I think the ISBE is the best all around Bible encyclopedia you can buy. It is a definite upgrade from the info you would find in a one volume Bible dictionary. Compared to other multi-volume works, I find that ISBE has the most breadth of topic coverage (see article count at end of review). ISBE is often compared with Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (AYDB). AYDB is bigger, more scholarly/in-depth, and more diverse in viewpoints (thus requiring more discernment--you may find yourself disagreeing with the conclusions of the articles). ISBE has more topic coverage and is more conservative/evangelical in viewpoints, which makes it more useful for non-scholarly applications like sermon/bible study prep (depending on where you stand). ISBE is also cheaper than AYBD and would be the one I recommend for laymen get as the step up from a one volume dictionary. Another advantage I find for the ISBE over the AYBD is that the ISBE is more willing to discuss theology. An ISBE article will often discuss the historical theological understanding of a biblical concept while the AYDB tends to stick with analysis of the biblical and contemporary extra-biblical texts (and their contextual backgrounds). A comparison of the articles on Baptism and the Lord's Supper shows this: Baptism: the ISBE includes sections on Baptist, Reformed, and Lutheran views of baptism written by different authors (note that it only includes those three views), whereas the AYBD specifically avoids discussing various doctrinal views. Lord's Supper: the ISBE adds sections on development of Eucharistic doctrine and liturgy from the Early Church through the Reformation that the AYBD doesn't discuss. Of course if one already has a theological dictionary or encyclopedia, then the need for theological topical discussion in a bible dictionary will be lessened. But it makes the ISBE more of a one-stop resource. Other encyclopedia choices include Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (BEB) and Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (ZEB). The BEB is both shorter and less in-depth than the ISBE. I don't have the ZEB to compare. Here's the article/page count for the three encyclopedia I own: AYBD 6000+ articles / 7200+ pages ISBE 9000+ articles / 4452 pages BEB: 5700+ articles / 2000+ pages Note that the article count on AYBD is lower than ISBE, but the page count is higher (i.e., the articles are much longer in AYBD). I'm glad to have both. I got the BEB when it was still included of Scholars Platinum and don't find myself using it.