New Bible Atlas [Hardcover]

John J. Bimson (Editor), John P. Kane (Editor), John H. Paterson (Editor), Donald J. Wiseman (Editor), Derek W. Wood (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1993

Keeping up with the Bible's many characters and events can be difficult, even daunting. But this unique and comprehensive blend of maps, charts, plans, photographs and text offers help in finding your way through the lands of the Bible from antiquity to the present day. Arranged chronologically and utilizing contour maps and satellite photographs, the New Bible Atlas combines geographical and historical detail in a colorful, large-format book invaluable for all students and readers of the Bible. Edited by J. J. Bimson, J. P. Kane, J. H. Paterson, D. J. Wiseman and D. R. W. Wood.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bimson, B.A., Ph. D., is lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew at Trinity College, Bristol.

Kane, Ph. D., Dip.Ed., is lecturer in Hellenistic Greek at the University of Manchester.

Paterson, M.A. is emeritus professor of geography at the University of Leicester.

Donald J. Wiseman is emeritus professor of Assyriology at the University of London in England.

Wood, M.A., is managing editor, InterVarsity Press, England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (December 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830814434
• ISBN-13: 978-0830814435
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Single Source for Bible Study Maps, February 28, 2008

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Bible Atlas (Hardcover)

The `New Bible Atlas', assembled by a team sponsored by the UK company, Inter-Varsity Press of Leicester, England, with two distinguished `contributing editors', two equally distinguished `consulting editors', and an `organizing editor employed by the publisher is the kind of book which makes me wish I could pull a few stars from my ratings of similar books containing Biblical era maps and historical tables. My previous favorite source for maps was the Hammond `Atlas of the Bible Lands', which still wins the prize for their lushly colored physical maps underlying the political boundaries of the era being represented. Distant second places go to the Holman and Rose companies' offerings of maps, charts, and timelines, although the Rose `Book of Bible Time Lines' is a great source for teaching children and teens.

This `New Bible Atlas' has two things which put it head and shoulders over the nearest competitor, Hammond, and at least one or two things which make it stand out even better from Rose and Holman. The first virtue is the fact that there are many, many more different maps, covering in far greater detail the various periods of Hebrew history covering the time Joshua conquered Canaan to the period of Jesus' Apostles' travels. For someone like me who needs a plentiful supply of maps covering all the events and books of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, this is, if I may say so, a Godsend! There are literally maps covering every change in political organization and most major military operations in ancient Palestine. The second virtue over Hammond is that almost all the maps are exactly the right size to scan into a document for a Bible Study class. There are many good maps in Hammond or in study Bibles which are too big, spread across two pages, or too small and lacking in detail, all of which make them inconvenient to scan on a home scanner, without destroying the book's binding. The third virtue, which sets it apart from Rose and Holman, is the level of detail. While the physical representations may not be as lush as Hammond, they are still excellent, giving a good sense of the geography of the stage on which the action took place. A second virtue over Rose and Holman is that the accompanying historical graphics are also superb for scanning, with a clean presentation and excellent details. There are many other Biblical atlases available, and I have not examined all of them; however many larger volumes called `atlases' are really picture books with lots of archaeological reconstructions and narrative history. This is great, but these volumes are also short on high quality MAPS! And when I buy an Atlas, I want MAPS, lots of them! And this book has got them. Thankfully, it also has a fair share of auxiliary information, but somehow, this stuff seems to be a perfect complement to the primary task of understanding history and geography of the region. Most interesting are those things which commonly appear in atlases covering geology, climate, rainfall, and agricultural use.

Getting back to maps, one of the few things I could not find is a map of the Roman empire showing which provinces where senatorial and which were imperial, or a map of population centers in the empire (although knowing that the three largest cities were Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, in roughly that order, goes far to understanding population distribution in the time of Jesus.).

For a list price of under $30, this book may be worth more than `atlases' of the same period which have twice the heft or price. For Bible study, you may need maps from other sources for some purposes, but not many. This is great, if you can only own one book of Bible history maps!