The Bible and the Land

Ancient Context, Ancient Faith

by Gary M. Burge

As the early church moved away from the original cultural setting of the Bible and found its home in the west, Christians lost touch with the ancient world of the Bible. Cultural habits, the particulars of landscape, even the biblical languages soon were unknown. And the cost was Christians began reading the Bible as foreigners and missing the original images and ideas that shaped a biblical worldview. This new book by New Testament scholar Gary Burge launches a multivolume series that explores how the culture of the biblical world is presupposed in story after story of the Bible. Using cultural anthropology, ancient literary sources, and a selective use of modern Middle Eastern culture, Burge reopens the ancient biblical story and urges us to look at them through new lenses. Here he explores primary motifs from the biblical landscape―geography, water, rock, bread, etc.―and applies them to vital stories from the Bible.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Gary M. Burge (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is dean of the faculty and professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary. He previously taught for twenty-five years at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Among his many published books are The New Testament in Seven Sentences, Theology Questions Everyone Asks (with coeditor David Lauber), A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion, Mapping Your Academic Career, The New Testament in Antiquity (coauthored with Gene Green), and the award-winning Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians.

Reviews

[Susan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bible and the Land by Gary Burge is a short book that contains main valuable insights into the land of Israel from a biblical perspective. It covers seven topics: the land, wilderness, shepherds, rock, water, bread and names. Each of these topics has a different cultural understanding attached to it that is unfamiliar to those of us who live in the West.

I was surprised after reading the Bible and various commentaries for years, plus going to Israel myself, that Gary Burge was able to enlighten me on so many incidences in the Bible. When we have more insight into the cultural setting of the Biblical stories we are able to understand at a deeper level the point God is making through the Biblical writers. Suddenly little things can open up a new level of understanding. As an example, I have always thought it odd that Mark tells us that the crowds sat down on "green" grass (Mark 6:39). It always seemed to me an unnecessary adjective. Yet Gary points out in Mark 6:34 how the people are described as sheep in need of a shepherd and by using the word green he has connected it with the "green pastures" of Psalm 23:2.

Gary's insight also helped me better understand God's purposes in giving his people the land of Israel. It is not an easy land with an uncertain water supply, dangerous wilderness and unruly neighbours yet God uses the land to teach his people many important spiritual lessons that we can still apply today.

A fascinating read with great photos and art work.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Bible and the Land" is a useful, God-focused Bible reference book. It started off by describing the land of Israel and discussed why the author thought God brought them there instead of another land. He then discussed the Biblical motifs of the wilderness, shepherds, rocks, water, bread, and names. He described what they would have meant to the Jews at the time to help readers better understand what Jesus and the Bible writers were conveying to their audience.

I felt the Name section was missing some important information needed to fully understand "the name of" statements in the Bible. However, the Shepherds, Rock, Water, and Bread sections were excellent, insightful, and provided some enlightening information I hadn't heard before.

The author often talked about Jewish traditions, which gives the reader a good view of what the Jews believed in Jesus day. However, the author often didn't point out that the Jewish traditions he referred to usually put an emphasis in a different place than the Bible does. It's not a major concern, just a warning to read these sections with discernment.

The book contained lovely color photographs that illustrated what the text was referring to. It was a quick read and easy to understand. Overall, I'd recommend this to those who want a better understanding of the context of the Bible and Jesus' teachings--both readers who don't have time to read longer books and those who can't get enough of this type of information.

[Chris Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slim volume provides a good introduction to how aspects of the geography of the middle east influenced the peoples of the Bible. It's not really new ground (see what I did there?), but it's a good reminder to consider the Bible in its cultural context when studying it. It's not academic at all and is very accessible to the average reader.

[Samuel Bierig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid biblical background vitamin right here.

[Lisa Lewis Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but very informative. I've enjoyed all of Burge's books that I've read, and will be keeping them in my permanent library. Chapters include, Wilderness, Shepherds, Rock, Water, etc.

[Brent Barnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burge does it again: More Biblical insights using his knowledge of ancient Israeli culture.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction to the Bible's tie to the lands of its stories. I would highly recommend this for someone about to visit Israel.

[Mark Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10