Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking & Pieter W. van der Horst

Very Average Joe
Aug 3
3 min read

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, also referred to as DDD, is a single-volume reference text of almost one thousand pages. It was first published in 1995, with a Second Extensively Revised Edition published in 1999.

The abovementioned second edition is edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst. Listed as consultants are Hans Dieter Betz, Andre Caquot, Jonas C. Greenfield, Erik Hornung, Michael Stone and Manfred Weippert.

There is also a List of Contributors in alphabetical order by surname with their respective entries in brackets under their name. There are over one hundred contributors.

At a glance, these editors, consultants and contributors are of various backgrounds and areas of expertise, including ancient religions, Old Testament theology, ancient history, Hebrew, Arabic, amongst others.

The text aims for breadth and thus “Bible” is meant the complete Septuagint text (including 3 and 4 Maccabees), the Masoretic text and the Greek New Testament. References to other manuscripts—for example, 1 Enoch—are made when applicable.

The so-called deities and demons listed belong to one of the five groups:

Those mentioned by name and are recognized as such at the time (at least by some).
Personal names or place names due to historic significance without implying worship at the time.
So-called demythologized deities, such as words derived from deities but are no longer treated as such.
Those whose divinity is questionable.
Those “human figures who rose to attain divine or semi-divine status in a later tradition”.

The entries are not shown with the above classification. As briefly discussed in the Introduction, it is the criterion by which the entries were selected.

Entries typically are in four sections, containing and discussing the following:

I. Name and etymology.
II. Character and role of the deity or demon in the culture of origin and its links and history in other religions and cultures.
III. Character and role of the deity or demon in the books of the Bible and related traditions.
IV. Bibliographic information.

Some entries have three sections, some even have five sections.

The page layout is in two columns, typical of a dictionary or encyclopedia. The length of entries varies: from less than one page to three pages is common, although there are longer entries at five pages or more.

As already mentioned, the text aims for breadth and this includes how each entry is treated. So, its strength is also in a way its weakness, for it covers various viewpoints and traditions but it doesn’t focus on any one of them in depth. In other words, like anything in a dictionary, the information is highly generalized.

My only complaint is that when the entry traces the history and tradition, the timing of how some aspects are passed on or develop is not always clear. Either way, it is still an excellent reference text that is informative and even intriguing.

As a sidebar, DDD is not to be confused with D&D. Whilst D&D-nerds may understandably find this reference text fascinating, one should always be cautious when citing or using names of deities and demons even if there is no intent to actually call on them. That is, of course, another topic.

Below is reproduced p.688 containing the entry for Archangel St Raphael.