HarperCollins Concise Atlas of The Bible (Paperback)

~ James B. Pritchard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The best and most comprehensive Bible atlas to date-compiled by an international team of fifty scholars with the cartography of Times Books- is now available in paperback.

The HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible puts all of biblical history in its geographical context: from the earliest evidence of humankind in Palestine to the rise of Christianity in the Byzantine empire. Though it echoes the acclaimed Harper Atlas of the Bible in content, this beautiful new edition-in paperback for the first time- presents volumes of material with a clarity and brevity that will appeal to readers at all levels of interest and expertise. Families, churches, teachers, and scholars will find this edition easy to use and invaluable, with a complete chronology of events and indexes of names, places, and biblical references. Richly illustrated with more than 250 maps, site reconstructions, and color photographs, this practical resource is engaging to the eye and to the intellect.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

For centuries a knowledge of ancient Hebrew and Greek has been the prime requisite for biblical scholarship. This continues to be true, Yet recently, approaches other than linguistic have come to play an increasing role, First came the discovery and decipherment of texts written by neighbouring Egyptians and Assyrians; then there was the archaeological recovery of how Israelites lived and worshipped; and most recently science has come to be used increasingly in getting at the biblical past, In 1987 The Times Atlas of the Bible sought to make use of these new approaches and grew into a large volume, About fifty specialists from a variety of fields contributed.

Understandably there are different levels of interest in detail among students and readers of the Bible. in the concise edition we have been able to produce a more compact atlas, Much of the text has been rewritten to exclude some peripheral matters and to present others in shorter form, New maps have been produced to combine information formerly given on two or more maps, The concise atlas has been designed to serve the reader or user who wants to get as quickly as possible to what is currently known about the historical geography of the Bible.

The general aim remains essentially the same as that of the larger work, it is to provide the geographical setting of such dramatic events as wars, military campaigns, destructions, rebellions; chart the routes of conquerors and exiles; mark the rise and fall of empires and the divisions of kingdoms; and locate the heroic deeds of patriarchs, judges and prophets.

in the process of condensing we have assumed that the Bible itself is of primary interest, What sheds light on its narratives is of major importance, We have introduced an index of biblical references, and another index to personal names found in the text of the atlas, A short bibliography is also a new feature.

For the sake of consistency we have made use of the dates given in the third edition of The Cambridge Ancient History, a widely used book of reference, We have followed the Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 4, edited by M. Avi-Yonah and E. Stern, 1978, for terminology and dates for archaeological periods from the Bronze Age onward.

The maps in this atlas have been specially designed in order to present the material in a clear and dynamic way, Many of the maps are based on recessive or unorthodox projections, and it is therefore not possible to provide scales for them -- the distance between two places in the foreground, for example, will be considerably greater than that between two places near the horizon. in order to help the reader to interpret the maps, most of them carry longitude and latitude lines, in addition to an indication of the north-south axis. Further, an index of distances between principal biblical sites appears on page 138.

Again we are indebted to our former contributors, as wellas to new ones, for their help in the production of this conciseatlas, which, while resembling its parent, is not cast directly fromthe older mould,

J. B. Pritchard
September 1990

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (February 26, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062514997
• ISBN-13: 978-0062514998
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #828,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars detailled atlas, March 4, 1998

By A Customer

this atlas covers many topics, eras, places, etc. not covered in usual Bible atlas. Some parts are liberal, with some displaced and unsound attacks on inerrancy. Yet it is a good tool. An even more detailled atlas would be the Time Atlas. A less detailled atlas, but excellent is Dowley's Atlas of the Bible and Christianity, in my opinion. This present atlas is a good complement to Dowley's.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not For Weak Eyes, Too high price, November 6, 2008

By	Steve Kamerick (Bigfork, Montana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a pretty detailed Atlas, but names of places, countries, and map location names are from somewhere other than Earth. Would have little value if you did not already know a little about where you were going in the Bible history world. Obviously written and composed by non-christian publishers. Maps are un-naturally rounded, (like sphere of globe) but not at all accurate as to actual topography of the globe, probably for some kind of entertainment I guess. The print is so small and light that you can hardly read it, I find it hard to believe that a publisher of printed material would even release this kind of quality, and expect that we would find it enjoyable to read. I bought mine on Ebay for $3.95 and would not have paid $3.96 for it. Look elsewhere for a decent READABLE Atlas of the Bible.