Book Review: Barry J. Beitzel, ed. Lexham Geographical Commentary on the Acts through Revelation

Beitzel, Barry J., ed. Lexham Geographical Commentary on the Acts through Revelation. Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2019. 763 pp.; Hb.  $39.99  Link to Lexham Press

Barry Beitzel has a well-deserved reputation in scholarship for his contributions to biblical geography. He edited The New Moody Atlas of the Bible (Moody, 2009; reviewed here). He edited the first volume of this projected five-volume series, Lexham Geographical Commentary on the Gospels (Lexham, 2017; see my review here). This new volume is a joy to read and will be an excellent addition to the library of any student of the New Testament.

This new volume contains fifty-three essays written by nineteen New Testament scholars. More than half of these articles cover the Book of Acts, and the remaining articles discuss locations where Paul or Peter did ministry and the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. See the end of this review for a list of chapter topics.

Each chapter of this Geographical Commentary begins with a list of Scripture covered in the section, so it is possible to read through at least the first half of the book alongside a reading of the book of Acts. This is not always possible since some locations appear in various parts of the book, such as Jerusalem or Caesarea. For example, Paul Wright’s chapter on Caesarea Maritima (chapter 16) lists all of the occurrences of the location in the book of Acts. A text box at the head of the article offers three or four key points covered in the chapter. The text flows in parallel columns, and the chapters are richly illustrated. All non-English words appear in transliteration; distances are given in miles and kilometers. Each section concludes with a bibliography citing key journal articles and other dictionary articles.

The articles in these volumes are highly detailed and well-documented. Several would make excellent academic journal articles. Eckhard Schnabel contributes several chapters. His two-volume Early Christian Mission (IVP Academic, 2004) and Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days (Eerdmans, 2018) are two of the most detailed academic works on the geography of the Gospels and Acts. David deSilva contributed articles on The Social and Geographical World of Psidian Antioch, Rome, Roman Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Sardis. Mark Wilson contributes several articles on locations in modern Turkey (the Geography of Galatia, Peter’s Communities in Asia Minor, the Geography of Patmos, and the Social and Geographical World of Thyatira and Philadelphia).

The chapters are illustrated with photographs, diagrams, and charts. Some photographs are licensed through WikiCommons, some are from Beitzel himself, and David deSilva contributed many. A few of these are familiar diagrams found in other Logos resources or Logos map sets. I noticed that Tutku Tours designed some of the city maps of the seven churches in Revelation. The book is printed on uncoated paper, which does not glare and is easier to make notes on than a book like the Zondervan Bible Backgrounds Commentary.

Some chapters cover material that, strictly speaking, is not a part of the book of Acts or the Epistles. For example, Ekhard Schnabel has a brief article on Paul in Spain and Crete based on the very thin evidence that Paul actually did ministry in these locations. J. Carl Laney contributed an article on Paul’s travel after the book of Acts based on the Pastoral Epistles and several church traditions. Each location where Paul did ministry has a chapter, including Colossae, even though he did not establish that church.

A few other highlights: Barry Beitzel has a lengthy and detailed article on the meaning of “Arabia” in classical literature to answer the question of what Paul meant in Galatians 1:17 when he spent time in Arabia. Benjamin Foreman has an article on the Social and Geographical Significance of Alexandria, Egypt, a location only mentioned in the book of Acts as the home of Apollos (Acts 18:24-28). He discusses the Jewish presence in Alexandria and some of the traditions associated with how Christianity came to this important city in the Roman world. A. H. Cadwallader contributes an article on Onesimus and the world of Philemon, which is more less on slavery in the Roman world. Schnabel has an article on Paul’s travel in Macedonia and Achaia, including the distance traveled by foot between different locations and suggested time to travel. This article also includes a footnote in which Schnabel disagrees with one of his earlier conclusions.

Perhaps the most unusual article concerns Philippi, Michael Thate’s “Paulus Geographicus? The Spatial (Somatic) World of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.” The article is not particularly about the geographical location of the city of Philippi but about how bodies were understood in the Greco-Roman world, specifically in the Macedonian city of Philippi. As he puts it, this is a theo-graphical article rather than a geographical article. Unfortunately, this is the only article in the book devoted to Philippi. I would have liked an additional article on the social and geographical world of Rome, Philippi, as similar to other locations of Paul’s ministry.

The final seven chapters concern geographical locations in the book of Revelation, six of the seven churches plus an article on the geography of the island of Patmos. (Ephesus was covered in the order of the Pauline letters.) Each of these chapters gives the pre-history of the cities and something of the religious and social situation at the time John wrote the book of Revelation.

The book includes seventeen pages of color charts and additional maps, a detailed list of contributors, a subject index, a Scripture index, and a list of image credits.

Logos Version. Since the book was published simultaneously for the Logos Bible Software library, I had the opportunity to use the book in that format. Clicking a photograph opens the Logos Media library so the image can be copied and pasted into Word or PowerPoint (or any other software). The Media tool gives the description of the image as well as photo credits. Maps open in the Logos Atlas tool and can be copied and pasted. Using these tools to enhance your teaching and preaching is an added incentive to purchase the electronic version. 

As typical in a Logos resource, clicking a Scripture reference will open your preferred Bible to the text, or you can float over the reference to peek at the text. This works also for ancient sources if you have unlocked them for your library. For example, I can click on a cited reference to Pliny’s Natural History and open the version I have unlocked in the Logos library. This is true for any resource, Josephus, Philo, Strabo’s Geography, etc. At the end of a chapter, the Logos version is a “see also” section, which does not appear in the print format of the book. This section includes links to the Logos Atlas tool, Logos FactBook places and events, other articles in the Lexham Geographic Commentary on Acts through Revelation, and any videos in the Media Library related to the section. The bibliography sections open additional Logos resources if unlocked. The Logos version of the book is obviously more interactive than a printed book and can be updated and corrected as necessary.

One disappointment in the Logos version of the book is the lack of page numbers. Usually, a Logos book is tagged with real page numbers so I can cite the resource properly. The only index available is Scripture. The original Geographical Commentary on the Gospels has a page-number index; perhaps Logos will update this book in the future.

All things being equal, I much prefer a real physical book. And this is an excellent-looking book. However, there are some definite advantages to using this book as part of Logos Bible Software.

Conclusion. The Lexham Geographic Commentary on the gospels is a joy to read. The articles are stimulating and well-illustrated.  This book will make an excellent addition to the library of any student of the Bible. A hardback book with 763 pages illustrated with color photographs, maps, and charts is worth more than the $39.95 list price. The Lexham website inaccurately lists the publication date as 2017. The Geographic Commentary will continue in 2020, with volumes on the Pentateuch, Historical Books, Poetry, and Prophecy due in 2020.

NB: Thanks to Lexham Press for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Contents of Lexham Geographical Commentary on the Acts through Revelation

• Typological Geography and the Progress of the Gospel in Acts
• The Topography of Jerusalem in the Book of Acts
• The Threefold Expansion of the Early Church: Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria
• Jesus’ Missionary Commission and the Ends of the Earth
• A Sabbath-Day’s Journey from the Mount of Olives
• The Location of Pentecost and Geographical Implications in Acts 2
• Early Church Demographics
• Geography of the Nations in Jerusalem for Pentecost
• The Jerusalem Temple in the Book of Acts
• The Geography of Worship: From Temple to Synagogue to Church
• The Persecution of the Earliest Christians in Geographical Perspective
• The Theodotus Synagogue Inscription and Its Relationship to the Book of Acts
• Samaria: Too Wicked to Redeem?
• The Roman Road System around the Mediterranean
• The Desert Road between Jerusalem and Gaza
• The Geography of Caesarea Maritima
• The Road from Jerusalem to Damascus
• Paul’s Missionary Work in Syria, Nabatea, Judea, and Cilicia
• Peter’s Ministry in Caesarea Maritima
• Peter and the Centurion Cornelius: Roman Soldiers in the New Testament
• The Geographic Importance of Antioch on the Orontes
• Famines in the Land
• The Death of Herod Agrippa I in Caesarea Maritima
• Paul’s Missionary Work in Cyprus, Galatia, and Pamphylia
• Barnabas, John Mark, and Their Ministry on Cyprus
• The Social and Geographical World of Pisidian Antioch
• Paul’s Missionary Work in Macedonia and Achaia
• Paul at the Areopagus in Athens
• What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem? Paul’s Areopagus Speech in Context
• The Social and Geographical Significance of Alexandria
• Paul’s Missionary Work in the Provinces of Asia and Illyricum
• Paul as a Prisoner in Judea and Rome
• Paul’s Journey to Rome
• The Social and Geographical World of Rome
• Paul in Spain and Crete
• Paul’s Travels After Acts
• The Social and Geographical World of Roman Corinth
• The Geography of Galatia
• Paul’s Early Ministry in Syria and Cilicia: The Silent Years
• The Meaning of “Arabia” in Classical Literature and the New Testament
• The Social and Geographical World of Ephesus
• Paulus Geographicus? The Spatial (Somatic) World of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians
• The Social and Geographical World of Colossae
• The Social and Geographical World of Thessalonica
• Onesimus and the Social and Geographical World of Philemon
• Peter’s Christian Communities in Asia Minor
• Geography of the Island of Patmos
• The Social and Geographical World of Smyrna
• The Social and Geographical World of Pergamum
• The Social and Geographical World of Thyatira
• The Social and Geographical World of Sardis
• The Social and Geographical World of Philadelphia
• The Social and Geographical World of Laodicea