Land and the Book: An Introduction to the World of the Bible Book

In the Preface, the authors state, "It is a readily apparent and unchallenged axiom that one's understanding of history or of the Bible requires some knowledge of geography..." I hate to say it, but this book failed to enrich my Biblical understanding in any significant way. One glaring lack, especially for a book about geography, was maps. They supplied only two, both introductory in nature. Another disappointment was the paltry amount of information about how the geography influenced lifestyle. The beginning of the first section includes an interesting discussion contrasting the geography of Jerusalem and Jericho. The altitude difference causes significant changes in the temperature and life-style of these cities, even though they are only 16 miles apart. I would have appreciated more of this type of information, especially as I know that Israel, small as it is, boasts a wide variety of climates, from the seashore to snowy mountaintops to dry desert. My Biblical understanding was also not enlarged by information about locations of shrines and ancient churches built centuries after the fact. The historical accuracy of those places certainly ought to be called into question, and their inclusion gave the book the feeling of a travel guide. I rather hoped for a better understanding of "the world of the Bible" as is claimed in the subtitle.

I agree with the reviewer who pointed out the lack of belief in the Bible's inerrancy. I occasionally wondered why the authors bothered to write a book to help people understand Biblical geography when they don't particularly believe it themselves. The discussion of Ai is actually amusing in this way. The first thing they tell you is that there is "some debate about the exact location of ancient Ai..." though it's "now generally identified with the modern site of et-Tell." At the end of the discussion, they say, "Excavations at the site have revealed the presence of a small, unwalled Iron Age village, but not of a large, fortified city, raising questions as to whether the biblical account of the Israelite conquest of Ai may have referred originally to the capture of nearby Bethel." So they aren't sure they got the right spot, but they still conclude that the Bible writers (who were there) must have been confused about what city they attacked, because thousands of years later archaeologists can't find it. Brilliant!

There are some good points, however. I found the overview of history between the Testaments and after the close of the New Testament interesting and helpful. Also, I dug out a Bible atlas and looked up the cities as I read through the "Biblical Sites" section, so now I have a better idea of where the various cities are located.