Bible Atlas & Companion
While reading the heavily historical sections of the Bible can be tedious, especially when trying to visualize where things happened and what that might mean, the reader feels the need for a resource that will make things easier to comprehend and picture. Christopher Hudson, and his team of contributors (David Barrett and Todd Bolen), has pulled together a load of material in the delightfully compact “Bible Atlas & Companion.” This affordable paperback book is handy, easy on the eyes, and made to comprehend at a glance. Just about anyone can profit by this atlas, whether a Bible teacher, a child, or someone merely reading through the Bible and wanting to know where something happened.
One of the immediate features that make the “Bible Atlas & Companion” reader-friendly is that it is organized according to the order of the episodes and books of the Christian Scriptures. Therefore, for example, if you’re moving through the Pentateuch, then the first several chapters have maps and short articles dealing with each major incident in the order that they are recorded. The same structure is consistently followed throughout the atlas from cover to cover.
Another quality of the “Bible Atlas & Companion” is how each chapter is only two pages long. Normally the first page is a short article with a photo of some item that has to do with the subject. The second page is a pleasant map with the important places marked out. The maps are so designed that the eye can quickly scan the page and find the desired item. Also, the colors on the map are neither garish nor confusing.
Hudson and his team have peppered this atlas with great charts as well. These charts may be anything from a simple list of the Kings of Israel, with the Biblical references and dates, to a quick compilation of the events of Jesus’ last days, death, and resurrection accounts. There are also “Additional Information” pages at the back of the atlas which cover the Jewish calendar, bodies of water in Israel, key cities, enemies, and weights and measurements in the Bible.
How simple, enjoyable and useful could this book really be? Let me describe a few personal accounts that might help. The day I received the “Bible Atlas & Companion,” my wife immediately took it from me and sat down and began pouring over its pages. On a number of occasions I have also walked in on my young sons, only to find them sitting on the couch and quietly going through its pages. Also, as my sons, wife and I have been reading through the historical sections of the Bible in our family time, we have quickly grabbed our copy of the “Bible Atlas & Companion” and found it to be a joyful clarification of what we’re reading. I would have to say that all of these events clearly indicate that I and my family highly recommend the “Bible Atlas & Companion.”
Bible Atlas & Companion
, General Editor
Barbour Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781597897792
Reviewed by for Reader Views (7/08)
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