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

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.


Amazing Aids. Text has disappointments.   May 10, 2005
 80 out of 91 found this review helpful

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.


If you haven't got it, get one   November 27, 2001
 44 out of 45 found this review helpful

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.


Excellent maps and photos   January 11, 2001
 39 out of 39 found this review helpful

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.


I agree with Widdle Riddle....   October 25, 2005
 32 out of 43 found this review helpful

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 (see www.answersingenesis.org). 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, this isn't it. If you want something to be critical of and need a pretty picture (the reason I gave it two stars)...maybe.

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.