" The LORD roars from Zion . " " The LORD is my shepherd , I shall not want . " Your hair is like a flock of goats , moving down the slopes of Gilead . " " Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool . " " Blind guides ! You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel . " Every reader of the Bible has encountered the powerful , comforting and sometimes puzzling imagery of Scripture . These concrete pictures with their hidden force have struck sharp and lasting impressions on our minds . Their imprint has etched itself on the language and grammar of Christian faith and Western culture . Why then do traditional Bible dictionaries and reference works offer so little help to explorers of the Bible's galaxy of verbal pictures ? They excel in describing the climate , borders and location of Galilee or Sinai . But they are often blind to the artistic expressions and deaf to the musical meanings that echo from within the world of the biblical text . " The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is the first contemporary reference work dedicated to exploring the images , symbols , motifs , metaphors and literary patterns found in the Bible . More than that , it examines the Bible's universal archetypes or master images - including the plot motifs and character types that recur throughout life , literature and the Bible . The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery explores the dazzling variety in which the Word of God comes dressed in the clothes of everyday life . It traces the trail of images from Eden to the New Jerusalem . It captures the plotted patterns of biblical narrative . It surveys the imaged texture of each book of the Bible . Here is a Bible dictionary with a difference - an inviting , enlightening and indispensable companion to the reading , study , contemplation and enjoyment of the Bible .