Discipleship
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 50, No. 2 - Spring 2008
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Anson F. Rainey and R. Steven Notley. Jerusalem: Carta, 2006. 448 pages. Hardcover, $99.95.
While the publisher advertises this as an “atlas of the biblical world,” this is not your typical Bible atlas. One may be tempted to interpret this work as an historical geography textbook, but it is not your typical histori- cal geography textbook. The content and incorporation of primary sources would define the target audience as scholars, but the structure and writing style focus on students. The title of the book belies the scholarly intent and approach of the book. The study of the Bible must be done in its geographical, cultural, and historic contexts. The revelation of Scripture (or as the authors articulate it within its literary context—“the epic literature of the ancient Israelites”) occurred and developed on a small strip of land that served as a bridge and a barrier as armies and ideas marched across its soil.
The authors have succeeded in producing an historical geography resource for all students, scholars, and those who take seriously the study of biblical history. The atlas consists of twenty-five chapters from the “Dawn of History” (early and intermediate Bronze Ages) to “The Bar Kochba Re- volt 132–135 CE.” It includes three introductory chapters addressing the topics of the history of the discipline of historical geography, the ancient worldview, and the geography of the Levant. The first sixteen chapters were written by Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley wrote chapters 17–25.
The format of the book is consistent for each chapter, which deals with a specific segment of history. A discussion of Egypt is followed by Mesopotamia (e.g. Kassites, Anatolians, and Assyrians) and then some- times other regions such as the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, North Syria, or Phoenician Coast. After this broad historical overview of the ancient Near East, a discussion of the history of ancient Palestine follows. Most chapters end with excursuses addressing issues pertinent to historical texts and/or archaeology. The book contains references and an index at the end.
One of the unique features of the work is the color coding—references (red text), original texts (light blue), and their translations into English
(dark blue). Throughout the text pertinent primary data is accessible in the body of the work, whether it is original Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform (in transliteration), Hebrew, or Greek. In addition, when a biblical text is quoted, it is first written in Hebrew and/or Greek, followed by an English translation. Archaeology discussions play an auxiliary role.
The text reflects years of scholarship. The authors are well known and trained in their respective disciplines and have control of the biblical and other textual data. They make a concerted effort to ensure that this work will be used by students and non-specialists. While they move the reader from the primary texts and data to an historical reconstruction, there is no rehashing of every scholarly opinion of individual site identification that is common in earlier works of historical geography. The format is well designed and the illustrations are exceptional. While the work uses historical critical methods and views the biblical text as literature, there is an underlying assumption that beneath the biblical accounts there is solid history. A student or scholar who digests this work will be well equipped to address the biblical text within its historical and cultural context. The theologian or biblical scholar who has a high view of the biblical text, and is not shy to confront primary data, will find many gems to mine from this work and a foundation for handling the biblical text within its revealed history.
