''Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible'' was a five-volume Biblical encyclopaedia published 1898–1904.

First edition

The full title was ''A Dictionary of the Bible, dealing with the Language, Literature and Contents, including the Biblical Theology''. It was edited by James Hastings, with the assistance of

John A. Selbie John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Additional assistance with revision of the proofs was provided by A. B. Davidson, S. R. Driver and H. B. Swete. Four volumes (1898—1902) divided up the alphabetic entries, with a fifth volume (1904) devoted to some extra articles, indexes and maps. Publication was by T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh and

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

in New York. Although described as a “dictionary”, the work is better described as an encyclopaedia, with signed articles sometimes several pages in length. It is a substantial work, with five

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

volumes each of about 900 pages. The 194 authors of articles were established scholars of the day, generally Protestant Christians, from many countries, but mostly from the UK and the USA in that order. The subject matter was "the Old and New Testaments, together with the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions." Articles were written "on names of all Persons and Places, on the Antiquities and Archaeology of the Bible, on its Ethnology, Geology and Natural History, on Biblical Theology and Ethic ..." It remains a good source of Biblical information as understood around 1900.

1909 edition

A one-volume dictionary with the same name was issued by the same publishers in 1909. It was described as "not a condensation of the five-volume set, but new and independent work". The editor was James Hastings, with the co-operation of John A. Selbie, and with the assistance of John C. Lambert and

Shailer Mathews Shailer Mathews (1863–1941) was an American liberal Christian theologian, involved with the Social Gospel movement. Career Born on May 26, 1863, in Portland, Maine, and graduated from Colby College. Mathews was a progressive, advocating social ...

. 992 pages + xvi + 4 maps.

1963 edition

A completely up-dated and revised one-volume edition was written by 148 scholars, edited by Frederick C. Grant and

H. H. Rowley Harold Henry Rowley (24 March 1890 – 4 October 1969) was an English Old Testament scholar from the Baptist tradition. Biography H. H. Rowley was born in Leicester on 24 March 1890 to Richard Rowley and Emma (née Saunt) Rowley. The family Bap ...

and issued by the same publishers in 1963. 1059 pages + maps.

External links

First edition
Vols 1-5, page images
at

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5 vols in one, 1905
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

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Vols 1–4, page images
1909 edition
Page images
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HTML site
1912 extra volume
Full scan
at Internet Archive Bible dictionaries Reference works in the public domain {{biblical-studies-book-stub