Holman Bible Atlas - review

The Holman Bible Atlas by Thomas Brisco us a complete guide to the expansive geography of Biblical history. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award presented by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, this atlas provides extensive maps and pictures for the Bible student.

Brisco draws out many of the surrounding events that would have impacted events in Scripture. For example, he notes the impact of Sepphoris on Jesus in His younger years: "Nazareth, His (sic) home, was a small village overlooking the fertile Jezreel Valley to the south. Three miles to the north lay the city of Sepphoris ... The large scale building projects in Sepphoris supported by Herod Antipas provided jobs and an economic boost for the villages of the area." (p 218)

Brisco also gives rich background to places and people. The maps are incredible; some with a 3-D perspective so one can see the terrain. He provides a solid description of the the peoples and highlights quite a few issues that you wouldn't catch from simply reading the Scriptures.

The are parts of this atlas that I took issue with. Instead of using Scripture for explanations, there are some instances where Brisco offers a more anthropocentric explanation. Here are some examples of what I'm getting at:

* Human origins: Brisco ambiguously dates human origins to before 18,000 BC and divides the eras as per contemporary anthropology. Aside from a brief comment about the Garden of Eden, there is no real attempt to help reconcile the Biblical information in the early chapters of Genesis with contemporary archeology. Brisco simply maps the table of the nations and starts with Abraham. (pp 31-34)

* Edom: "The name Edom comes from the Hebrew word meaning 'red,' a reference to the red Nubian sandstone." (p 73) This is conflicts with the origins of his name in Genesis 25:30 - And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.)

* The period of the judges: "It is best to regard the period of the judges as an extension of the resettlement process." (p 76) This seems to minimize Judges 2 where it says that God used this difficult time as testing, discipline for disobedience, and to train Israel.

* The temples: Brisco describes the temple in 1 Kings 6 and Ezekiel 40-42 as the same temple with no other note on the possibility them referring to a different temples. (p 114)

* Authorship: Isaiah 40-55 is portrayed as most likely post-exilic. (p 158)

* Phillip's travels: No mention or alternate explanation of Phillip's 'Spirit carried' (Acts 8:39-40) trip from the road to Gaza to Azotus. The map shows him going through Ashkelon to get to Azotus. (p 242)

(Now I'm being nit-picky)

* Reign of Omri: "We are dependent upon Assyrian sources and archeology to evaluate [Omri's] reign." (p 125) A true enough statement if we are evaluating Omri's reign humanly. An additional word or two could have made a powerful statement. You have a king who conquers, builds, and begins a dynasty but receives no recognition for these accomplishments in Scripture. Instead all we really know from Scripture is that he did "evil in the sight of the Lord, more evil than all who were before him." 1 Kings 16:25

* Jesus and the Pharisees: "Conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees often centered on the oral tradition because Jesus did not regard it as binding. (Mark 2:23-28; 7:1-13; Luke 6:1-11)" (p 212) While this is true, these passages point more to how one regards God's commandments and interprets the OT. Again, it seems to minimize the issues, both in size and scope. More importantly, there were many other instances where they rejected who He was claiming to be - like when Jesus says, "your sins are forgiven" in Luke 5:20, 7:48 or because of His miracles in John 11:45-53 - and want to kill Him.

* Jesus and the money changers: "Jesus drove [money-changers and sellers of sacrificial animals] out of the temple precinct because of their lack of sensitivity to worshipers." (p 232) Again, the text says that Jesus' passion is for God and His house, not for the insensitivity to the worshipers.

In summary, there wasn't this notion of the Lord working in history. There was little mention of the Lord doing anything (other than Jesus' time on earth), aside from the occasional 'miraculous' comment. I want different commentary than what Rand-McNally would offer if they did this project.

To be fair, Brisco prefaces his atlas by grounding it in God's redemptive work. "[The Bible] tells the story of God's redemptive work in human history. This story is revealed through the nation of Israel, the early church, and supremely in Jesus Christ." (p 2)

Despite the long critique, I really enjoyed this book. As a lover of maps, this book is a real gem. If you do not have a good Bible atlas on your shelf, I HIGHLY recommend you get one. This is a good choice; it is thorough and accessible. If you make allowances for the cautions listed above, then it is almost a must buy.