Every reader of the Bible has encountered the power that the images and symbols of the Scriptures have over us, as they are enigmatic and bewildering. These images, with their hidden force, have been etched into the very language and grammar of Christian faith and Western culture, with a complete and profound meaning, images and symbols that say much more than their grammatical meaning, for example: Matthew 19:24 King James Version 1977 (RVR1977) 24 “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The meaning of this image or symbol says much more than what is grammatically expressed, and it is even internalized within our Christian and Western culture. It is an image and symbol with a broad meaning. Why then do traditional Bible dictionaries and reference works offer so little help to explorers of the galaxy of the Bible's verbal images?
They excel at describing many concepts and words, but are often blind to artistic expressions and deaf to the musical meanings that echo from within the world of the biblical text, and we lose enormous richness by not knowing how to interpret them in their profundity.
The purpose of the Great Encyclopedic Dictionary of Images and Symbols of the Bible is to serve as a reference book to help readers of Scripture, students, and Christian communicators explore the fascinating and varied world of biblical symbolism.
The writers of the Bible – state the authors of this dictionary – were true artists from a literary point of view. Therefore, reading and studying the Bible from a literary perspective that includes the clarification of its images, symbols, and figures of speech, provides a much broader understanding of its meaning and thus a better grasp of its moral and spiritual message.
Although conceived and written at an academic level, its primary audience is not scholars. The authors have strived to create a readable and understandable work, which not only serves as an indispensable reference tool to complement Bible dictionaries, but also opens up new ways of reading and appreciating the Bible.
