The premiere scholar on biblical sites in Turkey is Mark Wilson, and his long-awaited book has just been published.  Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor is a 400-page work that includes “all the references to cities, regions, provinces, and natural features in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Biblical_TurkeyApocrypha/Deuterocanonicals, New Testament, and Apostolic Fathers.”  Though I haven’t seen the book, I have no doubts that this is the best book on the subject and an essential reference work.

The book is published in Turkey which makes purchasing a little more work.  One option is to purchase from the Turkish website for a cost of 30 euros (about $42) including delivery.  A second option is to take advantage of an introductory discount (20 euros/$28) available by sending in an order form by fax or email (details below).  A third option for those going to Atlanta later this month is to purchase it at the David Brown Books table at the SBL/ASOR conference (but I’d recommend you get one on the first day before they sell out their stock).

Option two details:

After preparing the list of the book you wish to order (Biblical Turkey in this case), click on “By Fax Order Form”. There you can write your credit card details, take a print out and send it as fax to us.  Our Fax Number: 90 212 244 32 09.”

You can also download the form, fill it out, scan it, and send it to [email protected] for processing. For any further questions about an order, please email that same address.

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An extraordinary collection of historical and geographical works on the Bible from the Carta Publishing House in Jerusalem has been announced for Accordance Bible Software (Mac).  Some of these works are the best in the field and available nowhere else electronically. 


Bible Lands Atlases

  • The Sacred Bridge
  • Carta’s New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible
  • The Carta Bible Atlas
  • The Illustrated Bible Atlas with Historical Notes
  • Bible History Atlas Study Edition
  • The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea



Jerusalem

  • The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem
  • Carta’s Historical Atlas of Jerusalem
  • Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah
  • Jerusalem in the Year 30 A.D.



Temple

  • The Quest
  • Carta’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Holy Temple in Jerusalem
  • The Holy Temple of Jerusalem

You can purchase the entire collection for $500, but there are other less expensive packages available.  All the details are here.

HT: William Krewson

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Some months ago, I mentioned a Logos Bible Software collection of books entitled “Travels through Bible Lands Collection.”  This fifteen-volume collection was listed in their pre-publication specials for $130.  That collection and many others did not receive sufficient interest and so it has now been moved to “community pricing” where a large number of orders results in a greatly reduced price. 

Thus you could now pick up all 15 electronic books for $20 if enough people place bids.  Here are a list of titles:logos_bible_lands

  • The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travels in Palestine, by Henry B. Tristram (1876)
  • Land of Moab: Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and Jordan, by Henry B. Tristram (1876)
  • Early Travels in Palestine, by Thomas Wright (1848)
  • Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: with travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and Desert, by Austen Henry Layard (1871)
  • Travels in Turkey, Asia-Minor, Syria, and Across the Desert into Egypt, by William Wittman (1803)
  • Social Life in Egypt, by Stanley Lane-Poole (1884)
  • East of the Jordan: A Record of Travel and Observation in Moab, Gilead, and Bashan, by Selah Merrill (1881)
  • Fifty-Three Years in Syria, Vol. 1, by Henry Jessup (1910)
  • Fifty-Three Years in Syria, Vol. 2, by Henry Jessup (1910)
  • A Brief Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, by Caroline Hazard (1909)
  • The Unvarying East, by E. J. Hardy (1848)
  • Among the Turks, by Cyrus Hamlin (1878)
  • Through Persia on a Side-Saddle, by John MacQueen (1901)
  • Palestine Past and Present, by James Challen (1859)
  • My Winter on the Nile, by Charles Warner (1892)

The ones in bold are those I’m familiar with and believe would be worth at least $20 each.  The others may be outstanding, but I have no knowledge of them.  In short, for $130 this is a tough one to recommend.  For $20, this would be an excellent addition to your Logos collection.  If you’re interested, click on over to the Logos website and place your bid.  If enough of us chip in, we all will get a fantastic deal.

In the near future I plan to suggest my own “Travels through Bible Lands Collection.”  There are many books better than these and perhaps if Logos is successful with this one, they’ll do a follow-up with my favorite resources.

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Popular author and teacher Dr. Charlie Dyer has begun a new weekly radio show entitled “The Land and the Book.”  In the first month, he has interviewed Israeli tour guide Amir Tzarfati, Charles Ryrie, Howard Hendricks, Tom Doyle, and Joel Rosenberg.  Some of the interviews are more oriented to the biblical lands whereas others focus more on interpretation of Scripture.  Programs also include discussion on recent events in the Middle East as well as devotions related to biblical history.  You can see descriptions of each program and subscribe to the podcast here.

HT: Wayne Stiles

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Eisenbrauns has announced a new book by Anson Rainey entitled Teaching History and Historical Geography of Bible Lands: A Syllabus.  Few details about the publication are available beyond its release date in December.  Rainey taught a popular course in advanced Historical Geography for decades at the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now Jerusalem University College).  A lifetime of research culminated in The Sacred Bridge, the most detailed resource on the subject ever written.  I look forward to his latest contribution.

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Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg has written a summary of major archaeological stories in September.

Aren Maeir critiques an article in the current issue of BASOR in which three geologists argue that
Hezekiah’s Tunnel took about four years to dig and was constructed not by Hezekiah but by his son Manasseh.

Leen Ritmeyer has just released “The Ark of the Covenant: Its Journey from Sinai to Jerusalem” digital image collection.  I’ve used a number of these images from the slide set over the years, but now Leen writes that so much has been added that the CD is “an entirely new presentation.”

I received some criticism for daring to suggest that last week’s 60 Minutes report on the excavations in the City of David would be one-sided.  But according to this eight-point critique by CAMERA, I was right.  Another website responds to the claim that there is “no evidence” of King David in
Jerusalem.

Carol Meyers will be lecturing this week in Fort Worth.  Her title is “Holy Land Archaeology: Past Meets Present” and tickets are $20.  Details are here.

Claude Mariottini points out National Geographic’s slideshow on “12 Ancient Landmarks on Verge of Vanishing.”  The photo of Nineveh is striking, but I can’t agree with the inclusion of Hisham’s Palace (Jericho) in the list.  It is surprising to me that the description of the ruins of Famagusta in Cyprus does not mention the city’s ancient name, Salamis.  Barnabas and Saul (Paul) landed here on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:5).

The photograph in the blog header was taken twenty years ago this week.  I was with a group of students from the Institute of Holy Land Studies excavating with Amihai Mazar at Tel Beth Shean. 

Even in late October that place is hot!

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