Merrill F. Unger - The New Unger’s Bible Handbook

BIBLE
HANDBOOK

Revised and Updated edition: 1966, 1984, 1998, 2005 The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Except where noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations in this book are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, 1973, 1978 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Unger, Merrill Frederick,

The new Ungers Bible handbook.

Rev. ed. of: Ungers Bible handbook. [1st ed.]. 1966

Includes index

1. BiblesHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Larson, Gary N. II. Unger, Merrill Frederick, Bible handbook. III. Title.

BS417.U5 1984 220.7 84-1032

ISBN 0-8024

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Picture Acknowledgments
Photographs

Bible Scene: p. 561

Karen Demuth: pp. 70, 72

Tim Dowley: pp. 12, 13, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 57 bottom, 60, 81, 91/2, 92, 99, 117, 125, 136, 146, 147, 149, 155, 158, 159, 164, 166, 170, 172, 173, 176, 181, 188, 205, 221, 222, 228, 229, 230, 233, 235, 240, 243, 245, 248, 257, 261, 262, 265, 267, 269, 275, 284, 291, 296, 297, 298, 307, 320, 321, 327, 333, 335, 336, 339, 344, 348, 355, 356, 358, 368, 371, 374, 380, 381, 387, 389, 390, 392, 401, 402, 405 bottom, 407, 408, 411, 412, 413, 414, 427 bottom, 429, 431, 433, 439, 444, 447, 451, 454, 459 bottom, 464, 468, 473, 479, 482, 484, 485, 488, 492, 493, 498, 505, 513, 525, 529, 538, 544, 545, 546, 551, 563, 575, 585, 593, 599, 609, 615, 621, 629, 637, 643, 653, 655, 659, 673, 679, 685, 687, 693, 714, 716, 721

Hanan Isaachar: pp. 105, 107

Zev Radovan: p. 109

Jamie Simson: pp. 23, 36, 40, 47, 62, 215, 263, 305, 503, 517, 565, 567, 573

Peter Wyart: pp. 1, 27, 57 top, 63, 71, 73, 103, 111, 114, 128, 132, 144, 150, 162, 169, 185, 186, 191, 199, 200, 202, 204, 224, 227, 239, 241, 249, 250, 256, 277, 279, 281, 294, 299, 322, 324, 325, 327, 337, 342, 346, 353, 359, 373, 386, 391, 393, 395, 399, 405 top, 406, 415, 418, 423, 427 top, 428, 435, 443, 445, 446, 448, 452, 459 top, 463, 471, 480, 486, 490, 491, 500, 502, 504, 515, 516, 518, 521, 527, 531, 549, 571, 576, 579, 581, 611, 624, 525, 633, 651, 657, 669, 671, 675, 710

Illustrations

Frank Baber: pp. 93, 121

Brian Bartles: pp. 206/7, 416/17, 474/75

Peter Dennis: pp. 10, 14, 39, 369, 589, 691, 697, 698, 700, 717

Jeremy Gower: pp. 74/5, 456/57, 497

Alan Harris: p. 76

Mike Lacey: pp. 430/31

James Macdonald: pp. 55, 184, 208, 315, 332, 340, 353, 365, 366, 473

Alan Parry: pp. 285, 583, 617

Richard Scott: pp. 78, 100, 220, 244, 251, 301, 501, 578, 596, 619, 664, 695

Charts

Peter Wyart

Maps

Hardlines

As a lover of the sacred Scriptures from childhood, I have always realized what a tremendous treasure the Word of God is and what an indescribable blessing to all who study and receive its great soul-transforming truths into heart and life. Thus, a keen desire has been aroused to stimulate others to read Gods Word and to share in the vast benefits of Bible study.

To accomplish this purpose, for years I have had in mind a simple and concise Bible handbook that could appeal to all classes of people the layman as well as the clergyman, the young convert as well as the seasoned saint, the non-Christian as well as the Christian believer.

The plan called for full array of the latest scientific information about the Bible, such as geography, chronology, history, archaeology and biblical criticism. Although this information is an important aspect of this book, and extremely essential in a day of vast strides in technical studies, yet this is not the principal feature. The chief emphasis is the message of the Bible itself. To achieve this feature a complete commentary on the entire sixty-six books is presented. Each verse is related to its chapter, each chapter to the book, each book to the entire Bible. Careful interpretation is striven for from the original Hebrew and Greek and related to the overall message and purpose of divine revelation.

An attempt is made to face difficulties. The aim is to place in the hands of the Bible student a ready reference tool in which he may at a glance relate chapter and verse to the immediate as well as the overall context in which they occur, and thus obtain light on the accurate interpretation of any passage that may be desired.

Acknowledgment is made to innumerable sources from which I have drawn commentaries, learned journals, histories, Bible geographies, dictionaries, handbooks, travel in Bible lands, and personal study. But above all I have striven to be guided by the Holy Spirit in expounding the writtenWord and in exalting Christ the livingWord.

It is my prayer that Ungers Bible Handbook will kindle love in the hearts of many for the precious oracles of God, revealing that they are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb (Ps 19:10).

Merrill F. Unger

The grass withers, the flowers fall, But the word of our God stands forever.

Isa. 40:8

The truth of Gods unchangeable Word becomes increasingly evident when attempts are made to revise the work of previous generations of devout Christian scholars. While theological opinions change, while archaeology and other sciences shed new light on the meaning and veracity of Scripture and human reasoning grasps at complex interpretive questions, the matchless truth of Gods Word does indeed stand. This revision has as its goal to spotlight the eternal truth of Gods revelation while endeavoring to update and make more accessible the cultural, historical, and theological insights that illuminate the text.

The task of revision is always a difficult one. That is particularly true when one attempts to revise or edit the work of someone who is as well-known and literate as the late Dr. Unger. This revision humbly attempts to do four things. First, recent discoveries in archaeology and advances in historical research that improve our understanding of the biblical text are noted, particularly in the Old Testament where great advances have been made. Second, the revision includes and critiques a broader range of interpretive positions on difficult texts. Sincere effort has been made to retain the theological distinctives of the book, while representing the broad scope of conservative evangelical scholarship. In most cases, the positions forwarded are those of Dr. Unger, without allowing the biases of the reviser to be interposed. Third, the revision adopts the