A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History

Should have read the reviews first! Purchased the Kindle version to use on my iPad, but the low resolution of the maps renders them fuzzy at best. Most of the fonts on the maps and information insets are, therefore, illegible; the usually-wonderful ability to enlarge things on the screen only makes matters worse. Wasted my money!

When I enrolled in Florida College at Temple Terrace, FL, in 1972, our first year required Bible History and Geography class (“Freshman Bible”) used the Baker’s Bible Atlas by Charles F. Pfeiffer as our textbook. Fast forward some forty years, and when our son Jeremy enrolled at F. C. in 2014, that same required class used the Holman Bible Atlas by Thomas V. Brisco, who is Provost, Chief Academic Officer, and Professor of Old Testament and Archaeology at Hardin-Simmons University. He formerly served at Baylor University where he taught in the Department of Religion. Prior to that, he taught for 21 years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he was also the Associate Dean for the Doctor of Philosophy Program. Dr. Brisco specializes in ancient near eastern history and archaeology particularly as these subjects relate to the historical, cultural, and geographical setting of the Bible. His archaeological field experience includes work at Tel Aphek and Tel Batash in Israel. Jeremy’s class used the original 1998 edition, but a newer version was published in 2014.

The 21 chapters of Holman Bible Atlas, which won the ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award and is considered the leading Bible atlas of today in the English language, are divided into three main parts. Part I (Chapters 1-3) details the physical geography of the Ancient Near East. Part II (Chapters 4-14) covers the Old Testament history from the beginning to the Hellenistic period. And Part III (Chapters 15-21) discusses the New Testament era from the rise of Rome to around A. D. 300. The use of 132 full-color maps, more than 100 color photographs, timelines, chart summaries, and helpful sidebars places readers in the geographical, historical, and cultural contexts of the Bible, enabling them to see the key events of the Bible and Christianity with exceptional clarity and to experience its perennially relevant message. There is a wealth of written and visual information regarding various people groups (Aramaeans, Moabites, Phoenicians, etc.), great empires (Egypt, Babylonia, Rome, etc.), and the economic life of ancient civilizations based on archaeological recoveries.

Here are just a few notes garnered from my browsing through the book. The author apparently accepts the view that the history of the Bible should be taken back to the “Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)” period that supposedly goes beyond 18,000 B.C., apparently to fit it in with human devised dating schemes. Also, he expresses (pretty much as fact) the view that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were two different people, calling Zarubbabel a “nephew of Sheshbazzar,” as opposed to the idea which we were always taught that these were just two different names, one Persian and the other Aramaic, for the same person. Of course, there always have been and ever will be differences of opinion among Bible scholars regarding many somewhat unclear details of Bible history. There is an index for reference, but, unfortunately, none of t he pages in the text are numbered. Personally, I happen to prefer the Baker’s Bible Atlas (it has been updated), primarily because it is more what I am used to, but also because I think that it is a little more conservative. But the Holman Bible Atlas is still a good reference.

I scanned the reviews of a number of biblical atlases on-line before deciding to purchase the 2014 edition of the Holman Bible Atlas ISBN 978-0805497601. This appears to be just a reprint - not a revision - of the 1999 edition ISBN 978-1558197091 (which is still available from the store for a lesser price).

The maps are excellent but the restrained text may ruffle the feathers of many a dogmatist.

For example, page 217 advises that "As testimonies rather than biographies, the Gospels are less concerned about chronological and geographical details than a biographer would be. ... In what follows, we will concentrate on key geographical settings in Jesus' ministry and leave aside the more complex discussion of chronology." We are told that "A tax census ordered when Quirinius was governor of Syria required subjects to be enrolled in their ancestral home. Because Joseph was of the lineage of David, that meant a journey to Bethlehem..." and that Jesus' birth "preceded Herod's death in 4 B.C., perhaps by two or three years, making it likely that Jesus was born between 7 and 6 B.C." The author is sensitive enough not to mention the fact that the census took place in AD 6.

The following comments concern the work of the graphic artist.

The cover of this edition has a photograph of the much-rebuilt Al-Aqsa Mosque located at the south-west corner of the Temple Mount. Since only part of the lowest courses dates to Herod the Great - the rest being built about half a millennium beyond the timeframe of the Holman Bible Atlas - I fail to see the relevance of the photograph.

The 132 maps have fine black line edges with (pointless but harmless) shadows along the bottom and one side.

Most of the photographs have ragged or blurred edges for no apparent reason. Some images - obviously reproduced from old black and white photographs - have been coloured (e.g. Akhenaten on page 57) or at least rendered in sepia (e.g. Darius I on page 167) which need not be a true representation of the original archaeological relief, inscription or scene. Perhaps this was done to boost the claim of "140 Full-Color Photographs Illustrating the Land, Sites and Archaeology of the Biblical World".

There are 25 "Sidebars" - i.e. information boxes - over-printed on a mottled brown background with ragged edges - perhaps meant to simulate aged papyrus - which almost obscures the text (which is in a smaller font than that of the main text).

Perhaps the above matters will be cleaned-up in a future edition.

Any keen student of the New Testament would expect to find Nazareth, Jerusalem and Bethlehem on any map of the period. But Bethlehem does not appear on Map 102 (The Division of Herod's Kingdom), Map 103 (Palestine in the Time of Jesus), Map 114 (The Kingdom of Herod Agrippa I), and Map 115 (Second Procuratorship and the Kingdom of Agrippa II).

According to page 162 "Under the Ptolemies, Babylon's economic fortunes declined..." In fact, Babylon was part of the Seleucid kingdom (as shown on Map 88 and referred to on page 177: "Ptolemy controlled Egypt... Seleucus, another of Alexander's generals, was granted Babylon.")

The book is nicely bound with the (xiv + 298) glossy pages sewn together in quires. "Made In China" is declared on the back cover. There was no dust cover with the copy I received.

I bought the book from the Book Depository in the UK (which is owned by the store).

Don't forget to "Look inside".

I bought this for a college class as a secondary work, so it wasn't one that I really ever used and it sat on my shelf for the semester. In the ensuing years, I really didn't even pick this up and look it, to be honest. I think in my head the word "Atlas" on the front made me assume this was more for maps and technical geographical details that just didn't interest my everyday reading. But, I'm sort of a completionist in some areas of my life and I hate for such a good-looking book to go unread, so I finally picked it up and realized I was missing out.

The Holman Bible Atlas was an easy five-star rating for me. It set out to treat the narrative of the history of the Bible and even some post-Christian times in a way that accentuates geographical details and archaeological discoveries. It is very heavy on telling the biblical story through cities, discussing often missed factors in Israelite/Roman history, such as why geography was so vital to Israel's relationship to other nations and economic issues. Briscoe often is able to talk about other nations from their point of view - i.e. - why Egypt would've wanted x territory and where this plays out in the biblical text or helps to contextualize the Assyrian Empire, describing in detail their battles, military maneuvers and politics.

I am glad Briscoe doesn't skip the Hasmonean period and leap from the last prophet to the book of Matthew. This is a necessary part of the book, as it fills in a few hundred years that is needed to understand Roman history and the time of Christ. So, while I said this treats the history of the Bible, that's a rough generalization. As you can see, Briscoe discusses much more than that. This is less than 300 pages and much of the work is pictures, graphs, charts, and maps, so the text, stories, etc. are brief. It's a basic introduction to the biblical stories and their surrounding cultures through the lens of geography and archaeology. So, it's heavy on charts, maps and graphs, and the story is kept to a minimum. And don't literally expect every biblical story or event to be included in here.

I highly recommend this if this description fits what you're looking for to read. You can (at present) get a used copy for less than four bucks. That's a steal. The Holman Bible Atlas would be great for a reference tool on your shelf as well and might fit on your church's library shelf. A staff member at a church of Sunday School teacher would get great use of this and would be able to make copies of maps for his class that would shed a lot of light on the biblical stories and narratives.

Avoid this book if you are someone who puts Bible truth before man's truth! It does have some wonderful picures of present day lands in the middle east. Some of the maps are very informative, and I'm sure a lot of work has gone into the book. However, it leans heavily on the "wisdom of man", particularly when discussing ancient times, and instead of being shown Bible lands from the view of a Bible believer, you will read about old-earth hunter-gatherers and the stone age. Of course people used stone tools etc, long ago, but so did the north American indians two hundred years ago, and so have remote tribes around the world up until recent decades. The fact that some tools are buried proves only that some tools got buried: there are no dates of manufacture inscribed on them.
I bought this book to help my young sons get a clearer view of Bible history, but I wasted my money. The authors did pretty well at not coming straight out and saying that the Adam and Eve story is a myth, since that would set off too many alarms, but you can tell that that's where they are coming from. To me, this is enough reason to not buy this book: I can get this kind of info from secular books if I want to.

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.

"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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I have been enjoying reading and looking up locations in those places I read about in the Bible it helps me picture and understand based upon the proximities and cultural information I find there. The only thing I would wish for is more current maps or transparencies to compare today's middle east with that of Biblical times. Good reference all told, though.

This book is extremely helpful in locating where the real places are that the bible's stories document, somehow I relate much better if I can see the rocks,seas, and harsh conditions and put myself there as the bible explains how life was then. Easy to use, and the book was well written, beautiful photos, and excellent maps that I have never seen anywhere else but a museum, a must have!

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.

I am writing this review because I can not figure out any other way to ask this question. I just received this as a Christmas present. It does not appear to have page numbers. Thinking of returning this unless I can find page numbers. Should there be page numbers and if so where are they.

I have been enjoying reading and looking up locations in those places I read about in the Bible it helps me picture and understand based upon the proximities and cultural information I find there. The only thing I would wish for is more current maps or transparencies to compare today's middle east with that of Biblical times. Good reference all told, though.

This book is extremely helpful in locating where the real places are that the bible's stories document, somehow I relate much better if I can see the rocks,seas, and harsh conditions and put myself there as the bible explains how life was then. Easy to use, and the book was well written, beautiful photos, and excellent maps that I have never seen anywhere else but a museum, a must have!

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.

I am writing this review because I can not figure out any other way to ask this question. I just received this as a Christmas present. It does not appear to have page numbers. Thinking of returning this unless I can find page numbers. Should there be page numbers and if so where are they.

This edition was not helpful for the course I have enrolled in. I should have verified my ISBN. The copyright of this edition is old and did not help with my course. I am checking in to returning it, but not sure how that will go.

Brisco's Atlas continues to serve as the gift of my choice for students, fellow church members, and new believers. There is no better Bible study discipline than to learn to use a Bible Atlas parallel to your studies. The Holman Bible Atlas is the best! It never fails me.

The book was as described, a nice book, but it is a heavy book and needed to be shipped in a box. It was shipped in a softly protected envelope giving the post office an opportunity to do damage to it, and they did.

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.