The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook offers the most up-to-date evangelical biblical scholarship in a format that is colorful, informative, and easy to understand.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Contributors
• Meet the Primary Authors and Editors
• Part I: God's Story (and Your Story)
• The Grand Story of the Bible
• How Is the Bible Organized?
• The Beginning and the End
• The Old Testament
• The Pentateuch
• What Is the Pentateuch About?
• Genesis: Creation, Sin, and Covenant
• Exodus: Deliverance and the Presence of God
• Leviticus: Be Holy for I Am Holy
• Numbers: Taking the Long Way to the Promised Land
• Deuteronomy: The Contract between God and Israel
• The Historical Books
• Introduction to the Historical Books
• Joshua: Conquering the Promised Land
• Judges: An Israelite Disaster: They Become like the Canaanites
• Ruth: God at Work behind the Scenes
• 1-2 Samuel: The Rise and Fall of David
• 1-2 Kings: The Rise and Fall (Mostly Fall) of Israel
• 1-2 Chronicles: Focusing on the Davidic Promise and Worship in the Temple
• Ezra: Rebuilding the Temple and the People of God
• Nehemiah: Rebuilding the Walls and the People of Jerusalem
• Esther: God Uses a Beautiful Young Woman to Save Israel
• The Wisdom Books and Psalms
• What Are the Wisdom Books About?
• Where Does the Book of Psalms Fit In?
• Job: When Life Just Isn't Fair
• Psalms: Worshiping God
• Proverbs: For Attaining Wisdom and Discipline
• Ecclesiastes: What Is the Meaning of Life?
• Song of Songs: Wild and Crazy Love Songs
• The Prophets
• The Context for Understanding the Prophets
• The Prophets in a Nutshell
• Isaiah: Judgment for Breaking the Covenant, but Salvation through God's Coming Servant
• Jeremiah: Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance through the New Covenant
• Lamentations: Mourning the Destruction of Jerusalem
• Ezekiel: Sin and Salvation: Losing and Gaining the Presence of God
• Daniel: God's Kingdom Will Not Be Destroyed, and His Dominion Will Never End
• Hosea: God's Enduring Love of His People
• Joel: Locust Plagues and the Spirit of the Lord
• Amos: The Severe Consequences of Injustice
• Obadiah: The End of Edom
• Jonah: Concern for the Salvation of the Gentiles
• Micah: Justice, Judgment, and Hope for the Future
• Nahum: The End of Nineveh
• Habakkuk: Talking with God about Judgment
• Zephaniah: The Day of the Lord Is Near
• Haggai: Rebuilding the Temple
• Zechariah: Looking to the Future
• Malachi: Connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament
• The History of Palestine between the Old and New Testaments
• The New Testament
• The Setting for the New Testament
• An Overview of the Life of Christ
• What Is a Gospel? And Why Are There Four Gospels?
• The Synoptic Problem
• Gospels
• The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, Brings Salvation to the Whole World
• The Gospel of Mark: Following Jesus, the Suffering Son of God
• The Gospel of Luke: Jesus, the Savior for All People
• The Gospel of John: Believing in Jesus, the Son Sent from the Father
• The Book of Acts and Letters of Paul
• The Book of Acts and Letters of Paul
• 1 Corinthians: Dealing with Church Issues
• The General Letters
• Hebrews: God Has Spoken to Us in His Son Jesus
• James: True Faith Works
• 1 Peter: Stand Firm in the Face of Suffering, 2 Peter: Grow in the Knowledge of Christ & Jude: Contend for the Faith
• 1 John: True Christian Belief and Behavior; 2 John: Walk in Love and Truth; 3 John: Imitate What Is Good
• Apocalyptic Literature
• Revelation: The Transforming Vision
• Part II: How the Bible Came to Be
• The Inspiration of the Bible
• The Production and Shaping of the Old Testament Canon
• Writing, Copying, and Transmitting the New Testament Text
• The Canon of the New Testament
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• The Septuagint
• Bible Translations and the English Bible
• Translations for the World
• Part III: Digging Deeper into the Bible
• How to Read, Interpret, and Apply the Bible
• The Unity and Diversity of the Bible
• The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament
• How to Interpret and Apply the Old Testament Law
• How to Interpret Parables
• How to Interpret and Enjoy Figures of Speech in the Bible
• Literary Features in the Bible
• Archaeology and the Bible
• Are There Hidden Codes in the Bible?
• Responding to Contemporary Challenges to the Gospels
• About the Photos, Illustrations, Maps, and Artwork
• Abbreviations