanned Parenthood (Luke 1)
213(1)
If You Don't Mind My Asking
213(1)
``You're What?''
214(1)
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Matthew 2; Luke 2)
214(3)
``We've Been Expecting You''
215(1)
Some Kid!
216(1)
And the Word Became Flesh (John 1:1--18)
217(1)
How John Became ``the Baptist'' (Matthew 3; Luke 3; John 1:29--34)
217(2)
The Devil Couldn't Make Him Do It (Matthew 4:1--11)
219(1)
The Dusty Dozen (Matthew 4:18--22, 9:9; Luke 10:2--4; John 1:35--51)
219(2)
One Reason Why You Can't Go Home Again (Luke 4:14--30)
221(1)
Nic at Night (John 3:1--21)
222(1)
A Chat Around the Water Cooler (John 4:1--42)
223(2)
Can Someone Get This Lady a Robe? (John 8:1--11)
225(2)
We're Going to Need to See Some ID
227(12)
Demons, Diseases, and Disabilities
228(2)
Jesus Heals a Ceiling Fan (Mark 2:1--2)
228(1)
Nothing Up His Sleeve
229(1)
Here's Mud in Your Eye
230(1)
It's Not Hard to Rule Mother Nature
230(3)
Six Huge Bottles of Wine on the Floor (John 2:1--11)
231(1)
The Ones That Didn't Quite Get Away (Luke 5:1--11)
231(1)
When Nature Calls, Call Back (Matthew 8:23--27; 14:22--33)
232(1)
We're Trying to Divide This Food, but It Keeps Multiplying (Matthew 14:13--21)
233(1)
Straight from the Fish's Mouth (Matthew 17:24--27)
233(1)
The Tree that Didn't Give a Fig (Mark 11:12--14, 19--25)
234(1)
I Was Dead for a While, but I'm Much Better Now (Mark 5:21--43)
234(1)
Another Stinking Resurrection (John 11)
235(1)
Some Relationships Require a Miracle
236(1)
A Drop in the Miracle Bucket
237(2)
Did I Hear That Right?
239(16)
Some ``Higher'' Education (Matthew 5--7)
240(3)
The Beatitudes
240(1)
The Spirit of the Law
241(1)
Don't Worry, Be Holy
242(1)
Coming Down with a Code
243(3)
Parables of the Kingdom
244(1)
A Parable for Every Occasion
244(2)
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25--37)
246(1)
The Prodigal Son and Other Lost Things (Luke 15)
247(2)
Hellfire and Damnation
249(2)
Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Heat
250(1)
New Wine and Hard Teachings
251(1)
Jesus' Not-So-Secret Identity
252(2)
The Loved One That Got Away (Mark 10:17--23)
254(1)
Arose by Any Other Name
255(16)
The Big Question
256(1)
Glow (but Don't Tell It) on the Mountain (Luke 9:28--36)
257(1)
An Entrance Fit for a King (Luke 19:28--44)
257(1)
Jesus the Bouncer (Mark 11:15--18)
258(1)
Final Countdown
258(2)
A Meal Worthy of a da Vinci Painting
260(1)
Disciples Squabble, Then They All Fall Down
261(1)
Trial, Trial Again
262(3)
Cross Purposes
265(1)
Friends in High Places
266(1)
Alive Again (Supernaturally)
267(2)
Getting the Story Straight
269(1)
For Pete's (and Thom's) Sake
269(2)
The Church Hits the Road
271(16)
Onward and Upward (Acts 1)
272(1)
On a Wind and a Prayer (Acts 2:1--41)
272(1)
Peter Principal (Acts 2:42--5)
273(1)
The Subordinate Seven (Acts 6--8)
274(2)
Blinded by the Light (Acts 9:1--31)
276(1)
Peter, Peter, Reptile Eater (Acts 9:32--12)
277(1)
Road Trip Number One (Acts 13--15:35)
278(2)
Road Trip Number Two (Acts 15:36--21:36)
280(5)
Derbe/Lystra (Acts 16:1--5)
280(1)
Phrygia/Galatia (Acts 16:6--7)
281(1)
Troas (Acts 16:8--10)
281(1)
Philippi (Acts 16:11--40)
281(1)
Thessalonica (Acts 17:1--9)
282(1)
Berea (Acts 17:10--15)
282(1)
Athens (Acts 17:16--34)
283(1)
Corinth (Acts 18)
283(1)
Ephesus (Acts 19)
283(1)
Troas (Acts 20:1--12)
284(1)
Miletus (Acts 20:13--38)
284(1)
Home to Jerusalem (Acts 21:1--36)
284(1)
Road Trip Number Three (Acts 21:37--28)
285(2)
You've Got Mail!
287(18)
Holy Microcosm!
288(1)
Buon Giorno, Roma (Romans 1--3)
289(4)
Abraham, Adam, and Jesus (Romans 4--5)
291(1)
Paul's True Confessions (Romans 6--7)
292(1)
The Benefit Plan (Romans 8)
293(1)
The Choice of a New Generation (Romans 9--11)
293(2)
Altar Egos (Romans 12--16)
294(1)
1,000 Prostitutes---No Waiting (1 Corinthians 1:1--9)
295(5)
Whom Do You Love? (1 Corinthians 1:10--4)
295(1)
Incest and Outplacement (1 Corinthians 5--6:11)
296(1)
The Wonderful World of Sex (1 Corinthians 6:12--7)
296(1)
Taking the Heat for the Meat that You Eat (1 Corinthians 8)
297(1)
Order in the Church! (1 Corinthians 10--11)
298(1)
The Greatest of These (1 Corinthians 13)
299(1)
Five Intelligible Words (1 Corinthians 14)
300(1)
All Rise (1 Corinthians 15--16)
300(1)
Same Church, Different Problems (2 Corinthians 1--5)
301(1)
Tidings of Contusions and Joy (2 Corinthians 6--9)
301(1)
Paul vs. the Super-Apostles: A Grudge Match (2 Corinthians 10--13)
302(3)
Same as It Ever Was
304(1)
More of the Apostle's Epistles
305(14)
Galatian Salutations
306(1)
An Emphasis on Ephesus
307(3)
Philippians: Don't Worry, Be Joyful
310(1)
Colossians: Who's Number One?
311(1)
1 and 2 Thessalonians: Guess Who's Coming (Back) to See Us?
312(2)
Paul as Mentor (1 and 2 Timothy; Titus)
314(3)
2 Timothy
315(2)
Titus
317(1)
Philemon: A Runaway Slave Makes a Round Trip
317(2)
Still More People Doing the Write Thing
319(16)
Hebrews: Everything Old Is New Again
320(3)
Beyond Compare
320(2)
Faith: The Facts
322(1)
James: Uncommonly Common Sense
323(3)
No Wonder Mom Liked Big Brother Better
323(1)
Bible, Bible on the Wall
324(1)
It's Hard to Lick Your Own Tongue
325(1)
Peter's Priority Mail
326(4)
An Invitation to Join the Priesthood
327(1)
Imitating the Savior's Behavior
328(1)
Just a Second Peter
329(1)
Dear John Letters
330(2)
The Power of Love, the Joy of Truth
331(1)
Jude Says Hey
332(1)
Yours Truly
333(2)
It's the End of the World as We Know It
335(18)
Club Med Meets Century One (Revelation 1)
336(1)
Rate-a-Church (Revelation 2--3)
337(2)
Up, Up, and Away (Revelation 4--5)
339(1)
Scroll with the Punches (Revelation 6--7)
340(1)
The Trumpet Septet You Never Want to Hear (Revelation 8--9)
341(1)
God's Witness Protection Program (Revelation 10--11:14)
342(1)
The Seventh Trumpet (Revelation 11:15--14)
343(3)
Red Dragon at Morning, Woman Take Warning
344(1)
Apocalyptic Math: Counting the Days and Numbering the Beasts
344(2)
Grapes of Wrath
346(1)
Bowled Over (Revelation 15--18)
346(2)
Rider on the Storm (Revelation 19--20)
348(1)
Trying to Make Sense of It All
349(1)
Heaven: New and Improved (Revelation 21--22)
350(2)
The End? Or Just the Beginning?
352(1)
Part 4: Some Disputed Writings
353(26)
Fired from a Canon
355(14)
Pickin' on the Apocrypha
356(2)
Tobit: A Love Story, Complete with Bird Poop and Fish Guts
358(2)
Judith: An Attempted Seduction Gone Really, Really Bad
360(3)
Alexander's Big Fat Greek Empire
363(1)
Hammer Time in Israel
364(3)
A Much Lesser-Known Jesus
367(2)
Familiar Names, Not-So-Familiar Stories
369(10)
If You Liked the Original, Check Out the Sequels
370(1)
Esther: Did I Neglect to Mention ...?
370(1)
Three Encores to Daniel
371(5)
Singing in the Flame, Just Singing in the Flame
371(1)
CSI: Babylon
371(1)
Bel and a Not-So-Magic Dragon
372(1)
A Postscript from Jeremiah
373(1)
Baruch: On a Poem and a Prayer
374(1)
Another Wise Guy
375(1)
As if the Book of Ezra Wasn't Already Greek to Most People!
375(1)
The Apocrypha's Apocalypse
376(1)
More to Explore
377(2)
Part 5: Is That All There Is?
379(34)
An Opportunity of a Lifetime
381(32)
Learning to Read Again
382(1)
The Bible: It's Like This ...
383(4)
The Bible Is Like a Lamp
384(1)
The Bible Is Like a Fire and a Hammer
384(1)
Each Biblical Truth Is Like a Seed
385(1)
The Bible Is Like a Sword
386(1)
The Bible Is Like a Mirror
386(1)
Good Answers Begin with Good Questions
387(3)
Meditation Hesitation?
390(1)
How Do I Know If I'm Doing It Right?
391(2)
Appendixes
A The Books of the Bible
393(4)
B Where Can You Go from Here?
397(4)
C Glossary
401(12)
Index 413

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