"More than any other book, the Bible offers an amazing collection of fascinating characters ranging from the holiest of the holy to some of the most depraved scoundrels imaginable. Many are mentioned only in passing, yet history and archaeology can often fill in the blanks and flesh them out as exciting human beings. For this reason we have in many cases been able to tell much more about them than the Bible alone reveals."
- Richard R. Losch (from the foreword)
All the People in the Bible really delivers on its title: you'll find literally all of the Bible's characters in this comprehensive and fascinating reference work. From the first entry on Aaron to the final entry covering Zopar, Richard Losch details each person in a lively narrative style that will have readers sticking around page after page.
The bulk of the work is made up of entries covering familiar and not-so-familiar figures found in Scripture. However, unlike most collections of this kind, the focus falls more on expanding our knowledge about the lesser characters. Losch explains that so very much has been written about the luminaries of Scripture that he chose to focus instead on those who are less well known and on some of the less familiar aspects of well-known characters' lives.
Names of people who are listed only in genealogies or who had no significant effect on history or legend are included solely in the appendix. The appendix's alphabetical listing of every person named in the Bible and Apocrypha includes pronunciation, brief identification, and where he or she appears. Those covered in greater detail in the main body of the book are identified in bold print.
Losch's new and intriguing look at allthe people in the Bible is anything but a dry reference work. This is a book to dip into and enjoy over and over.
