The A to Z Guide to Bible Signs & Symbols - A Review

The A to Z Guide to Bible
Signs & Symbols

Neil Wilson and Nancy Ryken Taylor

A Review

An interesting look at the symbology found in the Bible.  At 288 page, only 272 having actual content, the book is a bit limited. The entries which are included are interesting, well-illustrated, and colorful.  Each entry, with the accompanying images, take up a two-page spread.  Some entries are quite detailed (e.g. separate entries for eagle, quail, and Raven/Crow).  Others are sparse (e.g. a single entry for tree, another for seed, but no room for the diversity of species which occur in the Middle East).  The lack of an index means that finding sub-topics might be difficult.  As an e-book, searching may be easier.  The value of an e-book would also depend on how images are handled by the e-book publisher.  In the paper version of the book, the images are heavily integrated into the text - to be of value in an e-book, the images would need to be set apart from the text allowing them to be viewed and shared separately from the text.

This book is neither an encyclopedia or a dictionary, but a picture book that handles the topics it does discuss well; but, because of its condensed size, only handles a limited number of topics.  I would like to have seen a larger, more comprehensive, volume built using the same editorial policies that went into creating this guide.

The book will fit well on the coffee table for either the believer’s home or the pastor’s office.  It will serve well as a beginning reference work for those topics covered, but will not become the go-to reference work for many important topics or most pastors or scholars.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.