BIBLE CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE LESSON-SERMON*
September 18, 2005
 
Compiled by C. Norman Wood, Burke, VA 22015 703-898-8818, woodcn@aol.com
For CSDirectory.com

SUBJECT:  Matter

GOLDEN TEXT:  Temporal Salvation (Isa 45: 22)

	“When the Messiah sits on His throne in Jerusalem, all people will enjoy His temporal salvation in the physical blessings of the millennial earth and will have the opportunity for spiritual salvation.”  (MacArthur’s Commentary)

Wells, Robert Dolling, “’Look unto me’—Not To Human Thought,” Christian Science Journal (July 1950), p. 334.

--A physician remarked to a friend of mine the other day:  “I use Christian Science all the time.  I know that thoughts can cause physical trouble, and I advise my patients to think happy thoughts so that their bodies will be healthier.”
	• Certainly such statements are the result of the leavening of human thought by the discovery set forth in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy.
--The summation of the whole matter might be stated in Bible language (Isa 45:22):  “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
	• The world will learn to true source of good, and then in oneness of Mind it will submit to divine law and be governed inevitably by God.
		---Embraced thus in infinite Love, men will feel the unspeakable peace of spiritual affection and enjoy fully the good they now but faintly perceive.

Haddon, J. Leslie, “’I am God, and there is none else,’” Christian Science Sentinel (3 February 1962), p. 185.

--Religion commonly indicates the serving and worshipping of some deity.
	• Christians acknowledge God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
		---They accept the Christ, or Messiah, personified in the Master, who fully demonstrated for mankind the truth of God, man, and existence.
	• Although some of the Hebrew prophets, notably Isaiah, had foretold with startling accuracy the coming of the Messiah to the world, the predominately Jewish populace of Palestine do not in general accept Christ Jesus as the Messiah
--Many passages throughout the Bible emphasize that the only one God is to be known and worshipped.
	• Isaiah, for example, proclaiming God’s demand for mankind’s acknowledgement of His omnipotence and all-wisdom records this deific injunction (45:22):  “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
--To know the perfect Life is to express the perfect Life.

SECTION II:  Elihu—Full of Ideas (Job 32: 6-8)

	“After his introduction by the author (vv.1-5), Elihu speaks:  ‘Your helplessness must be my excuse for speaking (vv.6-12); but while you have nothing to say, I, young as I am, am full of ideas which must find utterance’ (vv.13-22).”  (Abingdon Bible Commanetary)

Elihu
(“whose God is he”)

Barachel
	Elihu

Elihu is “the son of Barachel, a Buzite" (Job 32:2), one of Job's friends.  When the debate between Job and his friends is brought to a close, Elihu for the first time makes his appearance, and delivers his opinion on the points at issue (Job 32: 6-22).

Kerns, Miriam, “’The inspiration of the Almighty,’” Christian Science Sentinel (17 April 1965), p. 672.

--Moments of inspiration assure us of the existence of a divine power and give us glimpses of that new heaven and new earth of which John spoke in Revelation (21:1)
--Inspiration, however, does not come without effort.
	• It has to be earned.
		--It usually follows a humble, consecrated searching to find the Christ, Truth.
	• Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (p.84) “Acquaintance with 
the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired, — yea, to reach the range of fetterless Mind.”
--One meaning of the verb “inspire” is “to breathe in,” and we usually associate breathing with life.
	• When we shed all sense of a selfhood apart from God—in other words, when our every breath is drawn from Him—then and then only shall we be divinely inspired at all times.
		---As Elihu said to Job in his trouble (Job 32:8), “there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”

Stecher, Grace Nixon, “Job,” POEM, Christian Science Journal (August 1949), p. 325.

When Job sat desolate in his distress,
No outer warmth relieved his inner cold.
Each comforter had warned him to confess
His sorrows were his secret sins grown bold.
Job would not yield his own integrity.
It was the only candle he had left
Against the dark; some little majesty
Of Soul with which to ease a life bereft.
Then came Elihu, speaking out of youth,
Showing integrity as Spirit’s flame.
Job, prone before this hurricane of Truth,
Felt Loves fingers pluck away his shame.
	Job found his God within the whirlwind’s roar,
	And all his world came back to him—and more.

SECTION IV:  David’s Prayer and Thanksgiving (II Sam 7: 18,20,22)

	“[This part] of the chapter is really a psalm, though it is a matter of dispute how far it is actually metrical.  No reporter was present at David’s private devotions, and the psalm is to be treated as a religious composition possibly or probably dating, in the main, from David’s time.  In its context the chief point lies in its play upon the word house.  David would build God’s a house; that is not to be; but God will build David a house, i.e., sons and posterity to follow him.” (Abingdon Commentary)

King David
[Dā’vid] (“beloved”)

TIME LINE:  1020-971 BC

Jesse (father/Ruth’s grandson)		Abner (uncle)
	Zeruiah (half-sister)
		Abishai 
Joab
		Asahel
	Abigail (sister)
		Amasa
Eliab
	Abihail
Abinadab
Shammah
Nethaneel
Raddai
Ozem
Elihu
David (youngest of brothers)	=	Michal (Saul’s 2nd daughter)	
=	Ahinoam (the Jezreelitess)
  								Amnon (eldest son)
	Abigail (widow of Nabel)
Chileab
•	Maachah (daughter of King of 
Geshur)
Absalom (killed Amnon)
									Tamar 
Tamar (violated by 
Amnon)
	Haggith
Adonijah (4th son/eldest 
at end of David’s 
reign))
						  	Eglah
						 	Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife)	
(infant boy died)
								Shimea
(other brother?)
								Solomon (youngest son)
							Other wives and concubines

David exhibited many roles during his lifetime:  warrior, 
fugitive hero, King of Judah, King of Israel, musician, and ancestor of Jesus. He was the second king of Israel, who enlarged the kingdom, moved the capital to Jerusalem, and strengthened the armed forces.  In later times, David was looked on as the ideal ruler who would return, or it was believed that a descendant of his would arise, to restore the kingdom of Israel. His life may be divided into three portions:
His youth before his introduction to the court of Saul;
His relations with Saul;
His reign.

	David’s story emerges primarily in the books of Samuel, concluding in I Kings chapters 1 and 2.

As a Youth

	His youth was spent in Bethlehem and he was the keeper of his father’s sheep.  He played the harp, and music figured prominently in his life.  Many of the psalms in the book of Psalms are attributed to him.  “When Saul failed to meet God’s standards for kingship (I Sam 15:23,35; 16:11), God sent Samuel to anoint a replacement from among the sons of Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem (I Sam 16:1).” (Holmon Dictionary)  Subsequently, he was anointed as a future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.

Relations with Saul

	Some time after David’s anointing King Saul began to experience acute attacks of depression.  Saul’s servants had heard of David, and brought the young David to play his harp and to sing songs before Saul.
It was during this period with Saul that David learned of governmental affairs which would better prepare him for his future roll.  

After the Philistine’s invaded, Saul called the shepherd boy to battle with Goliath whom he killed with a single stone from his sling.  Although Saul should have been grateful for this feat, he became jealous of the prophecy of David being the future king and remained hostile to him forcing David to flee with Saul in pursuit.  He at first found a home at the court of Achish, among the Philistines; but his stay was short.  His presence revived the national enmity of the Philistines against their former conqueror, and he only escaped by feigning madness.  His first retreat was the cave of Adullam.  In this vicinity he was joined by his whole family and by a motley crowd of debtors and discontented men, which formed the nucleus of his army.

After Saul, and his son Jonathan, were killed in battle, the tribe of Judah elected David king and placed him on the throne in Hebron for 7 ½ years.

King David

	Subsequently, he began work to establish a united kingdom (Judah and Israel).  “One of his first acts as king was to attack the fortified city of Jebus.” (Who Was Who in the Bible)  

The success and glory of David’s reign from its beginning to its end reflect David’s dependence upon his living God for guidance in everything he considered doing.  He established Jerusalem as the capital of his new kingdom and moved to re-establish the worship of God.  “During his reign, David increased the status of ‘the city of David’ by bringing to it the ancient Ark.” (HarperCollins Dictionary) He also started the construction of a temple to worship God.  Solomon, David’s son and successor finished the temple.

	Although David was a righteous king, he was subject to sin.  On one occasion when his army went to battle, David stayed home.  This led to his great sin with Bath-sheba.  While Uriah, the Hitite, Bath-sheba’s husband, was away in battle, David committed adultery with her.  Then in an effort to cover his sin, he finally had Uriah killed in battle.  David was confronted by the prophet Nathan, who courageously exposed his wrongdoing.  Faced with his sin, David repented and asked for God’s forgiveness (See Psalms 51).

	“The closing period of David’s life, with the exception of one great calamity, may be considered as a gradual preparation for the reign of his successor.” (Peloubet’s Dictionary)  During all David’s calamities and in spite of David’s failures, God gave David the unspeakable comfort of loyal friends.  David’s greatness is seen in many ways, especially in the extremes of devotion given to him by men of noble character.  This mark of true leadership is also an evidence of God’s special grace.  Such men were:
		David’s own household
		Ittai the Gittite
		Zadok and Abiathar, the priests who returned to Jerusalem
		The messengers who were the sons of Zadok and Abiathar
		Hushai the Arkite, in Jerusalem
		Barzillai the Gileadite, in Mahanaim in Transjordan

	It was Solomon, David’s son and successor, who finally erected the first temple in Jerusalem.

	David died after serving for more than 40 years as King.  Jesus’ genealogy was traced back to the ancestry of David by both Matthew and Luke.

Leishman, Thomas L., “David the King,” THE CONTINUITY OF THE BIBLE, Christian Science Journal (September 1967), p. 476.

--With the passing of Saul and Jonathan in battle, the kingship devolved upon David as Samuel had foretold.
--David’s rule, however, was by no means undisputed.
	 Saul’s supporters had crowned his son Ish-bosheth as king in the territory of Gilead to the east of Jordan, with influence extending “over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.”  (II Sam 2: 9)
		---Here, then, were the elements of civil war, but there could be no doubt concerning the eventual outcome of the strife between the two kings, for “David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker”  (II Sam 3: 1) until, at the age of thirty-seven, David was accepted as monarch of a united kingdom of Judah and all Israel combined.
--It was apparently about this time that Jerusalem became the capital of the Hebrew nation.
	• Taking its central fortress of Zion by storm, David renamed the town “the city of David” in honor of this event and established his court there (see I Chron 11:4-7).

Naylor, Reita H., “Who am I?,” POEM, Christian Science Journal (June 1981), p. 319.

Not what others think
I am,
but what God knows.

Opinions can’t define me
if I accept
Mind’s perfect concept.

Sprit knows me truly:
His own
flawless reflection.

SECTION V:  The Woman with the Flow of Blood (Mark 5: 25-34)

“woman, which had an issue of blood”

TIME LINE:  Near the end of the 2nd year of Jesus’ ministry:  The Year of Popularity

	This healing occurs in Matthew (9:20-22), Mark (5:25-34), and Luke (8:43-48).  “On the way to the house of Jairus a woman suffering from a hemorrhage touches Jesus’ clothing hoping to be healed” (Eerdman’s Commentary).  In Mark, the story is sandwiched between the two parts of the raising of Jairus’ daughter, a Markan technique used previously.  Mark also, “describes the serious nature of the complaint by dwelling on its long duration and on the fact that medical treatment instead of helping only resulted in aggravating the disease.” (Abingdon Commentary)

	The healing of the woman with the issue (hemorrhage) is an example of the way in which Jesus accepted imperfect faith in order to render it perfect.  Luke abbreviates Marks’s account.  For one thing he fails to say that the woman had “spent all that she had” on “many physicians” and that she “was no better but rather grew worse.”

The woman was superstitious.  She thought that a kind of magical virtue resided in Jesus’ body, ready to flow out to heal without any act of will on his part, or any act of faith on hers.  All that she had to do was to touch, and in doing so she was careful to touch that portion of his garment which to a Jew was holiest--the tassel, which every Jew was required to wear on the four corners of his cloak to remind him of Jehovah’s commands—a reminder of Israel’s obligation to the law.  But since there was real faith mingled with her superstition, Jesus allowed her to be healed, only calling her back afterwards to make her faith perfect.

By saying “Who touched me?” and insisting on a full confession, he made it clear to the woman and to others that he had healed her by his own deliberate act, and was fully aware of all the circumstances of the case.

--Dodd, Rev. William H., “’Who touched me?,’” Christian Science Journal (March 1912), p. 747.

--It is reported that Jesus was on his way to the house of Jairus, at the request of this ruler of the synagogue, in order to heal his daughter, a certain woman who had spent all her living in a vain effort to be healed of a debilitating and chronic malady, reached forth and touched the hem of his garment, saying within herself, “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.”
--This touch of the woman was a reaching forth, an awakening from hopelessness and despair.
	• We are told that she had suffered many things, had spent her all, and perhaps she had heard her doom in the word “incurable,” so it was doubtless with fear and trembling that she even reached forth her hand.
		---The multitude thronged, and she could not bring herself to plead her cause before those curious and critical eyes.

Mc Gruder, Esther V., “Touching the Hem,” Christian Science Sentinel (Vol. 29, 1926), p. 124.

--How often there comes to us a sense of humble gratitude when, through the glorious light of Christian Science, we receive a new and better understanding of some verse or verses in the Bible!
	• In the ninth chapter of Matthew, in three brief verses, there is told simply and concisely the healing of the woman who had been diseased for twelve years.
		---She came behind Jesus and touched the hem of his garment; “for she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.”
	• And we learn that the healing was accomplished then and there; for “the woman was made whole from that hour.”
		---The questions arise:  What is “the hem of his garment;” and how may we touch it and be made whole?
	• For to prove that man is whole and perfect now is the sincere and earnest desire of every Christian Scientist, and a vital part of Christian healing.

SECTION VI:  The Areopagus Address:  Paul at Mars’ Hill (Acts 17:22-25,28)

TIME LINE:  @51 AD in Athens (2nd Missionary Journey)

	Paul’s speech “is discreet and to the point.  It deals not with the OT., with which his hearers were unacquainted, but with the truths of natural religion, many of which were understood (though only partially) by the Athenian philosophers (cp. The speech at Lystra, 14:15).”  (Dummelow Commentary)

Paul
TIME LINE: @20-68 AD

Benjamin
	
		Father (a Pharisee)=Mother (unknown)
Saul (Paul)
(Sister)
				(Nephew)

	Paul, whose original name was Saul, was born a Roman citizen, although a Jew, in Tarsus [south central Turkey], an important city of Cilicia.  He was a tentmaker.  All the influences about him from the beginning—Jewish, Greek, Roman—contributed, apart from any consciousness or intention on his part to fit him for the work of his life.  

	His Conversion.  As a young man, he sought out and persecuted Christians.  The conversion of Saul is regarded as a miraculous event.
  
Near Damascus [Syria]
Saw a Great Light
Saul Was Blinded
Christ’s Rebuke
Saul’s Reply
Was Led to Damascus
Fasted and Prayed
On one of his journeys on the way to Damascus, he saw a great light, was blinded by it, heard the rebuke of the Christ, and was led to Damascus where he fasted and prayed.  
	Ananias Sent to Him
	Was Baptized
A Christian disciple named Ananias was sent to Saul and baptized him, and from that point on he received his sight, his name was changed to Paul, and he preached Christ in the synagogues.

After Conversion. 

	During his missionary, Paul made three specific journeys all around the area we know today as the Middle East.  Subsequently, he spent time in Jerusalem, and lived the remainder of his years in Rome, mostly in prison.

	Second Missionary Journey (50-52 AD)).  At the beginning of the next journey came the memorable difference of opinion between Paul and Barnabas.  Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus.  So, on Paul’s second missionary journey, from Antioch [Syria] through what we know today as southeastern Turkey, he journeyed to the Roman colony of Philippi [today’s Greek coast on the Aegean Sea] accompanied by Luke and Silas. 
		The Vision at Troas [W coast, Turkey],
	The text and meaning of Acts 16 are both in dispute.  According to the “North Galatian” view, Paul, Luke, and Silas now passed through the Phrygian and Galatic [Western Turkey] country after and because he was hindered by the Holy Spirit from going west into Asia to Ephesus [Izmir,Turkey].  This would be the occasion on which he first visited Galatia, and the Galatia now visited would be part of Asia Minor ethnographically as well as politically entitled to the name.  They instead turned north and northwest, reaching the seaport of Troas.  Here Paul was told in a vision to cross the north Aegean Sea and preach the gospel in Macedonia.
At Philippi [Greece], Lydia and jailor converted
It was here that Lydia was baptized, and invited Paul to come into her house.  Paul continued to preach in Philippi and was jailed with Silas by the magistrates for teaching customs which were not lawful.  Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, and all the doors were opened and the prisoners’ bands loosed.  After converting the jailer, they continued their journey to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens [all cities in Greece].
	Athens.  Sermon on Mars Hill
Some of the brethren went with him as far as Athens.  “The idols in Athens stirred Paul’s Semitic soul to its depth.” (Abingdon Commentary)  Here the apostle delivered that wonderful discourse reported in Acts 17.  He gained but few converts in Athens.  
Corinth Vision,--Church founded
He soon took his departure and went to Corinth [SW of Athens], where he became acquainted with Aquila and Priscilla, and where Timothy joined him. The two epistles to the Thessalonians—and these alone—belong to the present missionary journey.  
	Ephesus,--a Brief Visit
The ship in which he sailed from Corinth touched at Ephesus, and he had time to enter the synagogue and talk with the Jews, but though he promised to return, he could not stay. 
The Return to Antioch
He returned to Antioch [inland, Turkey].  Much of his history is found in his letters to those communities.

	Third Missionary Journey (53-58 AD)  
On the third missionary journey, several brethren were associated with him in this expedition, the bearers, no doubt, of the collections made in all the churches for the poor at Jerusalem.  
Visits Galatia and Phrygia
His companions were sent on by sea, and probably the money with them, to Troas, where they were to await Paul.  He went round by way of Philippi, where Luke joined him, to Troas where the incident of Eutychus occurred, and thence to Assos [slightly SW of Troas; today Troy].  He completed his third journey by going to Miletus [SW coast of Turkey]; through Rhodes [island, S of Turkey] and Patars [S coast of Turkey], to Tyre [N coast of Israel]; and finally through Cæsarea [coastal city of Israel] to Jerusalem.

	In Jerusalem (@60 AD)
		Seized by the Romans
After appearing before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea, he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the emperor.  To the imprisonment belongs the group of letters to Philemon, to the Colossians [Turkey], to the Ephesians [Turkey], and to the Philippians [Greece].

Voyage to Rome (@62 AD)
	After appearing before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea, he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the Emperor.  The voyage to Rome is told by an eye-witness.
	The Storm
	The Vision
	The Shipwreck
	On the island of Melita

	Paul was a controversial figure in his lifetime, even within the Christian movement.  In accordance with early Christianity, he accepted slavery without criticism, and he assumes the property right of a slave-owner; but he recognizes the slave as a brother in Christ, to whom is due not merely forgiveness but Christian fellowship.  He had 
many opponents who disagreed with his interpretation of the message of Jesus.  In the closing years of his life, when imprisonment prevented him from moving about freely, Paul’s opponents were able to make headway with their rival interpretations.  However, Paul became a venerated figure.  His letters, together with the Gospels, became the foundation of the Christian movement.

Desnos, Germaine, “The Divine Offspring,” Christian Science Sentinel (19 November 1949), p.2043.

--The Apostle Paul was an instrument chosen of God to bear His name to “the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.”
	• When he traveled through Greece, he was so filled with holy zeal for the accomplishment of his mission that he endeavored to communicate to his many successive hearers his own clear understanding of God.
		---This understanding so dominated his thought that he could not endure the sight of cities given to idolatry.
	• Illumined by the Holy Ghost, he endeavored to light for his listeners the torch of revelation as well as convey to them the certainty of one God.
--Speaking before the Athenians of this one God, the apostle said, “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” and, “In him we live, and move, and have our being,” ending with a quotation from one of their own poets, “For we are also his offspring.”

Tryon, Winthrop Pitt, “Paul,” POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (28 May 1949), p. 942.

	Foreign things
	Met rebuff
	On Mars’ Hill,
	When an orator errant,
	With Roman warrant,
	In accent odd—
	Touch of Cilician—
	Harangued the populace.
	Hard by the Acropolis,
	Whose vesture
	Shone,
	Pediment and portal,
	In beauty mortal.

	A gesture:
	“The unknown God.”
	Hush,
	Suspicion;
	And enough
	Till times are riper.

	What the Athenians will, they will;
	But the hand that stirred their Stoic underbrush,
	Where lurked a viper,
	Shall yet sew tents
	And set the Christ cornerstone
	Among the Corinthians.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Moffatt, James, A New Translation of the Bible.  Harper & Brothers Publishers:  New York, NY, 1922 (1954 ed.)

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New International Version (NIV): Student Bible.  Zondervan:  Grand Rapids, MI, 1986 (2002 ed.).

Thompson, Frank Charles (ed.), The New Chain-Reference Bible.  B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co:  Indianapolis, IN, 1964.

Bible Paraphrased Interpretations

Peterson, Eugene H., The Message.  NavPress:  Colorado Springs, CO, 1993 (2002 ed.)

Phillips, J.B., The New Testament in Modern English.  Macmillan Publishing Co.:  New York, NY, 1972.

Commentaries

Barton, John and John Muddiman (ed.), The Oxford Bible Commentary.  Oxford University Press:  Oxford, UK, 2001.

Black, Matthew and H.H. Rowley (eds.), Peake’s Commentary on the Bible.
Von Nostrand Reinhold (UK) Co. Ltd:  London, ENG, 1962.

Dobson, Edward G. (cont. et al), King James Bible Commentary.  Thomas Nelson Publishers:  Nashville, TN, 1999.

Dummelow, The Rev J.R. (ed.), A Commentary on the Holy Bible.  MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc:  New York, NY, 1975.

Dunn, James D.G. (gen.ed.), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible.  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.:  Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.

Eiselen, Frederick C. (ed.), The Abingdon Bible Commentary.  Abingdon Press:  New York, NY, 1929.

Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible (in Six Volumes), 1706.  Reprinted by MacDonald Publishing Co.:  McLean, VA. 

Landis, Benson Y., An Outline of the Bible Book by Book.  Barnes & Noble Books:  New York, NY, 1963.

Laymon, Charles M. (ed.), The Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary on the Bible.  Abingdon Press:  Nashville, TN, 1971.

MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary.  Thomas Nelson Publishers:  Nashville, TN, 2005.

Mays, James L. (gen.ed.), HarperCollins Bible Commentary.  Harper:  San Francisco, CA, 2000.

Whiston, William (tr.), Josephus:  The Complete Works.  Thomas Nelson Publishers:  Nashville, TN, 1998.

Dictionaries

Achtemeier, Paul J. (ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary.  Harper:  San Francisco, 1996.

Brownrigg, Ronald, Who’s Who in the Bible.  The New Testament.  Bonanza Books:  New York, NY, 1980.

Butler, Trent C., Ph.D. (gen.ed.), Holmon Bible Dictionary.  Holmon Bible Publishers:  Nashville, TN, 1991.

Comay, Joan, Who’s Who in the Bible:  The Old Testament.  Bonanza Books:  New York, NY, 1980.

Gehman, Henry Snyder (ed.), The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible.  The Westminster Press:  Philadelphia, PA, 1970.

Jacobus, Melancthon, D.D,, et.al (eds.), Funk and Wagnalls New Standrad Bible Dictionary.  Funk and Wagnalls Co.:  New York, NY, 1936 (Third Revised Ed.)

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__________, The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible.  Oxford University Press:  New York, NY, 2001.

Meyers, Carol (gen.ed.), Women in Scripture.  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.:  Grand Rapids, MI, 2001.

Peloubet, F.N., Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary.  The John C. Winston Co: Philadelphia, PA, 1947.

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www.bibletexts.com

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Atlases, Maps and Geography

DeVries, LaMoine F., Cities of the Biblical World.  Hendrickson Publishers:  Peabody, MA, 1997 (2nd Printing Aug 1998).

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Nelson’s Complete Book of Maps & Charts.  Thomas Nelson Publishers:  Nashville, TV, 1996.

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Time Lines

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Miscellaneous

Beebe, Mary Jo; Olene E. Carroll, and Nancy H. Fischer, Jesus’ Healings, Part 3.  General Publications Bible Products, CSPS:  Boston, MA, 2002.

Bowker, John (ed.), The Complete Bible Handbook.  DK Publishing:  London, UK, 1998.

Feiler, Bruce, Abraham:  A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths.  William Morrow (HarperCollins Publishers Inc):  New York, NY, 2002.  

Kee, Howard Clark, et al, The Cambridge Companion to the Bible.  Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1997.

Keller, Werner, The Bible as History.  William Morrow and Co.:  New York, NY, 1964 (revised).

Mysteries of the Bible.  The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.:  Pleasantville, NY, 1988.

Snipes, Joan Koelle, Bible Study for Children.  Bible Teaching Press:  Shepherdstown, WV, 1999.

Tosto, Peter (ed.), Found Volumes, Version 2003 (software).  www.foundvolumes.com:  Marietta, GA, 2004.

Trench, R.C., Notes on the Parables of Our Lord.  Baker Book House:  Grand Rapids, MI, 1948.

Zondervan Bible Study Library 5.0., Family Edition (software).   Zondervan:  Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.

*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King James Version of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science.