Another excellent atlas has been revised and is due out October 1 of this year. The second edition of Barry Beitzel’s work is entitled The New Moody Atlas of the Bible and, according to the description, its “one hundred thousand words provide useful commentary for more than ninety detailed maps of Palestine, the Mediterranean, the Near East, the Sinai, and Turkey.” I have long used the first edition of this atlas as required preparatory reading for seminary courses in Israel. To give but one example, Beitzel’s discussion of climate in the Holy Land is excellent.
Since I mentioned the cover photos on another atlas recently, I’ll say here that I like two of the three images selected. The Capernaum synagogue and the Caesarea aqueduct are not only interesting visually, but they have a connection to the biblical record. My preference would be to avoid shots, especially close-ups, of the Dome of the Rock on the cover of a book about the Bible. But I understand why design artists are attracted to it.
