Customer Reviews

Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History (Broadman & Holman Reference)

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The Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History is worthy of reading in its own right. It is a beautiful and super-informative volume. It is an invaluable tool for using while studying the Bible. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Atlas is laid out in chronological order. It begins taking a general look at the geography of the ancient Near East. It ends with the expansion of Christianity up to 300 AD. In between these two time periods, the Atlas follows the sweep of the geographical history of the Israelites and the early Christians.

Every Chapter is filled with beautiful pictures, informative charts and lists, and excellent maps. I found especially useful the cutaway topographical maps such as the one used to vividly show the course of Joshua's military campaigns.

As great as the maps and pictures are...this atlas has a lot more to offer. Each chapter analyzes the economic, cultural and religious practices common in the time periods being discussed. Side bar articles discuss some of these issues in an in-depth manner.

In this atlas I found clear, visual explanations of several Biblical topics that had previously been nebulous at best in my mind. The chart on page twenty-eight alone is worth the price of the book. It is the first chart I have ever seen that clearly explains the relation between the Solar Months, the Hebrew Names of Lunar Months, the Feasts and Rainfalls, the Agricultural Activities and Pastoral Activities in ancient Israel.

Another great feature of this atlas that I have found useful is the bibliography for studying the topics presented here in greater depth...now I have more books to read!

I give this excellent book my highest recommendation. Get a copy today.

I suppose I should preface this review by saying that I am not a former student of Dr. Brisco as the other reviewers were. Therefore, I can assure you that I don't have a prejudicial view of the work. But I can agree with the previous reviewers by guaranteeing that this Bible Atlas is, by far, the best in its class, offering extensive coverage of both the social and physical geography of Palestine and the Near East for a very afforable price. The grahpical quality of the maps and visual aids are simply stunning and unsurpassed by anything else out there. The only Atlas that comes close to this work is Zondervan's NIV Atlas Of The Bible by Rasmussen. Nothing else should even be considered. If you can have only one Bible Atlas, this is the one you want! Don't waste your time searching for anything better!

The maps are colorful and detailed. The maps also give the viewer a good sense of the elevation changes from the hill areas to the sea-level areas. Different nations are highlighted in different colors, and viewers can see the empires land borders in the different time periods.

There are many photos of the land and archaeology items.

The book also gives detailed descriptions about what life was like in many of the empires, and how the empires were formed and grew.

If you are trying to decide whether to spend the extra dollars for this book: I believe the extras including the map details, land photos, and commentaries on the living conditions and empire developments make this book a much better value than some of the less expensive books, which I like...but the extra details in this book make it more than worth any difference in price.

Hands down, this is one of the best atlases I have seen of the Ancient Near East. And it presents the majority consensus of scholars today in terms of geographical distributions, routes taken, culture and history. Just reading the text alone is worth the price of admission. I must confess, though, that I am a map junkie and would loved to have seen more maps. As it stands, however, this atlas still makes an outstanding resource. I simply can't think of a better way to describe it. If you're a serious Bible student, or even a not so serious one, you should defiantly get one. Put it on your Christmas list or whatever, but pick up a copy.

This book is written by Thomas V. Brisco, currently dean of Logsdon Seminary, run by the "Moderate" faction of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The helps in this book are truly spectactular, including maps on almost every single page, some in relief, as well as pictures of various Biblical Archaeology finds relevant to the narrative. Truly all of the stops were pulled out to produce an outstanding and engaging pictoral reference.

While generally from an evangelical perspective, a couple examples of disappointing elements are:
1. Whether intentional or not, the description of these ages reflects a more evolutionary worldview of anthropology than Biblical. People are described as making various discoveries during these pre-historic epochs which lead to civilization. Where is the description of Nimrod's Building of the Tower of Babel, or God's destruction of the world by water in Noah's day? Rather than attempt to harmonize these Biblical events with archaeology, they are glossed over or ignored. In general the ancient history section suffers from this approach accross the board. If you are looking for an attempt at harmonization of Biblical data and secular findings, you will not find it here.
2. The description of the of the ancient civilizations lacks a critical moral dimension. Reading the description of Vespasian and Titus, one would almost think of George Washington, not the men who demolished Jerusalem in one of the most horrible slaughters in history. Why also do we lack any dimension of the atrocious nature of the culture of these civilizations? Without this, we do not see the true impact of the Gospel on human history, and God's role in the civilization of nations.
3. Pages 31-35 give an overall framework for world history that clearly comes from secular scholarship rather than Biblical scholarship. It begins with dates as early as 18,000 BC, (Paleolitic "The Stone Age"), which does not easily fit with the Bible's apparent dates of around 4,000-6,000 B.C., or the many ancient calendars.

My recommendation if you own this is to use the charts and maps, and some of the Bible background sections, but skip the ancient history section totally. For those such as homeschoolers from a strongly conservative background, you may want to skip this text altogether.

Updates: The Holman Quicksource Bible Atlas contains many of the same maps, in fact I think a more comprehensive set, but with a text that does not share the above problems, and has a generally more Biblical focus, unfortunately it's very small. Also, many of the illustrations are included inline now with the amazing Holman Illustrated Study Bible. There are others as well. In the years since I've written this review, other atlases are catching up with the maps in this one, so shop around.

Having read one review here that indicated that this book made the all to common mistake repeated again and again in bibical timelines of puting the Great Flood around 2500 BC which is after at least 600 years of known Pharaohs in Egypt I decided to check the timeline in the Atlas out for myself.

I'm glad to report that this is not the case (or if it was that way then it has been corrected), but here is what I do see:

The timeline for the secular world begins with the Early Bronze Age and has its dates below the timeline. Up above this timeline is another representing bibical events. The bibical line has no dates below it which actually implies that the date is not known (which is the best way to handle the Great Flood), but if you just glanced at this page without looking at it closely your eyes could fool you into thinking that the numbers below the secular timeline were meant for both timelines, but this is not the case. Further out on the bibical timeline there is a break in time denoted then it begins dating bibical events starting with Abraham.

So they handled this issue perfectly, but presented it in a way which could confuse anyone who gave it a quick glance.

Otherwise this Atlas is very well done with plenty of maps and charts that would be helpful to either self-study or leading a study group.

"Holman Bible Atlas" is an immensely readable book supplying first of all geographical, then rising from it historical, political, social, economic and, most of all, theological foundations to the context of the Bible. Whether a layperson seeking this grounding or a more serious theological student, the reader will find that context here.

This atlas was required reading in a Survey of the Old Testament course I took several years ago. Because an atlas is a book of maps, this book, of course, focuses on ancient topography, agriculture, migrations, and a changing history. All things together combine to tell "the story of God's redemptive work in human history" (2).

The story begins with a land layout of the general area of the Ancient Near East, then the lens closes in on the geographic regions of Palestine, then life in the region, including weather, climate, crops, and what archeology has provided.

Then the writer, Thomas Brisco, pulls his lens way back to focus on the earliest people of this geography, then refocuses closer to the time of the Patriarchs, and specifically Abraham and his descendants through Joseph and his passage into Egypt. An examination of Egypt: geography and the dynastic history as they pertain to God's work that follows.

This pattern, adhering to atlas and map disclosures, predominates through the Exodus, Resettlement, the Kingdoms and kings and judges, rise of powers and loss of powers--all geographically revealed.

How does one use a Bible atlas? You can read it straight through as I did and thoroughly enjoyed. Or you can use the Table of Contents or Index for locating specific topics you are interesting in pursuing. Let's say you are studying the walls of Jericho. The TC gives me pp. 77-78 for information on Joshua and the suspected location of Jericho. I find a picture of Tell es-Sultan, possibly the ruins of Jericho. I don't find the story itself because this is an historical atlas, not a history book.

On page 40 is a map locating the settlement of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Levitical cities. On page 100 is a map showing the possible flight of David from Saul, who was intent on killing David, his God-appointed successor. On page 118 is a map of the two kingdoms: Israel and Judah.
(A side note: According to some sources my name Judy derives from Judah.)

Often colorful, the maps are clear and easy to follow. The photographs enhance the written description. Sidebars provide interesting anecdotes. The flowing and well-written narration is situated amongst a variety of visuals. "Holman Bible Atlas" is an inviting, informative trek through the rocky hills and green valleys into the paths of the past of the Bible Lands. Your ticket is in the book.

This is a very good Bible atlas. It has solid narrative and colorful maps and illustrations to support the text. The book is easily followed as it is divided into coded chapters and sections. But the main focus is the maps. Many are in full color, some even depict three dimensional cross sections to help the reader understand local topography. To supplement the maps and text, there are several charts. These charts give quick summaries of their topics. Rounding out the visuals of the book are various artworks and some photographs. Many of the photographs are taken from angles that do not show modern features such as power lines or modern structures. In this light they add dimension to the book as they show the reader what the people of ancient Palastine would have seen.

This book is essential for Bible scholars and historians alike. Geographers will also find it useful. But do not misunderstand me. This atlas is for everyone. It has information for people taking Bible study classes, or for pastors, of for anyone with a desire to know the Holy Lands in greater detail. The book covers the biblical period and carries the development of early Christianity into the second and third centuries. But the focus is the Bible times through the writings of Paul. This book comes highly recommended.

This atlas deserves to become the "industry standard." Its color plates, maps, and extensive textual notes open up the world of the ancient Near East like no previous work. As a student of Dr. Brisco, I can tell you that his life long familiarity with and study of the environs and history of the Levant region shine through in this atlas. Students, academics, and pastors would be well served to invest in this magnificent resource by a top-notch scholar of archaeology and history.

This book is nothing more than a secularist's timeline and take on history wrapped with a cover that says "Bible" on it. The question is by whose Bible is he using to setup his historical framework? Ironically it isn't the Holman Bible.

Brisco adheres to the Standard Egyptian Chronology and not a Biblical one. He should have considered a revised chronology set forth by field archaeologist David Down and others [...]. Most scholars agree that the standard chronology needs drastic revision.

If you adhere to a standard chronology as Brisco has, you are forced to neglect the biblical record back beyond 700 bc. If that's the case then the Bible is wrong, so why believe the rest of it?

According to Brisco's timeline he's got the Noahacian worldwide flood in the middle of the old kingdom of Egypt! He also completely neglects the tower of Babel, a significant event in history. But I have to give him credit; he is forced to neglect this because of the historical framework he has setup.

The Table of Nations is another example; one of the most important historical pieces of documentation is relegated to a quarter page and he almost gives you the impression that it's folklore.

Even more unfortunate is that this is being taught at an evangelical seminary...this is by no means a Biblical view on history by any stretch.

If you're a Christian looking for a great source of historical information that's consistent with the Bible, you might look elsewhere. If you want some neat charts and graphs and pictures, great.

I highly suggest Ussher's marvelous work "Annals of the World: James Ussher's Classic Survey of World History" ISBN: 0890513600. While Ussher's work isn't full of pretty pictures its history is consistent with the Bible. And as a Christian who believes the word of God is inherrant and infallible, that's what matters.