It is our privilege to introduce you to the Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical-Theological Dictionary (SDAIBTD), a project of the Biblical Research Institute (BRI). As its name suggests, this project is a compendium of biblical-theological entries to facilitate the study of Scripture and to enhance our understanding of biblical-theological concepts. The dictionary has long been in the making. It started in 2016 with Dr. Ekkehardt Mueller as its founding editor. At the 62nd General Conference Session in St. Louis in 2025, it was launched with some 1,500 articles out of what will eventually total about six thousand entries. The project is still in progress, and new articles will be added periodically as they become available. We hope to complete the SDAIBTD by 2030.

Adventist scholars and theologians from all parts of the world have contributed entries for the SDAIBTD. Through the two committees of the BRI—the Biblical Research Institute Committee (BRICOM) and the Biblical Research Institute Ethics Committee (BRIEC)—and the Biblical Research Committees (BRCs) of the world divisions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, we have gathered over four hundred contributors who are specialists in the fields of biblical studies, systematic theology, historical theology, archaeology, and ethics.

Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church already has a capable Bible dictionary—volume 8 of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Reference Series, published in 1960 and revised in 1979—several reasons led to the production of a new dictionary. Apart from the fact that the current dictionary is out of print, it was felt that the church needed a more comprehensive and up-to-date biblical and theological dictionary, a need that is not met by the current dictionary. The older Bible dictionary focuses concisely on biblical names and important words with a special interest in archaeology, but the new SDAIBTD includes not only biblical names and words (nouns—names of persons, animals, places, plants, and objects; and verbs) but also covers theological themes and terms (e.g., election, holiness, substitution, Trinity), some historical movements or persons related to those movements (e.g., Anabaptists, Reformation, John Calvin, Martin Luther), as well as ethical topics, including contemporary issues (e.g., reproductive technologies, artificial intelligence). In addition, the SDAIBTD is more detailed. For example, the term “covenant” is discussed in just about 640 words in the old dictionary; in the new dictionary, this term is treated in about 3,600 words. Furthermore, the new dictionary benefits from recent scholarship.

The SDAIBTD is biblically sound, informative, readable, and Adventist. Plus, it is easily accessible, as it is being published online. More than 1,500 articles of the SDAIBTD are already available on a new BRI website where articles can be searched alphabetically.¹ We believe that the SDAIBTD will serve the needs of everyone interested in studying more about the Bible and Bible-related topics. Scholars and theologians, pastors and teachers, as well as church elders and church members, will benefit from the SDAIBTD. From the meanings of biblical names to doctrinal issues and contemporary topics, the SDAIBTD will serve Bible students and facilitate a deeper understanding and appreciation of God’s Word.

Special thanks to the General Conference administration for sponsoring the project and to the assistant editors of the division BRCs, the writers, and the various committees that evaluate the entries.