Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History

Rate this book
Winner of the ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award, the Holman Bible Atlas is the leading Bible atlas in the English language. Through the use of 132 full-color maps, more than 100 color photographs, timelines, chart summaries, and helpful sidebars, it places readers in the geographical, historical, and cultural contexts of the Bible and enables them to experience its perennially relevant message.

The book is presented in two broad physical geography of the Ancient Near East and biblical history periods from the patriarchs to the Christian era until Constantine. The content is arranged in line with specific biblical texts so that teachers, pastors, and students will see the key events of the Bible and Christianity with exceptional clarity.

There’s also a wealth of written and visual information regarding various people groups (Aramaeans, Moabites, Phoenicians, etc.), great empires (Egypt, Babylonia, Rome, etc.), and the road systems, agricultural year, and economic life of ancient civilizations based on archaeological recoveries.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

11 people are currently reading
100 people want to read

About the author

Thomas V. Brisco

2 books2 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
50 (62%)
4 stars
22 (27%)
3 stars
6 (7%)
2 stars
1 (1%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Laura.
286 reviews6 followers
December 24, 2025
Read selected portions for a New Testament survey graduate course. Excellent resource with beautiful images. It was great for understanding the world of the New Testament.
Profile Image for Jimmy Reagan.
890 reviews65 followers
February 23, 2014
Are you looking for a genuinely helpful Bible Atlas? Be sure to consider the Holman Bible Atlas byThomas Brisco and published by B & H Publishing as part of its Holman Reference titles. It has many strengths to make it one of the top two or three options out there. Its professed audience is “for the interested lay person and beginning level student of the Bible in colleges and seminaries.” It has succeeded for that audience as well as for we pastors.

Its maps are prolific, visually appealing, and timely. You truly get maps where you most need them. 132 maps cover the Biblical text well and places and events are well labelled too. Variety shows up as a few have a 3D view as well. You might find a detail or two to squabble over (like omitting Perea’s important presence in Christ’s ministry), but overall you will find accuracy in this volume. In the primary characteristic of an atlas, this volume gets an “A”.

The pictures materially add value to the text. The author’s experience in archaeology shows in his often showing us ruins of famous sites. I particularly enjoyed those. Charts that really summarize and teach are used to good effect too.

One of the best features of this atlas is the text explaining the geography and how it impacted the Bible story discussed. For example, in the section on the time of David there is a fascinating description of Jerusalem, how it grew, and how its topography affected how it grew. Mr. Brisco, and the many others who contributed, show considerable learning and put it to good use. It actually makes for good reading.

There is little to criticize here. You can question the chronology here or there, or wonder why if there is such a dandy map for the Eighth Century Prophets, why aren’t there other maps for the other prophets. Or you might wonder why there are no page numbers. Since the atlas is in chronological order, however, the loss is not great for Bible students.

This is a top-flight Bible Atlas. The most recent printing has a much improved cover too. You will not regret adding this volume to your study library.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Profile Image for Fit For Faith 〣 Your Christian Ministry..
200 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2025
This atlas could have resulted in a very great work, if the authors would have shown some spiritual discernment and at least a basic holy fear. But both are entirely absent as seen by the wild mixing of the unholy and evil with the holy. There is no problem in recounting the evil part of history, but if this is not at least moderated, then it is simply a great work which at the same time is misleading in many parts. I had this book listed for a long time, but after having read it in its entirety and after having conducted this review, I even destroyed the physical copy I own. No matter the great inspiration this work provides, when mixed with such unmoderated evil, then this rather pollutes us.

PROS

+ Overall great investigation, well organized and illustrated.

+ Great display of the missionary trips of Paul and other Apostles.

CONS

- The content of this book, although generally well investigated, is vague and possibly only 80% of its content is true. Much is speculation, which is only sporadically identified as such. The book e.g. mentions initially the location of Kadesh Barnea as a fact and only adds later in the book, that its location could be speculative.

The Open Bible project is much more advanced and reliable in this regard, because it constantly provides a percentage of confidence of a specific localization. What this book states often as fact, it sometimes plainly wrong.

- One such example is the localization of Babylon in Lower Mesopotamia, which the Bible itself clearly refutes. Neither the birth town of Abram, nor the former Babylon / Tower of Babel are located in Southern / Lower Mesopotamia as claimed in this book, but clearly in Northern / Upper Mesopotamia. This is proven by the Bible, which clearly states that the location must be NORTH of Tyre. Eze 26:7 "For thus says KYRIOS: "Look! I am bringing to -TYRE- Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon from the north, the king of kings, with horse and with chariot and with horsemen and his assembly and many people." The traditional location has nearly the same latitude as Tyre (= not North, but actually 82.2 kms south), and is therefore clearly wrong.

- The book describes many areas of-, and surrounding the Holy Land as barren. This is short-sighted, given the fact the scenario was very different for thousands of years. Just a simple look at Google Earth shows us hundreds of dried-up riverbeds. Sadly this book does not include any visualization of an antique map of rivers which would have been easily reconstructed using river source data for ancient rivers e.g. provided by 'MERIT Hydro Visualization and Interactive Map'. Rivers are the groundwork of any antique map because without those we can hardly define borders and travel routes.

This missing investigation results also in the mislocalization of the Red Sea to the Suez Gulf (and consequently the Exodus route and Mt. Sinai erroneously localized in this book with what Constantine's mother sold us as St. Catherine ...).

- Open blasphemy - they directly equate THEOS with the head of the Canaanite pantheon:

Quote: "El, a name that means "g-d," was the head of the Canaanite pantheon [pan-THEON = many gods]. His home was on Mount Zaphon. As the creator god, El fathered seventy deities by his wife Ash**ah, who bore the title "mother of the gods." The plural of El is Elohim, one of the two names used in the Old Testament for the G-d of Israel."

- Another blasphemy occurs when Ba** is described as the 'most important god', and equated with the biblical title of 'Lord' and 'Master'.

Quote: "The most important god worshiped in Canaan, however, was Ba**, a title originally meaning "Lord" or "Master." Ba** was the lord of the earth whose powers gave life to the earth. Frequently identified with the West Semitic storm god Ha***, Ba** brought the rains that revitalized the land ..."

- They teach a fast-track-crucifixion within 12 hours, which is nowhere found in the Bible.

- The Madaba Map, the earliest and possibly most important Christian map, is not even mentioned, which is a serious omission. If it would be written in Hebrew instead of the biblical Greek, scholars would probably not stop to mention it. But the fact that it quotes from the Greek Old Testament which is the Bible handed over to us through IESOUS CHRISTOS, is a thorn in the eyes of most Catholic & Protestant scholars.

- The heretical Mishna and Talmud are mentioned 6 times throughout the book, but not a single word of discernment is found, and even worse, this work is rather endorsed than being despised as IESOUS did:

Quote: "Eventually, the rabbis codified their interpretations and wisdom, producing the Mishnah and ultimately the Talmud, the guiding document of postbiblical Judaism."

- The book, although it extensively references Bible passages, shows a strong fascination with extra-biblical, sometimes highly problematic works, while not providing any discernment about the nature of those works:

Quote: "The Gilgamesh Epic, or "Babylonian Flood Story," has been especially intriguing to biblical scholars because of its literary parallels with the flood recorded in Genesis 7–8. The Enuma Elish recounts the exploits of the great Babylonian god Ma**** who prevailed over the primordial monster Ti*** and created the world. Although in its present form the Enuma Elish probably dates to the later second millennium, elements of the epic may go back to the old Babylonian period. The Epic of Atrahasis recounts the creation of human beings to carry out the tiresome toil upon earth assigned to the lesser gods by the greater gods. Noting the rapid increase of the human population whose noise disturbed the sleep of the gods ..."

Quote: "Our earliest version of the story of a great flood comes from Sumer."

- Outmost problematic language when it comes to other gods. According to the Bible, those names should not even be written in full, but this book does not only write those names, but we actually find idol images inside the book, which are not blurred.

Quote: "Paul surely visited the Acropolis, where he walked among some of the most beautiful monuments of antiquity. People approached the Acropolis from the west through the Propylaea, a monumental gateway. Crowning the Acropolis was the Pa*******, the magnificent Doric temple built to honor Athens' patron goddess, At****." Can you picture Paul writing such heretical words?

Image description: "The beautiful Ionic temple of Athena N*** is visible on the right side."

Quote: "Nippur, the center of worship for the greatest of the Sumerian gods, En***"

Quote: "In 614 B.C. Ashur, the ancient Assyrian capital and namesake of the great god of Assyria, fell to Median forces commanded by Cyaxares."

Quote: "Thousands of pilgrims came to Ephesus yearly to honor the great goddess Ar*****, whose temple stood in Ephesus."

Quote: "As the son of R* and the incarnation of the falcon god Ho***, the pharaoh exercised complete authority over all aspects of life. His power established the right order of all things (the Egyptian term is Ma***), brought fertility to the land, and gave victory over the enemies of Egypt. He functioned as the mediator between the gods and men."

> Especially when looking at the last quote, we see a highly problematic language. It is not wrong and indeed necessary to mention those cults and idolatries from the past. But to write that another god indeed brought fertility to the land while not even making the effort to add a few qualifiers such as 'the people erroneously thought that those gods would bring them fertility', is spiritually insufficient scholarship. It is misleading the flock of IESOUS to the utmost. We cannot simply assume that the reader reads between the lines when it comes to spiritual matters.

- This double-speak is also shown here:

Quote: "In addition, Assyrian kings fought for the glory and prestige of Ashur, the national Assyrian god, whose rightful domain was all the earth."

Quote: "Peter and John emerged as the leaders of the Jerusalem church, which met for worship in the temple precincts and, likely, in private homes. Temple authorities became alarmed at the new movement and expressed their concerns in the Sanhedrin. Hardliners of the Sanhedrin moved to suppress the dangerous heresy, despite the objections of the Pharisee Gamaliel who counseled moderation (Acts 4–5)."

A moderation would have included three simple words which every Christian would very quickly add:

... to suppress the dangerous heresy

... to suppress what they called the 'dangerous heresy' ...

- The total lack of any 'spiritual etiquette' shows also when they speak about the Colosseum. Not a single word is found, which would condemn its brutal history from a Christian perspective, but once again some flowery words are chosen describing it:

"The Flavian Amphitheater —the famous Colosseum of Rome— stands as testimony to the monumental scale of Flavian patronage."

- The book described the highly problematic teacher Origen as "the greatest of the Greek theologians", which once again shows the total lack of any spiritual discernment.

Origen was a Universalist; he taught Purgatory; taught the pre-existence of souls, decisive in bringing the OT Apocrypha into our Bibles; excluded James, 2 Peter, and 2&3 John from his canon; pioneer of the monastic practice of Lectio Divina; speculated that heavenly bodies are living creatures; Ransom-Theorist; first hints of Catholic Mariology occurred precisely his writings; Pope Dionysius of Alexandria became one of the foremost proponents of Origen's theology; he included Aquila's text in his Hexapla and contributed therefore directly to the manipulation of the Proto- Masoretic text.

- Endorsement of the Roman Catholic church through the heretical letters bearing the names of Clement of Rome and the post-mortem personification of Ignatius of Antioch: "Clement of Rome wrote a series of letters in which he exercised pastoral concern for other churches. Bishop Ignatius of Antioch suffered martyrdom in Rome shortly after A.D. 100 during the reign of Trajan ..."
Profile Image for Matthew Richards.
112 reviews1 follower
December 6, 2018
The Page Numbers Are In The Compasses At The Top Of The Page, In The Center Of The Timeline

(Because several reviewers have noted there are no page numbers, I clarified where they are in the title of the review. I also had difficulty finding them due to the font and color.)

This Atlas was a wonderful resource as I read along with the Old Testament, which is filled with names of places which are difficult to keep track of. It's full of beautiful maps, illustrations and photographs of historical landmarks, useful diagrams of trade routes and famous battles, and charts of Israeli Kings and rulers chronologically next to other kings of the region (in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.)

The first section of the book shows the geography of different regions in Ancient Israel and Ancient Mesopotamia, which was my favorite part because it gives context to biblical passages about the wilderness or the hill country of Ephraim or the Phoenician shore and helped me understand what the characters were experiencing. The second second of the Atlas is a section-by-section historical narrative that starts right before the Bronze Age Collapse with the world of Abraham and the Patriarchs and ends with the reign of Constantine at the end of the Book of Acts. It follows along both with the events of the bible and the historical events in the Near East that influenced its writing.

The author, Dr. Thomas V. Brisco, is a Professor of the Old Testament and Archaeology, and is also a pastor. While the writing is refreshingly scholarly and non-dogmatic, readers should keep in mind it's written from a clear Christian perspective. For example, he lays out two possible comparative timelines for an early Exodus or a late Exodus 300 years apart based on both the biblical account and historical evidence of the time period, while more secular works I've read have doubted the historicity of the Exodus altogether. He assumes the reality of miraculous events and makes sure to capitalize pronouns referring to God or Jesus, but is thoroughly a moderate. This may be a factor to consider when you're choosing a Biblical Atlas to buy.
Profile Image for Tyna.
397 reviews7 followers
October 11, 2024
If I could have flipped through this book I would not have purchased it.
Yes, there is a lot of information, but I was hoping for large readable maps. The maps are not large enough. I'll still have to use my magnifying glass.
67 reviews
Want to read
February 12, 2026


[PHYSICAL COPY: Hardback]

Amazon Purchase

This is a taller book, and it is the only book in this index classification right now. So, it will be placed on any tall enough shelf on the office bookshelf. Find it placed loosely in any open space between other index classifications where it easily fits, not necessarily in the order as indexed on the MyBooks library on GoodReads.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews