The Open Bible Handbook
From Door43
The Open Bible Handbook is a project to create an interactive, multimedia resource of key terms, concepts and maps of the Bible that is free for anyone, anywhere to use and redistribute in any way they want. By releasing it under a Creative Commons license (see Door43:Copyrights), it can be translated, adapted, improved and extended for use in any language, with no legal implications due to copyright law.
We are still in the design stages of the Open Bible Handbook. Join us on the "Discussion" page to give your input.
Purpose
Specific purpose: Provide a categorized list of Biblical topics, names, places, maps and illustrations to help the student of the Bible accurately understand the context and purpose of any given passage of Scripture.
There are many Bible handbook/encyclopedia/dictionary resources in existence today, so why create another one? The Open Bible Handbook is designed to meet a specific need for a Bible resource that:
- Provides concise historical, cultural and geographic information about Biblical people and places
- Is designed to provide only "what you need to know" about a given topic in order to understand the Bible, instead of a comprehensive compilation of everything there is to know about the topic.
- Reflects the insights of recent academic research.
- Is written in clear, non-academic, contemporary English that is understandable by non-native English speakers.
- Is intended to be translated into other languages that do not have a Bible resource that meets this need.
- Makes use of multimedia formats (e.g. maps, graphics and videos) as well as text formats. An audio version of the handbook is planned for use among people groups that are primarily oral communicators.
- Is both free of charge and can be freely used, re-purposed, and distributed anywhere - including computer software, mobile phone applications, in print and on other websites, all without royalties or restrictions (read the license).
Finding information in the Handbook
Entries in the Open Bible Handbook can be located in a number of different ways, including by category. The entries in each category of the Handbook are listed below.
| People | Places | Topics | Things | Maps & Other Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People in the Bible and Church history. | Places in the Bible and Church history. | Biblical topics and themes. | Things mentioned in the Bible, of cultural or historical significance. | Maps & other resources in the Open Bible Handbook.
Maps 
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