Kregel Bible Atlas

by Tim Dowley

God's biblical interaction with man has centered around specific geographical places and unique historical contexts. Knowledge of the geographical area and historical events provides the believer with information critical to a better understanding of Scripture. This full-color, carefully-organized biblical resource introduces the land and times of the Bible in a clear, attractive, and easily-read format, exploring the land of Palestine within its larger historical and geographic setting. Noted expert in biblical history Tim Dowley traces Old Testament history from the time of the patriarchs through the Israelites' return from Babylonian exile. He then presents a brief look at world and Jewish national events that occurred between the Old and New Testaments, setting the stage for Jesus' coming. His treatment of the New Testament era includes an overview of Judaism, various political climates, and the ministry of Jesus from His birth to His ascension. Also included are the earliest days of the church—its birth and spread under the ministry of the apostles. The Kregel Bible Atlas contains more than one hundred colorful maps and photos of Bible places and archaeological sites pertinent to the entire Bible.

Genres: Theology

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2002

About the author

Tim Dowley (Ph.D. in church history, University of Manchester) has been at the forefront of writing and editing for a new generation of resources on biblical studies and church history.

Reviews

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a lot from this atlas and was pretty disappointed. For a Kregel publication especially, I didn't expect the author to be so liberal-oriented in his views. He clearly believes in the Bible, which is always a good thing. But on the other hand he has the Israelites crossing the Reed marshes rather than the Red Sea, and he has Matthew and Luke borrowing from the famous "Q" document (for which we have no textual support). So...kind of a bummer in that regard.

Nonetheless, it is a useful atlas if you're just wanting the big picture of the Bible narrative from Old Testament to New. However, it's not that great as an exhaustive resource if you're trying to follow in detail most of the stories in the Old Testament. Certain battle scenes are referred to, but the reader has no reference to go to on the map in the vicinity of the author's narrative. Important cities are left off the map (or retained on a map several pages away), and it's just not very helpful.

There are some useful cutaways and decent pictures, but nothing you can't live without. I personally recommend Rose Publishing maps for big picture resources and either the NIV Zondervan Atlas of the Bible or the ESV Bible Atlas for more exhaustive reference material. This Kregel atlas just doesn't really fit into a good category.