Jesus had read a startling statement concerning the coming Messiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. Then He applied it to Himself. But this is the carpenter’s son, they had said. In unbelief “they led Him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built.” Did you ever wonder just exactly what the geography of Nazareth was like?
In Joshua 10, it states that Joshua ascended from the camp at Gilgal to Gibeon to surprise the enemy waiting there. Did you ever wonder just what that meant for the armies of Israel?
Well, if you haven’t, don’t feel badly, for many of us have read those kinds of statements and never stopped to wonder. But six years ago I had the privilege of going to Israel and suddenly the geography of the land began to mean something to me. Now if you never learn Bible geography, you can still have a good understanding of theology. But there is a dimension of Bible study that can be opened up to you with a good grasp of the physical terrain upon which this history unfolded.
To do this you need a dependable Bible atlas. Let me give you a few key items to look for in a good atlas. First of all, you need one with useful maps. You’d be surprised at how many atlases don’t have good maps. For some maps you need a magnifying glass to see anything; others are so general they don’t give you worthwhile information.
Next, it needs maps that will help you understand the topography of the land. It will show you that Nazareth sits on the edge of the Valley of Armageddon. This will also show you that Gilgal was 1200 feet below sea level, and that Gibeon up in the mountains was about 2500 feet above sea level. So that the march of Israel from Gilgal to Gibeon ascended about 3500 feet in twenty-five miles. This helps you feel along with the soldiers the strain and effort involved in surprising their enemies.
The next thing to look for is a good text to support the maps that will help you understand the data. For most of us, the maps without explanation are of little benefit. On the other hand, all text and no maps results in a commentary and not an atlas.
The final thing you need to look for is a good index. This will save you a lot of time hunting through maps that don’t tell you what you want to know.
Now that we know what we are looking for, where do we find it? The best one I have found so far is The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands compiled by Barry Beitzel. It has good, large, detailed, colorful maps. The text is written so I can understand it and helps me to draw from the maps the information that will help me. It has three sections. The first deals with the physical geography, covering the rivers, mountains, highways, and the rainfall of the land. The second section deals with the historical aspect of geography. Starting with creation and leading me historically through the Bible, the text helps me understand the significance of the geography to the history I’m reading. One drawback to the book is some of its seriously flawed doctrinal statements. For example, in the first paragraph of the introduction, the author writes: “God may be described in terms that are corollary to time (infinity, eternity) or space (omnipresence). Christianity states that those attributes of deity were willingly relinquished by Christ through the drama of incarnation when He became ‘locked in time and space.’ Rather, the Bible declares that Christ, as well as being a real man, was all that God is in the totality of His Person. The other drawback is the book’s index. I really feel that a much better index could have been conceived; however, it does give some help once you “break the code.”
All in all, I still believe that this one is among the finest on the market today.