For the extremely small number of people who are interested not only in having an index in a book but are also fascinated by the process of compiling them (the literary equivalent of people who not only stay in the cinema to read the credits after the film but are also fascinated by how the credits are made), I have just written an article for The Indexer, the journal of the Society of Indexers, entitled ‘Biblical reference indexing: the challenges’. I wrote it because a few months ago I was asked to write a Biblical reference index for the first time, alongside a conventional index for a book in the area of theology. I write a lot of indexes, but this was a new experience for me, so I thought it would be worthwhile sharing what I had learnt – especially since indexers who work in the field of theology and church history (as I do, naturally) may be asked to do this and could easily be thrown by it. I trust that my fellow indexers find it an interesting read.
Francis Young 