Author Description

The projected thirty-volume Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) is intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to the current state of knowledge on the background, origins, and development of the canonical texts of the Bible as they were accepted in Judaism and Christianity. Unprecedented in breadth and scope, this encyclopedia also documents the history of the Bible''s interpretation and reception across the centuries, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in literature, visual art, music, film, and dance, as well as in Islam and other religious traditions and new religious movements. The EBR is also available online. Blogger''s Choice - Articles recommended by biblioblogger Jim West (https://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com) The newest volume of EBR continues the tradition of excellence, thoroughness, and scholarly acumen that readers of this expansive and ever expanding indispensable reference work have come to expect. Love I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Ancient Near East (Thomas Römer; Paris, France) This entry on ''love'' in the Hebrew Bible/ Ancient Near East begins "Contrary to many modern languages, biblical Hebrew does not make a distinction in vocabulary between ''love'' and ''friendship.'' The same root ʾāhab is used for both terms (Wallis)." Römer then leads readers on a journey through the literature related to love and marriage, homosexual love, dangerous love, divine love and human love, YHWH''s love for Israel, other depictions of YHWH''s love, and finally love and loyalty. This entry is one of the best that I''ve read in the volume. Love V. Christianity C. Modern Europe and America (Christophe Chalamet; Geneva, Switzerland) Chalemet''s contribution to the larger article on ''love'' focuses on modern Europe and North America. He begins, however, in the period just beyond the lives of the Magisterial Reformers, examining the way ''love'' was understood by such thinkers as