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IVP Dictionaries vs Yale Anchor Bible Dictionary


Gedalya

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Can someone point out the differences and similarities? Overlap? Why would one purchase the IVP dictionaries if he/she already has the Yale Anchor Dictionary?

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Two differences I can think of off the top of my head--others may point out more.

 

(1) Anchor is a bit left-leaning, theologically; IVP is more to the right. If you enjoy hearing different viewpoints on a subject, reading both will give you good perspective regarding the range of thought on a subject.

(2) While Anchor covers the entire Bible allowing each article to go into specifics of how the Bible speaks of a subject, the IVP series narrows the focus of each volume. So an article on "Messiah" in one volume will be different from the same topic covered in a different volume.

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Once upon a time, I recommended the SBL 3 volume series, Eary Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters, The Hebrew Bible and Its Modern Interpreters, and The New Testament and Its Modern Interpreters, to those wanting state-of-the-art scholarship. They were the fastest way to get up to speed on current research in any field of biblical studies, as they covered the period from 1950 (or so) through the individual volume's publication date (mid 1980s). These volumes are getting a bit long in the tooth, though (but still invaluable for that period). The IVP Bible Dictionaries have largely replaced those SBL volumes; I am not aware of anything else that is as up to date. They are best used for focused research on an individual passage, as the dictionaries and their articles are separated into individual genres.

 

Anchor is the scholarly standard for multi-volume Bible dictionaries. It is essential for research into modern critical scholarship, so much so that any paper submitted at a university is likely to be rejected (or seriously downgraded) unless the author has consulted Anchor. It does, as Rick M mentioned, lean to the left. It is best for general research into a specific topic in biblical studies, as the articles are written from a very broad perspective. Each is likely to include all the current theories/perspectives on each topic.

 

Whichever one you decide to purchase, remember that the bibliographies at the end of the articles contain some of the most valuable material: suggestions for further research into the topic.

Edited by Timothy Jenney
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