The Bible For Dummies
The Bible For Dummies (9781119293507) was previously published as The Bible For Dummies (9780764552960). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product. Discover the world's all-time bestseller in an entirely new lightNinety percent of Americans own a copy of the Bible, and while it's the most widely read book, it's also the least understood. Regardless of your religion, understanding the Bible brings much of Western art, literature, and public discourse into greater focus-from Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" painting to the Wachowski brothers' The Matrix movies. People have historically turned to religion to deal with tragedy and change, and with the right insight, the Bible can be an accessible, helpful guide to life's big questions. The Bible For Dummies appeals to people of all faiths, as well as those who don't practice any particular religion, by providing interfaith coverage of the entire Bible and the often fascinating background information that makes the Bible come alive. You'll find answers to such questions as: -Where did the Bible come from' -Who wrote the Bible' -How is the Bible put together' Follow the history of the Bible from its beginning thousands of years ago as tattered scrolls to its status as the bestseller of all time. The Bible For Dummies covers these topics and more: -Ten people in the Bible you should know -The Hebrew Bible -The Apocrypha's hidden treasures -What's new about the New Testament -Israel's wisdom, literature, and love poetry -The Bible's enduring influence -The prophets: more than fortunetellers Whether you're interested in broadening your spiritual horizons, uncovering the symbolism of Western culture, or gaining a deeper understanding of the book you grew up reading, The Bible For Dummies has all the information you need to navigate this ancient and fascinating book
1 online resource (483 pages)
9781119297406, 1119297400
951594145
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
How to Use This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
How This Book Is Organized
Part 1: What the Bible Is All About
Part 2: Exploring the Hebrew Bible
The Old Testament
Part 3: Revealing the Bible's Hidden Treasures in the Apocrypha
Part 4: Discovering What's New About the New Testament
Part 5: That Was Then, This Is Now: Discovering the Bible's Enduring Influence
Part 6: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 What the Bible Is All About
Chapter 1 From Moses to Modernity: Introducing the Good Book
Tracing the Bible from Old Scrolls to the Bestseller of All Time
What is the Bible?
Where did the Bible come from?
How did we get the Bible?
Discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls
Fathoming the Importance of the Bible
Finding a Translation You Like
Literary versus literal translations
Contemporary versus paraphrase
Commentary versus unembellished
Gender-specific versus gender-neutral
The final step: "Playing the field" of Bible translations
Chapter 2 Lights, Camera, Action! Previewing the Bible's Stage and Storyline
Getting a Glimpse of the Biblical Stage
Seeing a Preview of the Biblical Drama
Experiencing the saga of the Hebrew Bible
Appreciating the action of the Apocrypha
Watching the drama of the New Testament
Part 2 Exploring the Hebrew Bible
The Old Testament
Chapter 3 Creation, Paradise Lost, and Other Mysteries of Life (Genesis 1-3)
Beginning "In the Beginning"
What Are We Doing Here? Creation and the Meaning of Life (Genesis 1:1-2:3)
Understanding the six days of Creation
Discovering the meaning of life
Enjoying the first weekend
Living in Paradise (Genesis 2:4-25)
Taking a second look at Creation. Creating Adam and Eve
Witnessing the first wedding
Enjoying life in the Garden of Eden
Understanding the two trees
He Made Me Do It! The "Fall" and Its Fallout (Genesis 3)
Falling for a tempting proposition
Watching Adam and Eve's fateful choice
Suffering the grave consequences of sin
Losing the keys to Paradise
Chapter 4 The Fallout from "The Fall" (Genesis 4-11)
The First Sibling Rivalry: Cain and Abel (Genesis 4)
Offering the first sacrifices
Solving the first murder mystery
Tracing Your Family Tree: The First (of Many) Biblical Genealogies (Genesis 5)
Deluge-ional Ideas: Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6-9)
The first "survivors"
A three-hour tour ... not!
Sign of things to come: Ham's curse
Say What?! The Tower of Babel and the Birth of Nations (Genesis 10-11)
Building the Tower of Babel
Making a name for yourself
Chapter 5 The Babylonian Hillbillies: The Adventures of Abraham and His Family (Genesis 12-25:18)
Striking It Rich: God Calls Abraham
Abraham's Most Excellent Adventure to Canaan and Egypt (Genesis 12)
Abraham and Lot (Genesis 13-14)
Cutting a Deal: The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15-17)
When you wish upon a star: Abraham's numerous descendants
Taking matters into your own hands: Hagar and Ishmael
Cutting another deal: The Abrahamic Covenant of Circumcision
Abraham's Three Mysterious Visitors (Genesis 18)
Entertaining angels unawares
Bargaining with God
Fire and Brimstone: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)
Abraham: Father of Many Nations ... and Faiths (Genesis 21)
Asking the Unthinkable: The Near Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22)
The journey
Saved in the knick of time
One Wedding and Two Funerals (Genesis 23-25:18)
Sarah's death
Isaac gets hitched
Abraham's death. Chapter 6 The Birth of a Nation: Isaac, Jacob, and Their Many Children (Genesis 25:19-50)
The Birth of Nations: Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:19-26)
Stew of Trouble: Esau Sells His Birthright (Genesis 25:27-34)
Isaac and Rebekah's "Wife-Sister Act" (Genesis 26)
Jacob Steals Esau's Blessing (Genesis 27-28:9)
Heading Out of Dodge: Jacob Flees for His Life (Genesis 28:10-22)
Climbing Jacob's ladder to success
Jacob's bargain with God
Love at First Sight: Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29:1-30)
Sibling Rivalry: The Birth of Jacob's Children (Genesis 29:31-30:24)
Jacob Strikes It Rich and Steals Away (Genesis 30:25-31:55)
Jacob on the lam ... again
May God watch between us: Jacob's and Laban's peace treaty
Settling an Old Score: Jacob Meets Esau ... and God (Genesis 32-33:17)
Wrestling with God: Jacob's name change
Letting bygones be bygones
Jacob Finds God and Loses His Father and Wife (Genesis 33:18-20
35)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Tunic (Genesis 37)
A Righteous Ruse: Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38)
Rising to the Top: Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 39-41)
Jailhouse blues: Joseph goes to jail
Get out of jail free! Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams
Spies Like Us: Joseph's Brothers Come to Egypt (Genesis 42-45)
Joseph's dreams come true
Getting permission to leave: Jacob says farewell to Canaan
Once and Again: Jacob and Joseph Reunite (Genesis 46-49)
Jacob blesses his grandsons
Jacob blesses his sons
So Long, Farewell: Jacob and Joseph Die (Genesis 50)
Chapter 7 Holy Moses! Exploring Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
A Mosaic of Moses' Early Life
The birth of Moses (Exodus 1-2:9)
Moses' lost youth (Exodus 2:10)
Moses, the murderer, marries in Midian (Exodus 2:11-22)
We're Outta Here! The Exodus from Egypt
The burning bush (Exodus 3-6). The plagues that freed a nation (Exodus 7-10)
Participating in the first Passover (Exodus 11-13)
Crossing the Re(e)d Sea (Exodus 14-15)
Are we there yet? The Israelites' constant complaining (Exodus 16-17)
Receiving the Ten Commandments and Israel's other laws (Exodus 20)
Meanwhile, back at camp: Aaron and the golden "calf" (Exodus 32)
God's mobile home: The Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-31:11
35:30-40:38)
Laws for Holy Living: The Book of Leviticus
Understanding sacrifice in ancient Israel (Leviticus 1-9)
Is that kosher? The biblical diet (Leviticus 11)
A guide to Israel's holy days
Law and order: Israel's legal system
40-Year Nomads: The Book of Numbers
Israel's continued rebellions (Numbers 12-14, 21, and 25)
Moses' indiscretion: The Promised Land denied (Numbers 20:2-13)
Moses' Farewell Address: The Book of Deuteronomy
Could you repeat that? Deuteronomy's "second" law (Deuteronomy 1-33)
The end of an era: The death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)
Chapter 8 An Experiment in Theocracy: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth
Exploring the Book of Joshua
Preparing to enter the land (Joshua 1)
Two spies and a prostitute (Joshua 2)
Crossing o'er Jordan and preparing for battle (Joshua 3-5)
And the walls came a tumblin' down: The defeat of Jericho (Joshua 6)
A temporary setback: Stealing from God (Joshua 7-8)
The Gibeonites' trick and the total conquest (Joshua 9-12)
New homes and renewed covenants (Joshua 13-22)
Joshua's covenant renewal and farewell (Joshua 23-24)
Understanding the Book of Judges
Judge not, lest you be judged: Being a judge in the ancient world
The Judges hall-of-fame (Judges 1-16)
Where's the exit? The downward spiral of a nation (Judges 17-21)
Gleaning Wisdom from the Book of Ruth
How sweet it was to be loved by you (Ruth 1). Picking up the pieces and choosing the right stock (Ruth 2-3)
With this sandal I thee wed (Ruth 4)
Chapter 9 The King and "I Am": 1 and 2 Samuel
Introducing Israel's Last Judge: Samuel
Samuel's birth (1 Samuel 1)
Samuel's call (1 Samuel 2-3)
Beraters of the Lost Ark
Battling with the Ark (1 Samuel 4)
Traveling with the Ark (1 Samuel 5-6)
Saul, Israel's First King
Ask and ye shall receive (1 Samuel 8)
Saul's coronation (1 Samuel 9-12)
Saul's censure (1 Samuel 13-15)
Charting David's Rise to Power
You play a mean harp, David (1 Samuel 16)
Slaying Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
Foreskins and fathers-in-law (1 Samuel 18-24)
The adventures of David and his merry men (1 Samuel 25-30)
How the Mighty Have Fallen: The Deaths of Samuel, Saul, and Jonathan
Building a Dynasty
David secures his throne (2 Samuel 1-4)
David's political savvy (2 Samuel 5-10)
David's Fall from Power
David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12)
Fighting for David's throne (2 Samuel 13-21)
David's latter days (2 Samuel 22-24)
Chapter 10 A Tale of Two Kingdoms: 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles
The "Golden Age" of Solomon
Solomon's succession (1 Kings 1)
Solomon's wisdom (1 Kings 2)
Solomon's building projects: the Temple and other treasures (1 Kings 5-7)
Solomon's last days (1 Kings 9-11)
Witnessing the Division of Israel
Snips and flails and scorpion's tails: Rehoboam divides a nation (1 Kings 12)
Idol time: Jeroboam and the golden calves (1 Kings 13-14)
Cut to Judah: Shishak's campaign (1 Kings 14:25-28
2 Chronicles 12)
Israel's Kingdom from Jeroboam to Ahab
Ahoy there, King Ahab! (1 Kings 16-22)
Elijah and Elisha's excellent adventures
Israel's Kingdom From Ahaziah to Jehu
Jehu's political coup and religious reform (2 Kings 9-10)