The New Moody Bible Atlas Archives

Over the last two weeks I have posted reviews of four major Bible Atlases released in the last few months. All four of the atlases reviewed are excellent and each would be an important addition to any library. Each has strengths and weaknesses, but each is worth owning and using in personal Bible study.

Best Maps: ESV Bible Atlas. The maps in this volume are detailed and clear, and the Regional Maps section goes well beyond the other volumes reviewed. The maps are detailed and complete, including Italy, Macedonia and Achia, Western and Southern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Sinai and Egypt. These maps span two large pages and are printed to the interior edge of the page so nothing is missing.

Best Photography: Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. I think I was drawn to the photography in this Atlas because more than once I saw a picture which I took on one of my trips to Israel. The atlas treats us to some unusual angles of traditional sites as well as photos one does not often see in an atlas. I found myself browsing through this Atlas for the pictures more than the others.

Best Illustrations: ESV Bible Atlas. The drawings of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple in various periods provide a concrete view of scholarly speculation. The IVP Atlas has excellent illustrations as well, but the ESV illustrations are more rich in details.

Best Articles: ESV Bible Atlas and The New Moody Atlas of the Bible. Both of these volumes are worth considering for a college level Old Testament survey course. The Zondervan Atlas is nearly as good, but the depth of the ESV and Moody atlases is hard to beat. I might give the edge to the Moody Atlas since it includes a great deal of documentation and footnotes.

Best Layman Atlas: The IVP Atlas. The maps are clear and the art well-presented. The articles are brief and contained to a pair of pages. I can imagine someone using this Atlas while reading through Joshua or Judges and tracking events on the maps. The IVP Atlas is not “dumbed-down” by any means, but will likely be a favorite for the casual reader.

Best Scholarly Atlas: ESV Bible Atlas. While the New Moody Atlas is close, there is simply more details provided in the ESV Atlas.

What is missing from these Atlases? As I said a few times in the reviews, I like to compare the map of David’s to Solomon’s Jerusalem, to Nehemiah’s Jerusalem, and then to the New Testament period. This is harder to do with these maps on separate pages. I would have liked two facing pages with all four periods on it. What ever happened to the plastic overlays that used to appear in Atlases and encyclopedias? I suppose they have been dropped to keep price down, but they could be useful for demonstrating the growth of the city of Jerusalem.

Another general problem with Bible Atlases is that they seem to be limited in the New Testament period. A few pages for the world of Jesus and then a few more for the Pauline mission. I know that the “biblical world” tends to refer to the Canaan, but there is far more that could be done on the Roman world in which Paul ministered. Some of this is in Ephesus, Corinth and Rome could be given more details and maps. All the atlases include a section on the seven churches of Revelation, but these cities were already a part of the Pauline mission. Dismissing the geography and history of Asia Minor in two or three pages covering the seven cities seems to me too limited. I would like to see an atlas that was focuses solely on the New Testament geographically and historically.

These four volumes are all excellent contributions to the study of the geography of the Bible. I think that the ESV Bible Atlas and the New Moody Bible Atlas would make excellent textbooks for an Old Testament survey course, although all four would serve well.

I have always had a fascination for a Atlases, especially Bible Atlases. As a kid I spent hours with my Dad’s Hammond Bible Atlas, printed in 1959. This atlas is tiny by today’s standards, but I spent many hours looking at maps and photos of Israel. I especially liked the “timeline” on the back cover which graphically showed the rise of Rome. Remarkably this classic is still in print and useful for most laymen.

For years the best (and only) atlas I used was the Oxford Bible Atlas (Second Edition), edited by Herbert May. (It amazes me that there are copies for sale for less than $1!) The first 47 pages are an excellent overview of biblical history illustrated with black & white photographs, followed by 50 pages of maps. The final 20 pages of text is an excellent introduction to “Archaeology and the Bible.” The maps were well-drawn and accompanied by a short overview of the data found on the accompanying map. As expected, this old friend is looking a bit gray these days. The photography is laughably out of date, since the first edition was 1962. For example, page 40 has an aerial shot of the theater at Caesarea. Anyone who has visited this site would be amazed since there is no evidence of the Palace or the hippodrome in the photo, and the beautifully excavated homes are still under a farmer’s field! Page 46 has a wonderful photo of the synagogue in Capernaum before it was reconstructed for tourists.

These examples point out the problem with atlases. They are in constant need of updating. The Fourth Edition of the Oxford Bible Atlas has updated photography and updated and expanded the historical and archaeological sections. Page 154 has an aerial photo of the same synagogue at Capernaum, but it is still out of date since the houses along the side of the synagogue have been removed to make room for shaded benches for tour guides to lecture.

This summer two excellent new Atlases have been released. In fact, in the last several years several publishers have released excellent atlases that build on the foundation of the venerable foundation of the Oxford Bible Atlas, but go far beyond the scope of that handy guide. Of interest to me especially are the following four books, all of which are excellent contributions to the study of the geography of the Bible.

IVP Atlas of Bible History – Paul Lawrence

The New Moody Bible Atlas – Barry J. Beitzel

ESV Bible Atlas – John D. Currid and David P. Barrett

Zondervan Atlas of the Bible – Carl Rasmussen

Over the next few blog posts I will offer reviews of these new Atlases and point out some strengths and weaknesses. After the four reviews have been posted I will make some final “compare and contrast” observations.