I am terrible at reading maps. My mother and I found that out the hard way when I was a teenager and she was driving through the city of Philadelphia. She wasn’t quite sure where the next turn was that we needed to make so while she was driving she thrust the map in my lap. I could not figure out where we were on the map let alone where the next turn was! I’ve gotten a little better at driving directions since then because of repeated experience although I mostly just listen to my GPS tell me where to go.

Since I am not a natural at being able to navigate a map of where I currently am in time and space, I am certainly not a natural at understanding place names in the Bible. I’ve really had to study in order to have a good picture in my head of where the Bible events are taking place, but it’s well worth the time and effort!

Recently Baker Books sent me The Basic Bible Atlas: A Fascinating Guide to the Lands of the Bible in exchange for my honest review. I am so grateful and this book has already proven to be a helpful resource. Here are five reasons why I think you need a Bible atlas and why this one in particular is a good one:

1. So you can picture where Bible events are taking place.

If you make it a regular practice to look in an atlas when you read a Bible name, after awhile you will have a good picture in your head of the map of Bible times. That will help you organize the information in your head and to be able to see connections between Bible passages that take place in the same spot.

2. So you can anchor Bible stories into real time and place.

When you see the locations on a map, you remind yourself that the Bible isn’t just telling fairy stories or fables. These are stories that really happened. Just like a news story today is more meaningful when you can picture where it is taking place, the same is true when reading the Bible.

3. So you remember that the Bible isn’t rooted in Western Civilization.

If we constantly have a picture in our head that the narrative of the Bible took place in the Middle East and Europe, we will remember that we need to study Bible times culture, too, in order to understand it correctly. The Basic Bible Atlas has plenty of cultural notes within the text so this atlas can help you understand both the culture and the geography of Bible times.

4. So you can learn how the geography of the Bible story impacts the interpretation of the passage.

Actually, when I first received The Basic Bible Atlas in the mail I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t just a book of maps. This book does have lots of maps, but there is a lot of text to read, too. But then I started reading and I was fascinated! The author writes about how the geography of the Bible story impacts the interpretation of the passage. For example, Genesis 1-11 bounces around from one region to another. This is important structurally to give us an unsettled feeling as a consequence of leaving the garden.

5. So you can learn the timeline of the Bible.

If you know a lot of Bible stories, but don’t really know how they all fit together or if you just need a refresher of the whole Bible’s overarching story, you could read this atlas and get a quick overview with the added bonus of attention to the geography of the story. Another part that was especially helpful was the progression and timeline of Jerusalem. I tend to just picture Jerusalem how it was in Jesus’ day whenever it is mentioned, but this atlas has drawings of Jerusalem and how it changed throughout Bible time history.

If you are looking for a Bible atlas, I would highly recommend The Basic Bible Atlas: A Fascinating Guide to the Land of the Bible especially because of its added text. You could read this atlas on its own or you could use it for reference and look up place names in the index. That is what I’m doing now as I read through Ezekiel. This atlas has been very helpful!

How has knowing the geography of the Bible been helpful to you? Comment below!

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