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Book Reviews JETS 57/3 (2014) 589–651 BOOK REVIEWS Zondervan Essential Atlas of the Bible. By Carl G. Rasmussen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013, 159 pp., $16.99 paper. Carl RasmussEn is professor EmEritus at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN. HE is well known to scholars and students of the land of the Bible, having himself spent many years in Israel as dEan of the InstitutE of Holy Land StudIEs (now JEru- salem University College) in Jerusalem. His recently publishEd Zondervan Essential Atlas of the Bible is “an adaptatIon of thE morE complEtE Zondervan Atlas of the Bible” (p. 5), and as such, fits an important niche for students of biblical history and his- torical geography who desire a concise summation of the rElated evidencE. The book features two main sections: a “Geographical Section” (chaps. 1–5) and a “Historical Section” (chaps. 6–22). as the numbers of chapters suggEst, thE historical section comprises the vast majority of the book, though of course, one cannot absolutely separate the geographical and historical Information into these two categories. The two designations are nonetheless hElpful as general categories. The geographical section provides a genEral introduction to the Middle East, along with chapters on the geography of Israel and Jordan (somewhat longer and treatEd togEther), Egypt, Syria and LEbanon (treated togEther), and Mesopotamia. The chapters are short and to the point; Rasmussen packs a lot of information into relatively little space. The information is wEll illustratEd by full-color photos, maps, and charts; approximately 200 appear throughout the book. A minor quibbling point is that at times one wonders why a particular picture was chosen to illustrate a particular section (e.g. a Roman road in Syria on the “Introduction to the Middle East as a Whole” page, p. 9), or why an illustrative picture is on a different page from the discussion of it (e.g. the hamsin are mentioned on p. 15 but illustrated with photos on p. 16 without referring the reader there). Photos are almost all from Rasmussen’s comprehEnsive wEbsite www.holylandphotos.org. The historical section follows the biblical narrative, bEginning with the pre- patriarchal period (chap. 6) through exile and rEturn (chap. 14). AgaIn, RasmussEn does a good job of highlighting key information in relatively few words. A good example is his chapter on “ThE PatrIarchs and thE Sojourn In Egypt” (chap. 7), In which hE moves back and forth between biblical and aNE rEfErEncEs to help rEad- ers tie the biblical account to the wider ANE narratIvE. ClEarly, howEvEr, thE focus is on the biblical account, with links to the ANE as significant to a morE completE understanding of ScripturE. One often gEts the sEnse when reading that the author has visited the places he describes—which is often true. Throughout the historical section, Rasmussen also includes color-codEd timE- lines to hElp readers comprehend the synchronIsms (E.g. pp. 53, 76–77, 85, 91). Maps are wEll marked with citIes, routes, and other content designed to help read- ers makE the biblical connections. 590 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Chapters 15–16 cover the intertestamental period, a time about which many Christians know little, despite the abundance of historical data. Noteworthy in chapter 17 is the discussion of Herod the Great (pp. 108–13), whose magnificent architectural work still stands today at Masada, Jericho, Herodium, Caesarea, and more, but who is only known to Scripture because he tried to murder the infant Jesus (Matt 2:1–20). Chapters 18–21 focus on the NT period, beginning with the life and ministry of Jesus (chap. 18) and including discussion of the early church’s expansion (chap. 19), Paul’s journeys (chap. 20), and a brief chapter on the seven churches of Revela- tion (chap. 21). As in the OT section, Rasmussen carefully crafts the narrative so readers understand the landscape’s implications on the biblical accounts. This is helpful, for the Gospels do not tell us, for example, that Caesarea Philippi lay about 25 miles north of Bethsaida (p. 117), or that Jesus and his disciples would have had to walk six hours from the Sea of Galilee to Cana (p. 115; cf. John 2:1–11). Such information helps biblical readers see more clearly that biblical towns and villages are more than merely words on a page. Topographical maps (e.g. p. 116) further illustrate the rugged terrain Jesus and others regularly navigated in Galilee. Chapter 22, “Jerusalem” (pp. 140–49), contains a helpful history of the city from its beginnings around 2000 BC down to the Roman destruction of the city in AD 70. The photos, charts, and maps highlight Jerusalem from a number of per- spectives and inform readers about a city the Bible mentions over 800 times, a city that played such a significant role in history and still does. The book concludes with a Scripture index (pp. 151–54) and a subject index (pp. 155–59). Notwithstanding the book’s stated purpose as a concise summary, I found myself wishing to see at least a few footnotes in places where I wanted to read more or where I wondered about the source of certain information. For such a work as this, a brief, one-page bibliography of suggested readings would have been nice. In the preface, the author suggests the Zondervan Essential Atlas of the Bible “is ideal for use by Bible study groups, adult Bible classes, and travelers to the Middle East, and will serve well as an auxiliary textbook for college, university, and semi- nary classes” (p. 5). I agree. In my judgment, the book’s usefulness far exceeds the relatively modest price, and I definitely recommend it to the audiences the author lists. Bryan E. Beyer Columbia International University, Columbia, SC Introduction to the OT. By Bill T. Arnold. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014, xxviii + 409 pp., $53.99. The preface indicates that Bill Arnold’s introduction will take a literary ap- proach that will highlight the unique contribution of OT literature and its enduring legacy—its monotheism. The book begins with ten pages of excellent color photo- graphs that illustrate literary, theological, geographic, or historical issues and the BOOK REVIEWS 591 following chapters include many charts, pictures, maps, and informative sidebars. The text starts with three background chapters. The first deals with how Christians, Muslims, and Jews look differently at these monotheistic writings and the evidence for the gradual appearance of “implicit monotheism” in the OT. The second chap- ter discusses how the spoken words (oral reports) became written, were attributed to “authoritative figureheads” (others would call them “authors”), and were gath- ered into different canons (MT, LXX, V). The third chapter provides the ANE historical background and concludes that monotheism and ethical religion did not develop until the Axial Age (800–200 BC). Chapters 4–10 treat the literature of the Pentateuch. Arnold asserts that the “Primary History” (Genesis-Kings) was written by “Yahwists” from Judah who began their work in the 8th–9th century BC and finished these nine books around 550 BC (the Pentateuch was based on the earlier sources JEPHD). The text sum- marizes Genesis, concluding that Israel’s creation story was unique (no conflict between the gods) when compared to other ANE myths. Arnold focuses on the Abrahamic covenant, various approaches to the historicity of these narratives, and the nature of the patriarchal society. After surveying the literature of Exodus, Ar- nold raises a series of questions that indicate how little we know about what really happened; then he concludes with a summary of what one learns about God from these stories. He views the descriptive laws as “instructions, directions” (Psalm 119) and gifts from God that regulate human behavior (ethics) and man’s relationship to God, especially at the temple. He believes the name Yahweh was first introduced by Moses through his Midianite connections, but editors inserted this name in ear- lier passages before Moses. He finds Deuteronomy dependent on both Hittite and Assyrian political treaties and he emphasizes its themes of centralization, the name theology, “monolatrous henotheism,” election, retribution, and the origin of the Deuteronomistic history. The following chapters (11–15) survey the biblical story and then each chap- ter addresses some historical issues under “What really happened.” Arnold feels it is difficult to be confident about the details of Israel’s history before Joshua, and even after Joshua there is relatively little archeological evidence for the idealized biblical stories. In addition, archeology does not explain religion and scholars do not agree on dating archeological evidence (the high and low chronologies), so it is difficult to verify what really happened. Arnold recognizes a distinction between the “official religion” endorsed by the state, the piety of “family religion,” and “lo- cal religion” at country shrines. Although the literature speaks of God’s gift of the land to Israel through Joshua’s military victories, Arnold does not believe the evi- dence supports a military conquest of Canaan, but rather a migration of newcomers. Arnold suggests that “it is possible that during David’s reign, various Canaanite practices began to coalesce into the worship of Yahweh” (p. 222). This section closes with a review and comparison between the history in Kings and the different perspective of the post-exilic “Chronistic History” (the literature in Chronicles- Ezra-Nehemiah). He distinguishes the theology of Chronicles from Ezra- Nehemiah in relationship to “all Israel,” immediate retribution, and prophecy, so they had different authors. Chronicles differs from Kings in that Chronicles focus- 592 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY es on the nation’s glorious past and its righteous Davidic kings who worshipped God at the temple.
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