MUST-HAVE RESOURCES FOR BIBLE LANDS STUDY
MUST-HAVE RESOURCES FOR BIBLE LANDS STUDY
Not everybody can travel to Israel. But everyone can benefit from including Bible lands in their personal Bible study. You just need some good tools.
I have discovered that including Bible lands in my study has given me more understanding of the Bible than I ever imagined. The benefits of including Bible lands in the study of Scripture are available to everyone.
Many people have asked what resources I recommend. So I’ve created what I consider a must-have list. These are the tools I reach for first when I study—those resources that have proven most helpful to me for years.
I’ll give you the full list, and then I’ll suggest which ones to get first.
BIBLE ATLASES
The most basic resource for studying Bible lands is a good Bible atlas. Good atlases provide more than maps; they teach the importance of geography as it relates to history, archaeology, topography, climate, and soils. Several outstanding atlases are available today. These are the three I use the most.
IMAGES OF BIBLE LANDS
If a picture paints a thousand words, then thousands of high-resolution pictures are even better. I use the images from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands almost daily on my blog (including the image at the top of this post!), and I have used them for years in my teaching and personal Bible study.
Here are the volumes related to Israel:
- Jerusalem—includes more than 1500 photos of the Old City, Temple Mount, City of David, Western Wall Tunnels, West Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives.
- Samaria and the Center—includes more than 1200 photos of the Jezreel Valley, Harod Valley, Mount Carmel, Sharon Plain, Samaria, Jordan Rift, and Benjamin.
- Galilee and the North—includes more than 1100 photos of the Golan Heights, Huleh Basin, Galilee Hill Country, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, and the Plain of Asher.
- Judah and the Dead Sea—includes more than 1500 photos of the Hill Country of Judah, Judean Wilderness, Dead Sea, Shephelah, and the Philistine Plain.
- Negev and the Wilderness—includes more than 700 images from the regions of the Biblical Negev, Negev Highlands, Nabatean Cities, Nahal Zin, Spice Route, Wilderness of Zin, Wilderness of Paran, Aravah, and the Red Sea.
- Israel Collection—all of the above, including more than 6000 images and 100 PowerPoint presentations.
Take a look at the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands and see why this photo collection is so unique, so valuable, and so useful.
BOOKS ABOUT BIBLE LANDS GEOGRAPHY
If you’re interested in the land itself, these books do a great job—and have for many years
MY ESSENTIAL LIST
Obviously, dream list would include all of these resources! But here’s the essential list in the order I suggest you get them:
The "Israel Collection," from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. You really should get the entire library eventually.
The Satellite Bible Atlas, by Bill Schlegel.