The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, O-Sh : Volume 5

The most extensive Bible dictionary ever created: - The first major Bible dictionary to be published in America in 30 years - 6 volumes of approximately 1,200 pages each - More than 6,000 entries - More than 7,000,000 words - Nearly 1,000 contributors -all the biggest names from around the world - Multicultural and interdisciplinary in scope - An unprecedented interfaith exploration of the Bible - Illustrated throughout with easy-to-find references - Endpaper maps of the Near Eastern world keyed to text for quick location of archaeological and biblical sites - Extensively cross-referenced for comprehensive coverage of topics - Easy-to-read article and chapter headings for speedy location of material - Full bibliographic references following all major entries Inside you'll find: - Exciting articles on pseudepigraphic and apocryphal texts, Nag Hammadi tractates, and individual dead Sea Scrolls-including the very latest on the most recently published sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls - "Minor entries" on personal and place-names that go well beyond the one- or two-sentence descriptions found in other Bible dictionaries - Outstanding summaries of the latest research on the historical Jesus - Fascinating new articles discussing the growing reappraisal of early Christianity's relationship with Judaism (was Christianity an "offspring" or "sibling" of rabbinic Judaism?) - Many articles illustrating the literary artistry of the biblical text - Intriguing discussions of everyday life in Bible lands-including articles that help us to understand health and disease, the role of animals and plants in the ancient ecosystem, and the demographics of human settlement in ancient Palestine - A richness of information unequaled in the history of biblical studies Edited by David Noel Freedman Editorial Consultants: Hans Dieter Betz-Greco-Roman Religin James H. Charlesworth-Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha Frank More Cross-Old Testament William G. Dever-Archaeology A. Kirk Grayson-Mesopotamia and Assyriology Peter Machinist-Bible and Ancient Near East Abraham J. Malherbe-New Testament Birger A. Pearson-Early Christianity Jack M. Sassoon-Bible and Ancient Near East William R. Schoedel-Early Christian Literature