The first version was published under the general editorship of the fundamentalist James Orr (1844–1913), among other objectives to counteract the impact of higher criticism.
A revised version, edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, was published by Wm.
It contains articles by nearly 200 evangelical scholars about archaeological discoveries, the language and literature of Bible lands, customs, family life, occupations, and the historical and religious environments of Bible people.
[2][3] Writing in a 1984 book review for The Churchman, Stephen Motyer said the conservatism of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia "is that of broad, main-line evangelicalism, although it seems to be slightly more conservative than the work it replaces".
However, he concludes "The criticisms I have made do not, to my mind, qualify the great solid worth of this production....I...seriously commend this encyclopedia..."[4]