DICTIONARY OF OLD TESTAMENT WORDS FOR ENGLISH READERS
Aaron Pick, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977, 589 pages, $12.95.
Well, Kregel Publications have done it again! They have taken The Bible Student's Concordance, originally published in 1845 by Hamilton Adams and Company (London), and have renamed it as above, and this has given them a winner!
This book was written for the likes of me, the Hebrew ignoramus. We Bible students (if you will excuse me for including myself among such) often want the original meaning of a word as translated in English, knowing that in the original the whole thing could have a different meaning. This book is your lovely answer.
Every word (notice that) of English used in the Old Testament is dealt with and is alphabetically arranged, and under each English word is given the Hebrew word, which is so translated, with its literal English meaning, plus every Bible reference where the English word is used.
This is going to be a very valuable book in my library.
Robert H. Parr
RELIGIOUS CONVERSION AND PERSONAL IDENTITY
V. Bailey Gillespie, Religious Education Press, Birmingham, Alabama, 246 pages, $7.95.
This book discusses the close relationships that exist between religious conversion and personal-identity experiences. The author blends psychological theory, religious experience, and theological reflection into a serious yet engaging treatment of the religious-conversion process, which he believes is an identity-forming experience. In addition to new birth and conversion, the book deals with the implications of conversion for religious education and counseling.
The author is associate professor of theology and Christian personality at Loma Linda University.
Lynn Mallery
THE LUCK OF NINEVEH: ARCHAEOLOGY'S GREAT ADVENTURE
Arnold C. Brackman, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1978, $14.95.
The Luck of Nineveh is the story of the luck of Austen Henry Layard, "the greatest adventurer in archaeology" (p. viii). It is also the story of the recovery of the remains of the Assyrian Empire, an empire that endured longer than any other of history, but was so completely lost that the very location of its great capital city was forgotten, without a scrap of evidence that it had ever existed.
Layard stands head and shoulders above all others in the saga of Mesopotamian archeology. Almost single-handedly he uncovered most of the great palaces of the Assyrian kings, many of them known to us from Scripture. Brackman brings out all the vivid details of the daring young Englishman with dreams of finding lost empires, inspired from childhood with stories of travel and adventure.
This volume is one that even those without a special interest in archeology will enjoy. The author is a member of the faculty of Western Connecticut State College and was previously a United Press foreign correspondent and bureau chief, and a staff writer for the New York Times.
Orley Berg
MARTYRS' MIRROR
Thieleman J. Van Braght, Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, 1977, 1,160 pages, $19.95.
A chronicle of fifteen centuries of Christian torture and martyrdom from the time of Christ to A.D. 1660, Martyrs' Mirror is meant to strengthen Mennonites in the nonresistant faith of their spiritual forebears.
However, this monumental volume (1,160 pages of double column, small type) is sure to quicken the pulse and inspire to greater devotion regardless of one's religious antecedents.
Originally produced in Dutch in 1660, Martyrs' Mirror was first published in English in 1837; the new eleventh edition, complete with line drawings, is an excellent reference work.
Russell Holt
THE YEAR OF THREE POPES
Peter Hebblethwaite, Collins, Cleveland and New York, 1978, 220 pages, $8.95.
The year 1978 was a crucial one for the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI died after fifteen years as a pontiff, leaving a troubled inheritance. Luciani, Pope John Paul I, died after a pontificate of thirty-three days, leaving behind the memory of his smile. The cardinals produced another surprise by electing the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years, Karl Wojtyla, who came from a Communist country.
In his lively, clear, and well-researched style, Hebblethwaite not only tells the story, intrigue, and humor of the papal elections of August and October, 1978, but draws extremely perceptive portraits of the three popes. With the perception of a first-class reporter, and the inside knowledge of a Jesuit-trained priest, he gives us a brilliant account of an amazing year in the history of the Roman papacy. Yet the author goes beyond journalism to reflect theologically on the events he so successfully narrates.
To detail with style, verve, and acumen three months of exceptional significance for the Catholic Church, woven together with a wealth of pertinent ecclesial information in a well-balanced chronicle, commands uncommon respect for Peter Hebblethwaite. I recommend the book highly.
Raoul Dederen
