BIBLE CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON* November 5, 2006 For CSDirectory.com

Compiled by Lt Gen C. Norman Wood, USAF (Ret), Burke, VA 22015 703-898-8818, [email protected]

SUBJECT: Adam and Fallen Man

GOLDEN TEXT: The Word of the Lord Is True (Ps 119: 159 quicken, 160)

"After a thorough examination of the testimonies, commandments, precepts, statutes, etc., of God's Word, the psalmist can come but to one sure conclusion: Thy word is true." (King James Commentary) "There is not a speck of untruth in Scripture." (MacArthur Commentary)

Gilmore, Dr. Albert F. (CSB; Editor; President; CSPS Trustee; and Lecturer), "'Thy word is truth,'" EDITORIAL, Christian Science Sentinel (21 September 1921), p. 50.

--The mandate or Word of Truth, which is infinite and possessed of all the deific attributes, must be true. • Since God is conscious only of reality, of spiritual, perfect ideas, true and eternal, all that exists likewise partakes of the nature of Truth, is the expression of the divine. ---The Master, under varied circumstances, proved how potent is this fact. • That Truth has lost none of its potency as the agency which regenerates human consciousness and heals mankind, Christian Science is proving hour by hour. ---Christian Scientists do not forget that the possibilities of gaining command of this divine agency are unlimited.

Lewis, Harold C., "'How excellent is thy lovingkindness,'" Christian Science Sentinel (7 December 1940), p. 264.

--"Lovingkindness" is one of the most beautiful terms in the Bible. • Christian Science teaches that men must learn to understand God's loving-kindness, to have more faith in it, and to depend on it for guidance, in order to overcome the evil which confronts them today. --Christian Science reveals the fact that the manifold forms of evil—sin, disease, and death—which seem to harass mankind, do not proceed from God, the only cause and creator. --Truly, God's loving-kindness excels all other means in the healing and redeeming of mankind. 11.5.06

• Moreover, God's loving-kindness can never pass away, but must remain throughout all time, gathering all under the shadow of His wings.

SECTION II: God Creates "a woman" in the Garden of Eden as an "help meet" (Gen 2: 8,18,21,22)

"Eden (2:8—the word means 'delight') as the garden of God occurs again in Ezek 28:13; 31:9;Joel 2:3, and Eden by itself in a few passages in Ezekiel and in Isaiah (5:3), always as a place of ideal fertility and beauty." (Oxford Commentary) “The Babylonians called the lush green land from which water flowed edenu; today, the term oasis describes such a place.” (MacArthur Commentary)

"Having created man's physical world and established the limits of his destiny, God decrees an end to man's solitude and thus provides opportunity for the widest range of human fulfillment." (Interpreter's One-volume Commentary) “The most intimate human relationship is established, with all its potential for good and ill.” (Peake’s Commentary)

Adam [d’m] (“ruddy,” “earth,” or “one made or produced”)

“ADAM. Error; a falsity; the belief in ‘original sin,’ sickness, and death; evil; the opposite of good, — of God and His creation; a curse; a belief in intelligent matter, finiteness, and mortality; "dust to dust;" red sandstone; nothingness; the first god of mythology; not God's man, who represents the one God and is His own image and likeness; the opposite of Spirit and His creations; that which is not the image and likeness of good, but a material belief, opposed to the one Mind, or Spirit; a so-called finite mind, producing other minds, thus making ‘gods many and lords many’ (I Corinthians viii. 5); a product of nothing as the mimicry of something; an unreality as opposed to the great reality of spiritual existence and creation; a so-called man, whose origin, substance, and mind are found to be the antipode of God, or Spirit; an inverted image of Spirit; the image and likeness of what God has not created, namely, matter, sin, sickness, and death; the opposer of Truth, termed error; Life's counterfeit, which ultimates in death; the opposite of Love, called hate; the usurper of Spirit's creation, called self-creative matter; immortality's opposite, mortality; that of which wisdom saith, ‘Thou shalt surely die.’ The name Adam represents the false supposition that Life is not eternal, but has beginning and end; that the infinite enters the finite, that intelligence passes into non- intelligence, and that Soul dwells in material sense; that immortal Mind results in matter, and matter in mortal mind; that the one God and creator entered what He created, and then disappeared in the atheism of matter.” (S&H 579: 15-27 next page)

Adam = Eve Cain Enoch Abel Seth

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Enosh (other sons?) (other daughters?)

"Adam (possibly meaning 'ruddy' or 'earth') is the common noun in Hebrew for 'human(-kind)'; only in Genesis 1-5 (when used without the article) and I Chronicles 1:1 is it the proper name for the first man." (Oxford Guide to People & Places) Adam is “a proper noun rarely appearing outside of Genesis 1-5.” (HarperCollins Dictionary)

“In the second chapter of Genesis there is a different account of the Creation, more vivid and detailed.” (Who’s Who in the Bible) Adam was the name of the first mortal man, and of mankind collectively; he was placed in the Garden of Eden [Iraq]. The second chapter of Genesis says that he was created of the dust of the earth. The man Adam was placed in a garden, which the Lord God had planted “eastward in Eden,” for the purpose of dressing it and keeping it. “Yahweh forms Eve from the rib of the sleeping man. They live together unconscious of their nakedness until the woman is tempted by the serpent into eating from the tree.” (Interpreter’s Dictionary)

They were permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden but one, which was called “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” because it was the test of their obedience. By it they would believe in both good and evil. “Judaism does not see in the Genesis story the ‘Fall of man.’” (Complete Bible Handbook)

“The Tree of Life, or the Cosmic Tree, is a symbol common in many ancient religions” (Ibid). By the subtlety of the serpent the woman who was given to be with Adam was beguiled into a violation of the one command which had been imposed upon them. She took of the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to her husband. The propriety of its name was immediately shown in the results which followed: self-consciousness was the first result of sin; their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Lest they eat also of the tree of life, as the story goes, and become immortal, Adam and Eve were driven forth from Eden and their return was barred by cherubim and a flaming sword. “Without ever using the words ‘sin,’ ‘fall,’ ‘disobedience,’ ‘freedom,’ or ‘punishment,’ this fascinating narrative sketched the boundaries of human existence.” (Mysteries of the Bible)

The Bible states that the Garden was “in Eden in the east” and the river that flowed from it parted into four: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. This would place Eden somewhere in Mesopotamia—the ancient Babylonia and the modern Iraq. “Paradeisos” is a Persian word meaning “park,” hence the English “Paradise.

After the expulsion, Adam and Eve had three sons—Cain and Abel, and much later, after Abel’s murder, Seth. In the New Testament, Adam is used as a

3 11.5.06 proper name, clearly referring to material man’s ancestral parents and the introduction of sin into human experience.

Adam is stated to have lived 930 years.

"a woman"/Eve [v] (Heb. “life’)

“EVE. A beginning; mortality; that which does not last forever; a finite belief concerning life, substance, and intelligence in matter; error; the belief that the human race originated materially instead of spiritually, — that man started first from dust, second from a rib, and third from an egg.” (S&H 585: 23)

Eve was the name given by Adam to the first human woman “because she was the mother of all living,” both because Eve is, through her sons, the female ancestor of the entire human race and because the name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “living being.” The wordplay is probably etymologically incorrect, and later rabbinical tradition proposed a connection with the Aramaic word for “serpent.” The actual linguistic derivation of the name remains uncertain. She was created to be a help meet for him. Scholars speculate whether mythological images such as Earth Mother or Mother Goddess lie behind the figure.

"Because God felt it was not good for Adam to be alone, woman was then created from one of his ribs; she was later named Eve (Hebrew chavvah resembles the word for living) because she is the mother of all living beings." (Complete Bible Handbook) Their relationship is set forth in an allegory in which they were placed in the Garden of Eden [Iraq], and to test their obedience, they were forbidden to touch or taste the fruit of one particular tree. “Before her creation, Satan, who like Eve had been created a holy being, led a rebellion against the Creator and was cast from his high estate.” (All the Women of the Bible) “The woman is approached in Gen. 3:1 by the snake and, as she says, is ‘tricked’ into eating the forbidden fruit.” (Eerdmans Dictionary) The serpent led Eve to question the goodness of God and then to eat the forbidden fruit. She afterward persuaded Adam to eat, who thus shared her guilt. The result was the fall of mortal man and the origin of the mortal sin. “The story of mankind’s struggle in the world now began.” (Mysteries of the Bible)

“Although Eve is linked with the beginnings of sin in the earliest mentions of her outside the Hebrew Bible—in the Jewish noncanonical Book of Sirach, as well as in the New Testament and in other early Jewish and Christian works— she is not called a sinner in the Genesis 2-3 account.” (Women in Scripture)

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Eve was the mother of Cain, Abel, and Seth, and possibly other sons and daughters.

“Jewish and Christian traditions postdating the Hebrew Bible and a long history of Western scholarship have viewed woman’s creation in Genesis 2 as secondary and derivative—evidence of her lower status.” (Women’s Commentary)

“The apostle Paul referred to Eve twice. By saying “the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,” Paul gave an example of how easily a person can be led into temptation and sin, with disastrous consequences.” (Who Was Who in the Bible)

Ray, Marian Lee, "Loving the Adam lesson," Christian Science Sentinel (21 November 1983), p. 1999.

--"Oh, not that one again!" • I mentally rebelled one Monday morning upon reading in the Christian Science Quarterly the subject for the coming week's Bible Lesson: "Adam and Fallen Man." ---The thought came, "Surely, after studying all these years, I know what Christian Science teaches about that!" --But, as I started to prepare for the week's study of the topic, I remembered that Mrs. Eddy considered that the subjects she established for the Bible Lessons came to her through divine inspiration. --As we plumb their depths to the best of our ability, not content with devotion to just subjects we have always found reassuring, we can follow Christ Jesus' counsel to Simon Peter: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." • From the rich depths of our study f all the Bible Lessons we will find our understanding of God overflowing our nets to meet the world's needs.

Reinert, Nancy Hormel, “Eve and true womanhood—the implications for leadership,” Christian Science Journal (August 1988), p. 24.

--To a world in love with assertive, powerful winners, Eve’s acceptance of fault may not look attractive. • She has not justified her actions in a way some might have expected. --It is particularly important to understand the difference between submitting to another person and yielding to God, if we want to protect ourselves from domination or victimization. --both women and men can learn from Eve. ∞ When confronted with evidence of the world’s belief in physical power— the weapons, ambitions, diseases, and desires of matter—we do not need to accuse, cover up, lie, hide, or justify ourselves.

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---Instead we can identify who the liar really is—as Eve did—and we can accept our responsibility to reject and disbelieve this material view of the world. --Eve’s approach is basic to Christian healing. ∞ It includes a practical repentance which abandons anything unlike God, Spirit, and a practical meekness which recognizes and accepts God’s power.

Baker, Mary Elizabeth G., "Grace," POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (4 January 1982), p. 9.

Love's answer to despair-prayer. wordless balm to brought-to-the-knees agony of remorse, crack-light of purity in the doom-gloom, thunderbolt of hope, lightening flash of intuition: All is not lost irrevocably.

(How out-of-the-garden Eve must have yearned for grace!)

Heart-washing flood of gratitude, setter-on-the-feet jolt of joy, shout of recognition— "The Christ is come! The Christ is here!"

(Fallen Eve has never been.)

Comfort to repentance, Word of Truth to ear, meek and ready to hear, the Father's gracious gift to me, Lamb-innocent identity.

Willis, John Buckley (CSB, President, Bible Lesson Committee, Associate Editor), “The Story of Eden,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Sentinel (17 July 1902), p. 737. [From a sermon by F.F.Emerson]

--"[The] second tradition, in regard to the creation of woman, the garden in Eden, the intervention of the serpent, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, cannot be regarded as literally and historically true; it is not an account of events which ever actually took place in the outward and objective form as here presented; but we may regard it as a kind of symbolism, or allegory, of that which must necessarily have taken place when the human consciousness rose to a degree of intelligence sufficient to recognize moral evil and make conflict with it." --"The unhistorical character of this second Jehovistic tradition is shown by the consideration that the first man could not have come into existence so late as this, since the Bible's own chronology begins at a period when there was existent an advanced civilization in Egypt and Babylon, and from what we now know as to the antiquity of man there must have been many pre-Adamite races."

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--"…The Garden of Eden, with all its incidents, is within us. The story in Genesis is only an objective presentation of universal subjective experience."

The Temptation by the Serpent (Gen 3: 1-6)

“Central elements in the Yahwist’s presentation of the human tragedy are the related ideas of the forbidden knowledge and the loss of immortality.” (Peake’s Commentary) “This chapter describes how ‘by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin’ (Rom 5:12).” (Dummelow’s Commentary)

"With an innocent question [v.1] the serpent awakens the woman's dormant desire for the forbidden tree and arouses her inchoate feelings of rebellion at being denied its fruit." (Interpreter's One-volume Commentary)

“The serpent, a manifestation of Satan, appears for the first time before the Fall of man.” (MacArthur Commentary)

Serpent

“SERPENT (ophis, in Greek; nacash, in Hebrew). Subtlety; a lie; the opposite of Truth, named error; the first statement of mythology and idolatry; the belief in more than one God; animal magnetism; the first lie of limitation; finity; the first claim that there is an opposite of Spirit, or good, termed matter, or evil; the first delusion that error exists as fact; the first claim that sin, sickness, and death are the realities of life. The first audible claim that God was not omnipotent and that there was another power, named evil, which was as real and eternal as God, good.” (S&H 594: 1)

“Serpents are mentioned often in the Bible, and a number of names are used for them.” (Interpreter’s Dictionary) A serpent is a reptile, and in the Bible another name for snake; a symbol for evil and Satan.

“In the ancient world, there was general respect for, revulsion at, and fear of serpents, most being assumed to be poisonous and therefore dangerous. The serpent thus came to be understood symbolically with both positive and negative connotations. In some ancient cultures, the serpent was associated with deity and was depicted in statues and paintings with various gods and goddesses. Serpents also played various roles in ancient mythological stories…. Some even linked the serpent with the process of healing, as in the case of the Greek god Asclepius. In Canaanite religion, which the early Hebrew people encountered upon their arrival in the area, the serpent was associated with the fertility worship of Baal, his consort Astarte…being depicted with a serpent.” (HarperCollins)

“Against this general background, one is not surprised to find many references to serpents in biblical writings. In the OT literature, serpents usually have a negative connotation.” (Ibid)

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“In the Gen. 3 story of the fall of humanity, a crafty serpent (cf. Matt 10:16) talks Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which she then hands to Adam.” (Eerdmans Dictionary)

“Judaism does not see in the Genesis story the “Fall of Man.” (Complete Bible Handbook)

Knott, Mrs. Annie Macmillan (CSD, Lecturer, Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Trustee, Bible Lesson Committee, and Director), "A Talking Serpent," EDITORIAL, Christian Science Sentinel (26 June 1915), p. 850.

--The third chapter of Genesis is of profound interest to the student of Christian Science, who gathers from it wonderful lessons by the aid of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." • On page 529 of this book we find the story of the temptations as given in Genesis, then follows the question, "Whence comes a talking, lying serpent to tempt the children of divine Love?" ---It is noteworthy that at the beginning of this interview with the serpent the woman signified at least a desire to be obedient to the divine command to abstain from the knowledge of evil, or from a supposed blending of good and evil. • It is made clear that no such blending is to be found in the fruit of the tree of life, and this fact should never be forgotten.

Thompson, Norma J., “’As gods,’ or reflecting the one God?,” Christian Science Journal (July 1998), p. 30.

--In the Bible, the serpent's proposal to Eve—that she and Adam should eat of the forbidden fruit because then their eyes would be opened, and they would be "as gods"—sounds like a good deal. (Gen 3:5) --As long as we accept the notion of many gods—many minds—each conceiving of and attempting to control human affairs according to a personal vision, we’re subject to anxiety, conflict, confusion. --We always have the option to stop right where we are, change direction, and affirm that God has always been, and is now, conscious only of His perfect creation, including us. --When we shed a “me first” mental stance (fearful, angry, aggressive) or a “poor me” attitude (hurt, resentful) depressed) and yield to what the divine Mind is knowing of its creation and to what Mind is telling us, God’s solution to any difficulty is revealed, and this solution brings blessings to each and all.

SECTION V: Raising the Widow of Nain's Son (Luke 7: 1,11-16)

TIME LINE: Year of Popularity (Jesus’ 2nd year of ministry), 28 AD at Nain

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“Now Jesus raises the dead, an anticipation of the series of claims he makes in 7:22, this time echoing not Isaiah but I Kings 17:17-24, Elijah raising the son of a Sidonian widow.” (Eerdmans Commentary)

This story is unique to Luke. It “comes from Luke’s special material, L; it is without parallel in the gospel’s tradition.” (Interpreter’s One Volume Commentary) “Soon afterward” (v. 11) hints that Luke is not quite sure when it happened. In v.12 the phrase carried out refers to the fact that “Jewish tombs were always outside the walls, and burials were required to be performed within 24 hours.” (Dummelow Commentary)

The status of widows in ancient Israelite society was precarious. Having no inheritance rights and often in want of life’s necessities, they were exposed to harsh treatment and exploitation. This story is peculiar to Luke and it reveals Jesus’ sensitivity to the widow’s marginal existence. This miracle was done in front of “much people” and similar to the raising of Lazarus in the presence of a multitude of witnesses. The bier is a pallet, not a coffin. This raising from the dead is in contrast to the struggle and difficulty experienced by both Elijah and Elisha, and indicates Jesus’ authority with the single word of power: “Arise.”

"widow" of Nain

"Nain was a small village in Galilee about seven miles southwest of Nazareth [and 25 miles SW of Capernaum on the hill “little Hermon” as it slopes down to the plain of Esdraelon to the southeast, not in Galilee proper; now a squalid collection of mud hovels]. Luke tells us that Jesus traveled to Nain from Capernaum, where he had cured the slave of a Roman centurion. Before Jesus enters the village gates, he encounters a funeral procession. Luke relates the circumstances to show how pitiful the situation is. 'A man who had died was being carried out' (v.12), accompanied by his mother, a widow." (Women in Scripture)

"So You Think You Need a Hug…," Christian Science Monitor (24 February 1997), p. 17.

--Most people do at one time or another. • But at those times, what they might really need is the assurance that God is Love—and that His love for us is always present and never changing. --The Bible tells of a widow whose only son had just died. • As people carried her son on a bier, she was, not surprisingly, crying. ---The Bible says, " And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7:13-15)

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• Just did not just put his arms around this woman, give her a comforting hug, and say, "There, there…" ---Instead he showed the immense power of God's love by reviving her son. • Healing, you might say, is the spiritual hug from God, the reassurance of His total, powerful love for each of us.

Speers, James M., "At Nain," POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (19 May 1956), p. 852.

"Weep not."

Such love was in the Master's voice That, strangely comforted, the woman must Have ceased her sobbing. He came then "and touched The bier" and simply bade him rise who lay So still thereon—as one might rouse a friend From dreaming. That was all.

But when the throng Beheld the marvel, they may well have stared, Stricken with awe, not knowing what to think. Then certainly their awe, or fear, was merged With joy, and they were glorifying God.

What did the Master bring to that sad group Which wrought so great a change? And turned the grief To gladness, and despair to joyful praise? He brought a love so like the Love divine It could not let the sorrowing pass by Uncomforted, unhealed; a sense of life So Godlike it would not allow the boast Of death to go unchallenged, undestroyed….

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bible Translations

King James Version (KJV). Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 1611 (1955 ed.)

Metzger, Bruce M. and Roland E. Murphy (eds.), The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV). Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 1991.

Moffatt, James, A New Translation of the Bible. Harper & Brothers Publishers: New York, NY, 1922 (1954 ed.)

New English Bible, The (NEB). Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 1961 (1972 ed.).

New International Version (NIV): Student Bible. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 1986 (2002 ed.).

Schuller, Robert H. (ex.ed.), Possibility Thinkers Bible: The New King James Version (NKJV). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN, 1984.

Thompson, Frank Charles (ed.), The New Chain-Reference Bible (KJV). B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co: Indianapolis, IN, 1964.

Today’s Parallel Bible (KJV, NIV, NASB, NLT). Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2000.

Bible Paraphrased Interpretations

Peterson, Eugene H., The Message. NavPress: Colorado Springs, CO, 1993 (2002 ed.)

Phillips, J.B., The New Testament in Modern English. Macmillan Publishing Co.: New York, NY, 1972.

Commentaries

Barton, John and John Muddiman (ed.), The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2001.

Black, Matthew and H.H. Rowley (eds.), Peake’s Commentary on the Bible. Van Nostrand Reinhold (UK) Co., Ltd: London, ENG, 1962.

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Buttrick, George Arthur (comm.ed., et al), The Interpreter’s Bible. Abingdon Press: New York, NY, 1953.

Dobson, Edward G. (cont. et al), King James Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN, 1999.

Dummelow, The Rev J.R. (ed.), A Commentary on the Holy Bible. MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc: New York, NY, 1975.

Dunn, James D.G. (gen.ed.), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.

Eiselen, Frederick C. (ed.), The Abingdon Bible Commentary. Abingdon Press: New York, NY, 1929.

Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Holy Bible (in six volumes), 1706. Reprinted by MacDonald Publishing Co.: McLean, VA.

Landis, Benson Y., An Outline of the Bible Book by Book. Barnes & Noble Books: New York, NY, 1963.

Laymon, Charles M. (ed.), The Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary on the Bible. Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN, 1971.

MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN, 2005.

Mays, James L. (gen ed.), HarperCollins Bible Commentary. Harper: San Francisco, CA, 2000.

McKenna, Megan, On Your Mark. Orbis Books: Maryknoll, NY, 2006.

Newsom, Carol A. and Sharon H. Ringe (eds.), Women’s Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY, 1998.

Whiston, William (tr.), Josephus: The Complete Works. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN, 1998 (reprinted).

Dictionaries

Achtemeier, Paul J. (ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Harper: San Francisco, 1996.

Brownrigg, Ronald, Who’s Who in the Bible. The New Testament. Bonanza Books: New York, NY, 1980.

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Butler, Trent C., Ph.D. (gen.ed.), Holmon Bible Dictionary. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, TN, 1991.

Buttrick, George Arthur (ed.), The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (in four volumes). Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN, 1962.

Comay, Joan, Who’s Who in the Bible: The Old Testament. Bonanza Books: New York, NY, 1980.

Deem, Edith, All of the Women of the Bible. HarperCollins: San Francisco, CA, 1955.

Gehman, Henry Snyder (ed.), The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible. The Westminster Press: Philadelphia, PA, 1970.

Jacobus, Melancthon, D.D,, et.al (eds.), Funk and Wagnalls New Standrad Bible Dictionary. Funk and Wagnalls Co.: New York, NY, 1936 (Third Revised Ed.)

Metzger, Bruce and Michael D. Coogan (eds.), The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 2001.

______, The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 2001.

Meyers, Carol (gen.ed.), Women in Scripture. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, MI, 2001.

Peloubet, F.N., Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary. The John C. Winston Co: Philadelphia, PA, 1947.

Smith, William, LLD, A Dictionary of the Bible. Reprinted by Nelson Reference & Electronic: Nashville, TN, 1893 (1986 ed.).

Who Was Who in the Bible. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN, 1999. www.bibletexts.com www.crosswalk.com, Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary. www.crosswalk.com, Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

Handbooks

Blair, Edward P., Abingdon Bible Handbook. Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN, 1975.

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Bowker, John (ed.), The Complete Bible Handbook. DK Publishing, Inc: London, UK, 1998.

Halley, Henry H., Halley’s Bible Handbook. Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapid, MI, 1927 (1965 ed.)

Unger, Merrill F., Unger’s Bible Handbook. Moody Press: Chicago, IL, 1967.

Atlases, Maps, and Geography

DeVries, LaMoine F., Cities of the Biblical World. Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody, MA, 1997 (2nd Printing Aug 1998).

Frank, Harry Thomas (ed.), Atlas of the Bible Lands. Hammond Inc.: Maplewood, NJ, 1990.

Nelson’s Complete Book of Maps & Charts. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TV, 1996.

Then and Now Bible Map Book. Rose Publishing: Torrance, CA, 1997.

Webster’s Geographical Dictionary. G. & C. Merriam co.: Springfield, MA, 1949 (1963 ed.).

Time Lines

Bible Time-Line. Christian Science Publishing Society: Boston, MA, 1993.

Bible Time Line. Rose Publishing Inc.: Torrance, CA, 2001.

Miscellaneous

Asimov, Isaac, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible: Two Volumes in One. Wings Books: New York, NY, 1969.

Beebe, Mary Jo; Olene E. Carroll, and Nancy H. Fischer, Jesus’ Healings, Part 3. General Publications Bible Products, CSPS: Boston, MA, 2002.

Bible Through the Ages, The. The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.: Pleasantville, NY, 1996.

Crossan, John Dominic, The Birth of Christianity. HarperCollins Publishing: San Francisco, CA, 1998.

Feiler, Bruce, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths. William Morrow (HarperCollins Publishers Inc): New York, NY, 2002.

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Getty-Sullivan, Mary Ann, Women in the New Testament. The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, MN, 2001.

Haag, Herbert and Dorothee Soelle et.al., Great Couples of the Bible. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN, 2004 (English Translation, 2006)

Kee, Howard Clark, et al, The Cambridge Companion to the Bible. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1997.

Keller, Werner, The Bible as History. William Morrow and Co.: New York, NY, 1964 (revised).

Kirsch, Jonathan, The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible. Ballantine Books: New York, NY, 1997.

Miller, Madeleine S. and J. Lane, Harper’s Encyclopedia of Bible Life. Harper & Row Publishers: San Francisco, CA, 1978.

Mysteries of the Bible. The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.: Pleasantville, NY, 1988.

Smith, Wilbur M., D.D. (ed.), Peloubet’s Select Notes on the International Sunday School Lessons. W.A. Wilde Co.: Boston, MA, 1943.

Snipes, Joan Koelle, Bible Study for Children. Bible Teaching Press: Shepherdstown, WV, 1999.

Tosto, Peter (ed.), Found Volumes, Version 2002 (software). www.foundvolumes.com: Marietta, GA, 2002.

Trench, R.C., Notes on the Parables of Our Lord. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI, 1948.

Zondervan Bible Study Library 5.0., Family Edition (software). Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.

*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King James Version of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science.

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