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New Release: NIV Zondervan Study Bible

The NIV Zondervan Study Bible is being released today. The successor to the best-selling study Bible will likely quickly become a best-seller itself, especially since it was written under the direction of D. A. Carson, one of the most well-known and well-liked evangelical scholars today.

I’m excited about it for all of the reasons you’ll read on other sites and reviews, but it was also a privilege to have been invited to contribute. I wrote the notes on 2 Kings, a book I have studied in great depth for the last 25 years. The editors also selected 50 of our favorite images from the BiblePlaces.com collection.

My parents gave me the first NIV Study Bible when I was a teenager and I carried and read it through high school and college. I use it today when teaching in the classroom (preferring a smaller Bible when teaching on the field). This all-new edition is now even more personal.

Here are a few of the books and contributors I expect to be extremely valuable:

Genesis 12–50: T. D. Alexander
Judges: K. Lawson Younger
Psalms: David M. Howard Jr.
Proverbs: Bruce K. Waltke
Isaiah: John N. Oswalt
John: D. A. Carson
Romans: Douglas J. Moo
Galatians: Stephen Westerholm
Philippians: Simon J. Gathercole
Hebrews: Buist M. Fanning

And there are many inviting articles, including these:

The Story of the Bible: How the Good News About Jesus is Central, by Timothy Keller
A Biblical-Theological Overview of the Bible, by D. A. Carson
The Glory of God, by James M. Hamilton Jr.
Sin, by Kevin DeYoung
Sonship, by D. A. Carson
Holiness, by Andrew David Naselli
The Gospel, by Greg D. Gilbert

I haven’t held the Bible in my hands yet, but to judge from the editors, the editorial process, the contributors, and the goal, I expect this to be an outstanding work that will benefit many for decades to come.

What distinguishes this study Bible from the many others? Carson notes five characteristics in the preface. Here’s a portion of the first and last.

So what characterizes this NIV Zondervan Study Bible? First, in common with the best study Bibles, all our contributors revere Scripture as the Word of God and joyfully bow to its authority. Our desire is not so much to be masters of the Word, as to be mastered by it. That shapes how we approach the text and how we write about it. Our aim is to bring glory to God by helping people think his thoughts after him, and to bring understanding and edification to his people as they do so.
[…]
Finally, this study Bible emphasizes biblical theology. By this we mean that instead of focusing primary attention on how the Bible as a whole addresses many questions (which is what many people mean by “systematic theology”), we have tried to highlight the way various themes develop within the Bible across time.

This emphasis upon biblical theology was the part I enjoyed the most as I wrote the notes on 2 Kings.

Providing the dates of each king is important, but I relished showing how the Bible fits together through God’s faithfulness to his promises as all things move toward the glorious consummation.

The Bible is available in print, personal, Kindle, and Logos formats. The print version comes with a free digital version as well. You can see a video preview as well as a 180-page sample at the official website.

Tagged Resources

Weekend Roundup

The Islamic State beheaded the retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra. The Oriental Institute condemns this “brutal and senseless act.” Ian Tuttle suggests that he be added to the ranks of martyrs.

Does Syria’s Director-General of Antiquities and Museums have the saddest job in the world?

Recently his job has been to hide antiquities from ISIS.

The forthcoming Museum of the Bible in Washington DC has made a multi-year deal with the Israeli
Antiquities Authorities to display numerous artifacts.

Opening October 12: The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art will have an exhibition entitled,

“Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom,” featuring a range of artifacts from monumental stones to fine jewelry.

Greece’s financial woes have halted work on the great tomb which last year generated huge publicity.

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is hosting an exhibit on bronze sculptures in the Hellenistic era. The link includes some fantastic pictures.

Here’s more on the claim that the tomb of Egyptian queen Nefertiti may have been found. And a 15-minute video that explains the technology behind the claim.

The former director of the Walters Art Museum tries to make the case for buying antiquities in order to save them (WSJ; subscription required).

Ancient inscriptions in the Cave of the Elijah the Prophet are in danger.

The Lost Sheep is a new video short from Source Flix that will serve as a great intro or illustration in teaching.

Can you guess the location of these photos from the ASOR Archives? (We scored a 10.)

Rose Eveleth: Is Archaeology Better Off without Religion?

If you’ve been looking for an original, but affordable, copy of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine, there’s one available now from a bookseller in California ($69 for three volumes). It looks like the Logos version is quite close to production, needing only a few more bids.

HT: Jared Clark, Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer, and especially Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Greece, Museums, New Exhibits, Resources, Syria, Weekend Roundup

New Book: Waiting on God

Wayne Stiles has a new book out: Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing. That might not sound like a book with a strong connection to biblical geography and history, but it is. The book released yesterday, but I’ve already read a large portion of a pre-release copy and it is outstanding.

Wayne looks at life through the lens of the story of Joseph, pulling in his extensive background knowledge to reveal aspects you’ve almost certainly never heard. I taught through Genesis twice this past year and didn’t expect to learn many new things, but I did.

Here’s a short endorsement I wrote:

Every page of Stiles’s book is characterized by practical wisdom, careful research, and vivid writing. I love his insights and personal stories and found I just wanted to keep reading. Best of all, I appreciate how we see from Scripture how we can trust God no matter what.

I highly recommend the book. It’s available for $11.66 at Amazon. And if you send Wayne your receipt before Monday, he has some great free bonuses worth a lot more than $11.66. Seriously, you can’t lose. And you might want to go ahead and pick up a few extra copies for upcoming Christmas or birthday gifts. The book’s message is relevant for all.

Tagged Resources

Free Course on the Lands of the Bible

If you ever wanted to learn more about the Lands of the Bible but you’re not a traditional student or
you can’t afford to travel to the Middle East, you will want to check out the free online “Survey of the Lands of the Bible” class that Mark Vitalis Hoffman is offering through Gettysburg Seminary.

The course runs from September to December and gives you the opportunity to do as much or as little as your schedule permits. You can watch videos, read the textbook, and join in discussions.

You can learn more here.

This also would be a great opportunity for those who have traveled to the Lands of the Bible but the tour left them longing for more!

Tagged Historical Geography, Resources

Interactive Map – Joshua 12 Slain King Town List

(by Chris McKinny)

The book of Joshua has the most geographical details of any book in the Bible. This is particularly the case for Joshua 13-21, which provides a series of different lists or non-graphic “maps” describing different aspects of Israel’s tribal settlement. Joshua 12, which precedes this section, is different (and unique) than the subsequent lists in that it provides a detailed list of 34 “slain kings” of Moses and Joshua. In a sense, this list provides a summary of Numbers 21 (the Transjordan Conquest under Moses) and Joshua 5-11 (the campaigns in Cis-Jordan under Joshua) as it lists all of the towns mentioned in these campaigns and provides some additional towns (e.g. Tirzah) that were apparently involved in the conquest.

Interactive Map of Joshua 12

Site Identifications

In this interactive map, I have compiled all of the towns in the list and provided the known archaeological details about the site (see also bibliography below) in a compact form. Wherever possible I have linked a low-resolution photo of the site. Of the 34 towns in the list, 30 can be identified with relative certainty. These four sites include the following: Goiim, which has not been identified; Ai which is probably to be identified in the area of et-Tell, but the conquest site could be located at a nearby site (e.g. Kh. el-Maqatir?); Hormah has not been securely identified, but I suggest Tell Beit Mirsim (McKinny 2015); and Maron/Madon/Meron is possibly Tell el-Khureibeh (e.g. Rainey and Notley 2006:129) just on the Lebanese side of the Israeli-Lebanese border. There are various identification problems with other sites in the list, however, most of these site identifications are generally agreed upon.

Archaeological Analysis

Assuming the traditional connection between Ai and et-Tell and my suggested connection of Hormah with Tell Beit Mirsim, this leaves us with 32 sites that have been identified and surveyed or excavated. Significantly, 28 of these 32 sites have clear Late Bronze Age remains. And what are the sites that are missing Late Bronze? Heshbon (Tell Heshban), Ai (et-Tell?), Arad (Tell Arad), and Makkedah (Khirbet el-Qom). Makkedah was only briefly excavated and Middle Bronze remains were found at the site, which might hint at the presence of later remains. Heshbon revealed phases of the earliest Iron I phases, but not Middle or Late Bronze Age. Ai and Arad are two of the three “etiological” towns along with Jericho (which, in fact, has Late Bronze) whose inclusion in the conquest narratives is usually associated with their large Early or Middle Bronze ruins (i.e. later Israelites attributed the observed ruins to traditional Joshua and Moses figures). This brief post is not the place to argue for or against this rationale, however, in light of the evidence of 88% of the towns in the Joshua 12 list having Late Bronze/Canaanite occupation it seems worth noting that these arguments are based on exceptions to what appears to be a coherent depiction of Late Bronze Canaan. This at least points to the likelihood that the writer of the Joshua 12 list (which, again, reflects the conquest narratives of Josh. 5-11) had a detailed understanding of the geopolitical landscape of Canaan in the Late Bronze Age.

Download Bibliography here.

Tagged Exodus-Conquest, Historical Geography, Resources

The Virtual Bible

(Post by A.D. Riddle)

With apologies for getting this out late, today is the last day of an introductory sale on The Virtual Bible, by Accordance Bible Software.

The Virtual Bible [is] a new visual resource which offers three-dimensional reconstructions of the land of Israel, first-century Jerusalem, the Herodian Temple, and more. The visuals, which include still images and video fly-throughs, were developed by Dr. Daniel Warner of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. James Strange of the University of South Florida, in consultation with Leen Ritmeyer, an archaeological architect who is an expert on the Jerusalem Temple.

For sample videos, see this Accordance blog post.

For product details, click here.

This video shows how The Virtual Bible is produced.

As I was reading about this product, I learned that The Virtual Bible has been around for a little while (here and here; the project was begun in 1999). The Virtual Bible is new to Accordance, and they describe the product as “Enhanced” though I am not sure what that means.

For details of the sale, you can view the Accordance announcement here. The sale includes several other graphics packages in their summer sale, including four from BiblePlaces.com:

Tagged Resources