The Bible Companion: The Complete Illustrated Handbook to the Holy Scriptures

The Bible -- considered the sacred word of God by many in the Western world -- consists of 66 different books composed by a diverse group of prophets, kings, statesmen, shepherds, poets, tax collectors, musicians, fishermen and priests.

Spanning a time period of about 1,600 years, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the Bible begins at the dawn of creation and ends with the apocalypse and the Last Judgment. Containing poetry, stories, proverbs, historical narration, laws and prophecy, many believers of many faiths find the Bible to be an invaluable source book for solving practical everyday problems and dilemmas as well as comfort in difficult times.

The Bible Companion seeks to demystify this sacred text, giving context and analysis to the stories and enriching one's reading experience of the Bible.

From the Pentateuch -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy -- through the books of Joshua, Judges, Kings and Prophets, each book of the Old Testament is described, analyzed for its special significance, accompanied by famous artworks and further enriched by sidebars that explain the money and measurements of the day, prayers and prayer books, and landmarks like Solomon's temple.

The New Testament section begins with a survey of life in the time of Jesus, followed by the Gospels according to the saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Chronology of the gospels, and the Epistles.

Some of the most interesting religious artworks ever created accompany every book, and extra spreads and sidebars discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls, Bethlehem and Nazareth, and contain maps of the Eastern Mediterranean.

This book will give many hours of pleasurable reading and browsing, but also unlock relationships, chronologies and philosophies as they change through the stories and the writers of the Bible.

Barbara Calamari is a freelance writer who has worked in film and television. She lives in New York City.