Hitchcock's Topical Bible with Cruden's Concordance

by Roswell D. Hitchcock, © 1962, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids 6 , Michigan.

To a writer, books are not only the products, but the tools, as well. Within arms reach of my desk top computer are two well appointed book shelves with dictionaries, thesauruses, formatting guides, and even some of the titles reviewed on this web site. One tool I always keep in handy reach is my Hitchcock’s Topical Bible with Cruden’s Concordance.

Along with Christian fiction, I write biblical scripts for a drama ministry. The plays I write are instructional, written to minister to the Body of Messiah rather than to evangelize. I take a face value event like the story of Esther, for instance, and I guide my audience to a deeper level of understanding.

In Esther’s case, I highlighted the less apparent Messianic foreshadowing woven between the lines of the biblical account. I also connected historic animosities between Mordechai and Haman through their genealogies, using the Bible as my source.

Besides scripts, I also write articles about the revelations I have and post them on the ministry website. Because the Bible warns that teachers shall incur a stricter judgment,[i] I get my facts straight before placing a production on stage or posting an article on line. There are a great many extra-biblical tools that I can and do use to corroborate my accounts, but I especially like the Hitchcock Topical Bible with Cruden’s Concordance.

The Hitchcock text opens with an Alphabetical Index of Subjects found in the Topical Bible. These include:
Scripture
God
Works of God
Miracles
Mediums and Methods of Revelation
Duties to God
Angels, Good and Evil
Jesus Christ
The Hebrews
War
Man Redeemed, and so on.

The topics are outlined in seven-hundred pages under numerous headings and sub-headings. Every possible scripture verse related to that sub-heading is listed in KJV. Because the topics are so broad and inclusive, I almost always find what I’m looking for, with immediate scriptural substantiation to support my conclusions.

Man, such as he is, is well documented in the Hitchcock’s Topical Bible with the Cruden’s Concordance. The text works as well for the fiction writer who wants to develop their characters in line with biblical principles. For historical fiction, topics such as Industrial, Employments, and Products and Civil and Social Life will help the writer cultivate credible characters consistent to the customs and conventions of biblical times.

Hitchcock’s Topical Bible with Cruden’s Concordance is a well used tool in my collection and one that I depend on for accurate and well researched writing.

[i] James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. NAS