Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas: With Charts, Maps, and Biblical Reconstructions

By Holman Bible Publishers

It's the quickest way to get the big picture. The Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas packs an amazing amount of information about the physical context of biblical events into a book that's easy to carry and easy to use. And now, with this colorful compact volume, you'll always have these details close by for fast, easy, dependable reference. Included here are more than 300 maps, charts, photos, and biblical reconstructions illuminating the geographical context of key biblical topics like:

- Abraham's journeys 
- The miraculous deliverance of Israel from Egypt under Moses' leadership 
- Joshua's conquest of Canaan 
- David's uniting Israel as one nation 
- The division of the Kingdom after the death of Solomon 
- The Babylonian Exile 
- Jesus' birth and childhood 
- Jesus' ministry in Judea, Galilee, and Perea 
- A day-by-day account of Passion Week in Jerusalem 
- The expansion of the early church 
- Paul's missionary journeys

• Language: English
• Publisher: BH Publishing Group
• Release date: May 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781433675805

Book preview

Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas

© 2005 by Holman Bible Publishers

Nashville, Tennnessee

All rights reserved

Maps © 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers

Nashville, Tennessee

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-0-8054-9564-5

Dewey Decimal Classification: 220.9

Subject Heading: BIBLE—ATLASES

The Holman Editorial Staff gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Dr. James McLemore and the staff of Biblical Illustrator (G. B. Howell, current editor) for consultation on Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas with Charts and Biblical Reconstructions. Many of the visual resources contained herein are from the archives of the Biblical Illustrator. For additional information about the Biblical Illustrator go to the following Web address: www.lifeway.com and then do a search on Biblical Illustrator.

The Agricultural Year © Thomas V. Brisco.

Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible® (HCSB), copyright © 2001 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted Old Testament Scripture passages are taken from the New International Version (NIV), copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society.

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CONTENTS

Time Line (Biblical, World, and Church History)

Foreword

Introduction

1 The Ancient Near East

2 Chart: The Archaeological Periods of the Near East

Palestine

3 Modern Political Division of Ancient Palestine

4 Modern States and the Ancient Near East

Names for the Bible Lands

Climate

5 Cross Sectional Views of Longitudinal Zones

6 The Agricultural Year

7 Climate Patterns of Ancient Palestine

Natural Routes

8 International Routes

Roman Roads

The Land of Palestine

9 The Natural Regions of Palestine

The Southern Regions (Judah/Judaea)

10 Philistine Plain Shephelah Judah and the Dead Sea

The Hill Country of Judah

11 Joshua's Central and Southern Campaigns

The Shephelah

The Philistine Coastal Plain

12 Mediterranean Coastline

The Biblical Negev

The Wilderness of Judah

The Land of Benjamin

Jerusalem

13 Jerusalem in the Time of David and Solomon

14 Jerusalem in the New Testament Period

The Central Regions (Israel/Samaria)

15 Plain of Dor Plain of Sharon Samaria Jordan Valley and Gilead

The Hill Country of Ephraim

The Hill Country of Manasseh

The Plain of Sharon

Mount Carmel

The Jordan Valley

The Northern Regions (Galilee)

16 Northern Coastal Plains, Jezreel Valley, Galilee, and Bashan

The Jezreel Valley

Lower Galilee

Lower and Upper Galilee

Upper Galilee

The Sea of Galilee

17 The Ministry of Jesus Around the Sea of Galilee

The Huleh Basin

The Eastern Regions (Transjordan)

Bashan

Gilead and Ammon

Moab and the Medeba Plateau

Edom

Maps, Charts, and Reconstructions of Bible Lands

18 The Rise of Early Civilizations

The Days of Noah

19 The Table of Nations

20 Ancient Number Systems

Number Systems and Number Symbolism

21 Ziggurat

22 Ancient Near East in the Third Millennium

The Patriarchs: Abraham to Joseph

23 Middle Bronze Age

Patriarchal Period

24 The Ancient Near East in the Time of the Patriarchs

25 Palestine in the Middle Bronze Age

26 Family of Abraham

27 Life of Abraham

28 The Migration of Abraham

29 Abraham in Canaan

30 Travels of Jacob

31 The Journeys of Joseph

The Exodus

The Egyptian Period

The Exodus from Egypt-ca. 1447 BC

The Wilderness Period-ca. 1447-1407 BC

The Number Involved in the Exodus

32 The Route of the Exodus

33 The Ten Plagues of Egypt

34 The Sacrificial System

35 The Ten Commandments

36 Reconstruction: Ark of the Covenant

37 The Tabernacle.

38 Jewish Feasts and Festivals

39 Jewish Calendar

40 Names of God

41 Covenants and Law Codes

42 Priests in the Old Testament

43 Journey of the Spies

The Conquest of Canaan

Transition from Moses to Joshua-ca. 1407-1400 BC

Joshua's Strategy

Israelite Settlement

44 Kadesh Barnea

45 The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to the Plains of Moab

46 Joshua's Central and Southern Campaigns

47 Joshua's Northern Campaign

48 Cities of Joshua's Contests

49 The Levant from 1200 to 1000 BC

50 Limits of Israelite Settlement and the Land to Be Conquered

51 The Tribal Allotments of Israel

52 Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge

The Judges

Period of the Judges-ca. 1360-1084 BC

Interpretation of Judges

53 Judges of the Old Testament

54 The Judges of Israel

55 Ehud and the Oppression of the Moabites

56 Deborah's Victory over the Canaanites

57 Gideon's Battles with the Amalekites

58 Samson and the Philistines

59 Jepthah and the Ammonites

60 The Battle at Ebenezer

61 Ministry of Samuel and Anointing of Saul

The United Monarchy

Saul

David

Solomon

62 The Kingdom of Saul and His Wars

63 David's Flight from Saul

64 David's Rise to Power

65 David's Wars of Conquest

66 The Family of David

67 Jerusalem in the Time of David and Solomon

Jerusalem

68 Reconstruction of David's Jerusalem

69 Kingdom of David and Solomon

70 Solomon's Building Activities

Solomon's Temple

71 Reconstruction of Solomon's Temple

72 Cutaway View of Solomon's Temple

73 Solomon's Economic Enterprises

The Divided Monarchy

The Divided Monarchy-ca. 931-586 BC

74 The Divided Monarchy

75 Kings of the Divided Monarchy

76 Queens of the Old Testament

77 The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

78 The Campaign of Shishak and Rehoboam's Defense Lines

79 Conflicts Between Israel and Aram-Damascus

80 Kings of Aram-Damascus

81 The Omride Dynasty

82 Elijah and Elisha

83 The Revolt of Jehu

Assyria

84 The Rise of Assyria

85 Israel and Judah in the Days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah

86 The Neo-Assyrian Empire

87 The Assyrian Empire Under Tiglath-Pileser III

88 The Syro-Ephraimite War

89 Tiglath-Pileser III's Campaigns

90 The Fall of Samaria and Deportation of Israelites

91 Assyrian Districts After the Fall of Samaria

92 The Prophets in History

93 Prophets of the Eighth Century

94 Eighth Century BC Hebrew Home

95 Judah Alone

96 Hezekiah's Preparation for Revolt

97 Hezekiah's Jerusalem

98 Sennacherib's Campaign Against Judah

99 Assyrian Supremacy in the Seventh Century

100 The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

101 The Reign of Josiah

102 Kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

103 Nebuchadnezzar's Campaigns Against Judah

104 Judah During the Exile

Babylon

105 Reconstruction of Ancient Babylon

106 World Powers of the Sixth Century

107 Jewish Exiles in Babylonia

108 Jewish Refugees in Egypt

Persia

Cyrus

109 The Conquests of Cyrus the Great

110 The Persian Empire

111 Kings of Persia

112 The Return from Exile

113 The Returns of Jewish Exiles to Judah

114 The Province of Judah and Nehemiah's Enemies in the Fifth Century

Intertestamental History

The Greek Period, 323-167 BC

Jewish Independence, 167-63 BC

The Roman Period, 63 BC-AD 70

Literature

Dead Sea Scrolls

115 Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

116 Qumran Caves

117 Alexander the Great's Empire

118 The Division of Alexander's Empire

119 The Ptolemies and the Seleucids

120 Palestine Under the Ptolemies

121 The Seleucid Empire and Antiochus III

122 Campaign of Antiochus Against Egypt

123 Lighthouse in the Harbor at Alexandria, Egypt

124 Family of Mattathias and the Maccabean Revolt

125 Selected Events in the Maccabean Revolt

126 Hasmonean Rulers

127 Jewish Expansion Under the Hasmonean Dynasty

128 Early Rome

129 The Rise of Rome

130 Roman Expansion in the Third and Second Centuries

131 Civil Wars and the Expansion of Rome in the First Century

132 Events and Personalities of Rome, 133-27 BC

133 The Emperors of Rome

134 Pompey's Siege of Jerusalem

135 Pompey's Campaign Against Jerusalem.

136 The Roman Empire in the Age of Augustus

137 Roman Rule in Palestine.

138 The Kingdom of Herod the Great

139 Herod's Building Program

140 Reconstruction of NT Jericho

141 Herodian Jericho

142 The Herodian Rulers

143 Roman Governors of the First Procuratorship, AD 6-41.

144 The Division of Herod's Kingdom

145 Palestine in the Time of Jesus

The Life and Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth

His Origins

Jesus and the God of Israel

Jesus' Mission

Jesus' Death and Resurrection

146 Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament

147 Major Jewish Sects in the New Testament

148 Harmony of the Gospels.

149 Jesus' Birth and Early Childhood

150 John the Baptizer

151 Cutaway Reconstruction of a First-Century AD Israelite House

152 A Typical Synagogue of the First Century AD

153 Jesus Ministry as Fulfillment of Scripture in Matthew.

154 Controversy Stories in Mark

155 Themes in Luke.

156 The Seven Signs in John

157 I AM Sayings in John

158 Discourses of Jesus

159 Parables of Jesus

160 Miracles of Jesus.

161 The Apostles and Their History

162 Reconstruction of a First-Century Winepress

163 Galilee in the Time of Jesus

164 The Ministry of Jesus Beyond Galilee

165 Jesus' Journeys from Galilee to Judea

166 Jesus in Judea and Jerusalem

167 Reconstruction of Jerusalem

168 Jerusalem in the New Testament Period

169 The Pool of Bethesda at Jerusalem

170 Floor Plan of Herod's Temple

171 Reconstruction of Herod's Temple

172 The Passion Week in Jerusalem

173 Pentecost and the Jewish Diaspora

174 Second Procuratorship and the Kingdom of Agrippa II

175 Expansion of the Early Church In Palestine

Paul the Apostle

Early Life and Training, AD 1-35

Birth and Family Background

Roman Citizenship

Rabbinic Training

Persecution of Christians

Paul's Conversion, AD 35

Paul's Missionary Travels, AD 35-61

Early Travels

First Missionary Journey

Jerusalem Council

Second Missionary Journey

Third Missionary Journey

Final Years

Paul's Appearance

Paul's Gospel

176 Paul's Conversion and Early Ministry

177 The First Missionary Journey of Paul

178 The Second Missionary Journey of Paul

179 First Century Athens, Greece

180 The Third Missionary Journey of Paul

181 Paul's Arrest and Imprisonment

182 Caesarea Maritima

183 Paul's Voyage to Rome.

184 Reconstruction of Rome

185 The First Jewish Revolt.

186 Titus's Campaigns

187 The Siege of Jerusalem.

188 Roman Siege Tower

189 Roman Battering Ram

190 Roman Archer's Machine

191 Churches of the Revelation

192 Millenial Perspective on Revelation

Revelation

193 Prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming

194 Palestine from AD 73 to 135

195 The Bar Kokhba Revolt

196 The Expansion of Christianity in the Second and Third Centuries AD

197 Ancient Versions of Biblical Text.

198 The Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament

199 Comparison Lists of Old Testament Books

200 The Apocrypha

201 Stages in the Development of the New Testament Canon

202 Table of Weights and Measures

Photo and Art Credits

TIME LINE

FOREWORD

The Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas has two divisions.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE LANDS

The first division focuses on the narrow strip of land that is broadly called Palestine, Israel, or the Holy Land. This is the land God promised to Abraham and that came fully under Israel's control during the time of David. This part of the atlas looks at the major regions of Palestine, giving attention to the geographical and climatological features of each region. This section of the QuickSource Bible Atlas was written by Paul H. Wright, director of Jerusalem University College Institute of Holy Land Studies. Dr. Wright is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A.), Institute of Holy Land Studies (M.A.), and Hebrew Union College (Ph.D.).

MAPS OF BIBLE LANDS

The second division of the QuickSource Bible Atlas begins with Noah, follows the Bible's story line from Genesis to Revelation, and contains information on the expansion of Christianity to the third century. This division is arranged in sections according to the major divisions of biblical history. Each section includes maps, charts, and biblical reconstructions that illuminate that epoch of history. The QuickSource Bible Atlas ends with charts that summarize the development of the biblical canon and explains weights and measures of the Bible.

INTRODUCTION

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us how God revealed Himself to people in the past.

As creator of the universe, God stands outside of time and space. He nevertheless chose to enter a real flesh-and-blood world in order to create, and then redeem, mankind. For hundreds of years God communicated His words and will to an eager, yet usually recalcitrant, people who made their homes in the lands hugging the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Then, in what the Apostle Paul called the completion of time (Gal. 4:4), God Himself bent down to enter the human race, choosing to dirty His hands and feet in a small, noisy, and very needy corner of the Roman Empire called Galilee (cp. Phil. 2:5-8).

Unlike sacred books of the world's other great religions, the Bible is full of stories of real people living in real places. God's decision to communicate eternal truths through fallible human beings, to wrap His message around mankind's experiences with rock and soil and water, is both mind-boggling and humbling. It also suggests that a full understanding of God's revelation cannot be gained without an appreciation of the physical context in which that revelation was given.

1 THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

The writers of the Bible knew well the land in which God chose to reveal Himself, for it was their home. They were intimately familiar with the rugged terrain of Judah, with cold winter rain and scorching desert heat, and they had experienced the relief offered by a small spring of water or the shelter of a crevasse in a mighty rock. They knew what it meant for the hills surrounding their city or village to be filled with enemy troops or to lie down at night secure after a bountiful harvest. Time and again the Bible's historians, prophets, and poets used such information to enliven the divine message they had to tell. Geographical information fills the biblical text, and the biblical authors assumed that their readers knew even more. The land of the Bible has rightly been termed the playing board of biblical history (James M. Monson, Regions on the Run, Rockford, IL: Biblical Backgrounds, 1998, p. 3). It is difficult at best to understand fully the instructions (the Bible) without the board (the land) on which the events of the Bible were played out.

The rugged terrain characteristic of the wilderness of Judah.

Many people journey to the lands of the Bible with the hope of walking where Jesus walked. In spite of the established pilgrimage spots in the Holy Land, however, it is just not possible to say with certainty that Jesus stood on spot X when he healed such-and-such a person or delivered such-and-such a teaching. On the other hand, the location of many biblical cities, hills, valleys, and the like are known, and by carefully studying the geographical settings of the Bible, the serious reader can enter more deeply into its world. It becomes possible to follow Joshua's army into the hill country of Canaan after laying waste to Jericho. One can climb to the crest of the hill on which David's Jerusalem stood and still experience the energy of the Songs of Ascent (Pss. 121-134). Jesus must have often gazed over the Sea of Galilee in the early mornings from the hills above Capernaum (cp. Mark 1:35); doing so today helps the serious Bible reader appreciate Jesus' call to ministry— and one's own place in the kingdom of God.

A calm Sea of Galilee at dusk with snowcapped Mount Hermon in the distance.

There is yet another reason understanding the geography of Bible lands is important for understanding the Bible. God created the features of the lands of the Bible in the way that He did—and then chose to bring His people there (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:12-18)— for a reason. In fact, the lands of the Bible are uniquely suited to teach lessons about the nature and character of God as well as the ways that His people should respond to Him.

The various natural features of the lands of the Bible combine to form a setting in which personal or national security was always in doubt. With limited rainfall, an overabundance of rocks but scarcity of good soil, and a position situated alongside a major international highway on which the armies of the world marched, the lands of the Bible were well acquainted with lifestyles that demanded their inhabitants depend on God to survive.