Ferrell Jenkins has warm words for the new edition of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, suggesting that “every church should have a set of this material for the teachers to use in their teaching.” He knows from his own experience what is involved in creating a collection such as this:

Would you prefer to make your own photos? Try buying a good digital SLR camera starting at about $1500, flying to Israel (not to mention Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, the Greek Islands, Italy, et al.), renting a car for a few weeks, buying the gas. Oh, and don’t forget to hire a private plane for a few hours so you can get some good aerial photos. That might cost at least $389. And what if the lighting conditions were not right for a good photos the day you were at a site? What if you don’t have time to get your photos organized and write a description of each one? Need I go on to make a point? Did I mention that living and teaching in Israel for a decade helps?
Every church should have a set of this material for the teachers to use in their teaching. Over the years I have found that some short-sighted groups (churches) will not make such an expenditure. The other choice is to buy the set for yourself.
I hear several lessons a week, and every one of them could be improved by the use of photos from this wonderful collection.

Thank you, Ferrell! And we thank all the others who have written us privately to express their appreciation. You can read the rest of Ferrell’s review here.