Audio-Visual Reading of Joshua 18

David P. Barrett, author of the BibleMapper program, has been sharing outstanding, high-quality maps of biblical events on his blog. Check his List of All Atlas Maps.

He recently posted something a bit different, an audio-visual reading of Joshua 18. This chapter describes the process of allotting territory to the tribes and starts with defining the boundaries of the tribe of Benjamin. Barrett's video provides a walk-through showing on a map exactly what is being described in Joshua 18. Without a resource like this, it takes some work trying to read and consult a map to see what exactly is being mentioned and where it is. 

HERE is the link to check out! 

In the Footsteps of St Paul: Museum Exhibition in Greece

Via Egnatia toward Kavala

The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in Greece is hosting a temporary exhibition until 30 April 2025, "In the Footsteps of Paul." The exhibit is described in this way.

The museum narrative of the exhibition was structured based on the Second Apostolic Journey of Paul in Greece, in a revised framework of documentation and reconstruction, according to the text of the Acts of the Apostles, his letters to the newly founded Christian Churches and his associates, historical and archaeological research, but also the oral tradition that preserved the memory of the Apostle unaltered. The goal is to connect the apostolic journey with archaeological sites and monuments of the Greco-Roman era, the Jewish Diaspora and the Christian world at the then stations of the Apostle's tour and current cities of modern Greece. (translated by Google; original in Greek here)

There is also a downloadable PDF brochure describing Paul's journey here. One minor detail that is a bit out of the ordinary is the conclusion that when leaving Athens, Paul sailed to Cenchreae and then walked to Corinth. (IMO, this is a correct conclusion. It's easy enough to walk from Athens to Eleusis, but it's a challenging hike after that.) The "cultural route" described in the journey notes that the exhibit also includes Nicopolis that Paul appears to have planned to visit. (Titus 3.12)

The exhibit will be in Athens this summer. More information will be forthcoming soon about other opportunities, but for now, check out the hiking guides I have provided:

• Neapolis / Kavala to Philippi
• Beroea to Pydna
• Corinth to Lechaion
• Corinth to Cenchreae
  

Beroea to Pydna Paths where Paul walked

Road between Aigai and Neokastro along route from Beroea to Pydna

According to Acts 17.10.15, Paul had to make a hasty exit from Thessalonica and went to Beroea (modern Veria). After some success there, he again was forced to move on. Acts 17.14-15 says that Paul was conducted "to the coast," and from there he continued on to Athens.The most likely spot on the coast would have been Pydna. 

I did a good deal of hiking and driving in the area in June 2023 imagining where Paul might have walked to make the journey from Beroea to Pydna. If you are interested in the background for establishing Paul's routes, suggestions on where to drive and / or walk with Google Map links, and some guidance on things to see along the way, download the attached travel summary.

• Beroea (Veria) to Pydna Paths
   

Corinth to Lechaion Walking Paths

Lechaion and Corinth Roads

This summer I had the pleasure of working a couple weeks on an archaeological dig at the Lechaion Harbor Project directed by Paul Scotton and the Corinthian Ephorate. I took the opportunity to do a lot of hiking in the area. I previously reported on the routes Paul might have taken between Corinth and Cenchreae, the Corinthian harbor on the Saronic Gulf to the east. I also am persuaded that Paul probably had occasion to go through Corinth's Lechaion harbor to the north on the Gulf of Corinth. (I provide rationale for this claim in the document I've linked below.)

The document link below is a summary of the routes I investigated. There has been uncertainty about the routes between Corinth and Lechaion. The so-called Lechaion Street that visitors can walk in the Roman forum of Corinth does have evidence of a road that extends straight north toward the harbor. (Green line on graphic above) It ends up somewhat west of the harbor, however, so some have suggested another route further to the east that goes directly there. (Navy blue line on graphic) Because of swampy conditions, a route further to the west (purple) is also possible.

Realizing how much has likely changed over 2000 years, I can only make reasoned guesses, but here is what I think is most probable.

• There were probably multiple routes between the two sites.
• There are really only two 'indentations' or cuts in the ridge to get up to Corinth, so it is more likely that roads pass through them.
• It makes good sense to me that the Lechaion Street route and its extension to the harbor was likely a prominent route. It runs straight on a north-south axis (which Romans liked) and goes through one of the cuts in the ridge passing by the Asklepion and the Waters / Baths of Aphrodite. (Romans would have enjoyed a water feature upon entering a city.)
  

If anyone is interested in walking any of the routes, I provide background to the area, suggestions for walking, and links to further information. The document is 18 pages long, but you may enjoy simply checking out my pictures at the end!

•  Corinth to Lechaion Routes and Walking Paths
• Google Maps link to walking paths

Walk in Paul's Steps from Corinth to Cenchreae

View looking west to Acrocorinth; Examilia quarry in foreground

I spent 3 week in Corinth in June participating in the Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Project directed by Paul Scotton. I had a wonderful time! On the weekends, I went around and tried to retrace Paul's paths in Greece. I had already done most of his path on the Via Engatia from Neapolis (Kavala) to Philippi in 2017. This summer I visited where Paul went from Pella to Edessa to Beroea (Veria) and from there on to Pydna via Aigai (Vergina). I also stopped at Nicopolis (Titus 3.12). Working at Lechaion, I went back and forth between the harbor and the Roman forum. I suspect Paul also did so, especially if on his third trip he went all the way west to Illyricum (Romans 15.19) and then sailed south and then east in the Gulf of Corinth to Lechaion. I will share reports on those when I get a chance, but for this post, I will report on my walk from Corinth to Cenchreae (Kenchreai) and back. We are told Paul sailed from the Cenchreae on his way back to Jerusalem and Antioch at the end of his second journey.

Acts 18.18: After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow.

If you are interested in walking this path, I share suggested routes (with Google Maps guides), hiking shortcuts, and some tips for things along the way. It is about 7.3 miles (11.5km) one way and takes about 3 hours at a leisurely pace. The recommendation for a walking stick to fend off dogs came from Hannah Lents who will be presenting at SBL this year: "The Road to Kenchreai: A History of a Gospel Highway."

Looking east to Cenchreae and the Saronic Gulf

Here is the PDF with all the information. Let us know if you have walked this path and what your experience was!

• Corinth to Cenchreae (Kenchreai) Walking Path
  

Gardens of the Roman Empire

Here's a new site I just came across (HT: DCCommentaries on Twitter/X): Gardens of the Roman Empire. From the site description:

The peoples of the Roman Empire conducted their lives outdoors in gardens, parks, groves, tomb gardens and other designed environments. Whether created by highly skilled topiarii such as the freedman Tiberius Claudius Turiscus in Rome, by an anonymous team of gardeners and trainees at a tomb in Andematunum, Germania, or by a shopkeeper in Pompeii, gardens have left material traces discoverable from archaeological digs, in literature, paintings, inscriptions, or coins.

We present this evidence for the garden culture of the Roman Empire in a searchable encyclopedic format. Scholars, students, and the interested public internationally can explore a wide array of topics to address contemporary questions about imperial power, daily life, the environment, garden art, and religion across the diverse cultures of the Roman world.

We are launching the GRE website in a beta format. As a legacy project, our goal is to share the original text prepared by Wilhelmina Jashemski and her editorial team, and develop this site in collaboration with our readers. 

There are many gardens located in Greece, as one would expect, but surprisingly, lots in England and few in Italy. The map is interactive and can go full screen and makes beautiful implementation of OpenStreetMap.Clicking on a site will bring up a separate page of information that is quite complete and very well done.

Of biblical interest, there were Herodian gardens at Machaerus, three gardens at Herodium, five at Herodian Jericho (Kypros), Masada, Ein Gedi, and two at Caesarea Maritima. (For now, Machaerus is mislocated near Jericho. I've reported it.) There are also sites in Greece where Paul travelled.

Check it out and click away!

Bible Geocoding and Rethinking the Bible Atlas

An example of the KML file results which has about 7,100 placemarks in Google Earth.

I have mention OpenBible.info before as an excellent resource for things like data visualizations and especially its Geocoding. Stephen Smith has recently updated his work and explained what he's been doing in this post: "Past as Probability: Rethinking the Bible Atlas for 2021." He writes:

What does rethinking the Bible Atlas mean?

This project is a Bible atlas (technically, a gazetteer) that (1) comprehensively identifies the possible modern locations of every place mentioned in the Bible as precisely as possible, (2) expresses a data-backed confidence level in each identification, and (3) links to open data to fit into a broader data ecosystem. The goal is to provide a baseline for future Bible geography projects to use.

In my original design document for this project, I have the following guiding principles; I’ll discuss their implementation below:

1. Comprehensively reflect current scholarship.
2. Use linked data.
3. Be accurate and precise.
4. Quantify uncertainty.
5. Handle non-point data.
6. Include media.
7. Open the data.

It's a pretty stunning achievement considering the amount of work pulling the material together. His description of his work is worth reading, but if you just want to take advantage of his work, go to the Geocoding section. From there you can download the KML file for Google Earth with its 7100 Bible placemarks linked to the passages where a site is mentioned. You can also browse online by book and chapter of the Bible.

Thanks are due for sharing this resource so openly!

Google Earth in 4D

I've posted before on Google Earth as a resource for biblical mapping and study. They just announced (2021.04) one of the first significant updates in 4 years. Google Earth has long had a 'history' option so that you could check out imagery taken at various times, but now it's been integrated into a smoother browser experience.

In the biggest update to Google Earth since 2017, you can now see our planet in an entirely new dimension — time. With Timelapse in Google Earth, 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years have been compiled into an interactive 4D experience. Now anyone can watch time unfold and witness nearly four decades of planetary change.

HERE for the full announcement.

The primary goal is to show the dramatic environmental changes that have occurred, but there are some interesting things to check from a biblical perspective. While the detail is not granular enough to focus on, e.g., the excavations at a site, it can make evident macro-level changes from ~1984-2020. Here are a couple I could notice.

• Water level on the Sea/Lake of Galilee: This will bring you to the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee. What you can notice is the varying water levels. In particular, you can see how the excavations at el-Araj, one of the proposed sites of Bethsaida, is affected by the water level. The 2020 image shows why the site was partially submerged in 2020.

• Water levels on the Dead Sea near Ein Gedi: It's pretty easy to see the contraction of water levels on the Dead Sea. I'm not sure what the latest situation is at Ein Gedi, but there used to be a nice beach there that I think is now closed. Even the road was closed for a time due to large sinks caused by the lower water level.
  

The viewer works best in Chrome. There are lots of options for the visualizations, including details, map styles, creating projects, etc. Check it out!

Pergamon Digital Map

https://geoserver.dainst.org/maps/5548/view

Produced by the German Archaeological Institute, this digital map of Pergamon / Pergamum is really fantastic. HERE is the website and the introduction:

The publication of the new archaeological map of Pergamon is an important milestone in the study of the ancient metropolis. For the first time since 1973 a new cartographic basis for the ancient city of Pergamon is available. The new map represents all known archaeological remains.

Viewer has options for details, labels (English, German, Turkish), and backgrounds, all in outstanding detail. Further, clicking on sites provides links out to further resources such as iDAI.gazetteer and the iDAI.objects arachne site which has more information and photos. You can spend a lot of time poking around all that there is to see here.

HT: Mark Wilson on FB

Chronologies, Genealogies, Maps: Online Resources from Ian Mladjov

I just discovered this outstanding collection of chronologies, genealogies, and maps by Ian Mladjov. His resources cover most of the ancient world from Europe to Mesopotamia, so many of them are directly related to biblical history. For example:

• Chronologies
  
• Rulers of Egypt: chronology 1540-310 BC
• Rulers of Israel and Judah: chronology 1030-586 BC 
• Rulers of Judaea (Hasmoneans and Herodians): chronology 166 BC-AD 92
  
•  Genealogies
  
• The kings of Israel and Judah c. 1030-586 BC 
• The Hasmonian and Herodian rulers of Judaea (detailed genealogy) 
• Roman emperors 30 BC-AD 457
• Maps
• The Ancient Near East c. 1350 BC (the World of the Amarna Letters)  
• The Ancient Near East c. 1250 BC (the World of Rameses II and the International System of the Late Bronze Age) 
• Anatolia c. 1300 BC (the Hittite Empire and its dependencies) 
• Mesopotamia c. 1200 BC (Babylonia and Assyria) 
• The Sea Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean c. 1200 BC (compare to the Returns from Troy map below) 
• Israel and Judah c. 880 BC (the fragmentation of the United Monarchy according to the Old Testament)
• Macedon and Alexander's Conquests in 323 BC
• The Kingdom of the Hasmoneans and its dissolution c. 40 BC

The resources are of very high quality, and the maps are particularly detailed. You will note that the names on the resources follow standard transliteration practice rather than privileging Latinized and Anglicized versions. It's still easy enough to figure out persons and places.

Here is what Mladjov says about the maps.

The historical maps in this page are for the most part versions of some of the maps I have prepared for teaching purposes in my various courses. The level of detail and accuracy in any one map depends on the author's perceived necessities and priorities, source materials, and personal level of expertise in each particular case. Inevitably, as all too common with historical maps, many of these maps are (or started out) based on pre-existing versions from a variety of sources; I have attempted to investigate and verify points of doubt or discord wherever possible. Occasionally existing maps are revised to reflect additions or corrections, and new maps are added to this page. Given proper attribution, these maps may be used freely for non-commercial educational purposes. 

Note that they are freely available for non-commercial educational use!  

Thanks to Mladjov for sharing these fine resources. (BTW, I'm unable to find out much about the author except that graduate work was/is being done at University of Michigan, and there were teaching positions held at Bowling Green and Drexel.)

Synagogues of Israel Interactive Map

Here's a great use of Google Maps to create an interactive map of synagogues in Israel. Note that filters include Early Roman; Late Roman and/or Byzantine; Un/Excavated; Jewish or Samaritan. It includes all the interesting ones I could think of: Capernaum, Chorazin, Gamla, Migdal, Arbel, Khirbet Kana (Qana), Huqoq... Clicking on the marker will give quick info reflecting the filter categories. You can then use the menu to get a list of the Ancient Synagogues to get further info, bibliography, and pictures. Definitely worth checking out.
HT: Philip Murray on FB, Nerdy Bible Backgrounds and Bible Geography Majors group.

Digital Maps of the Ancient World

Digital Maps of the Ancient World is a new to me website that is accumulating many fine resources. Here is its self-description:

The Digital Maps section is useful for those studying Ancient History and Archaeology, who would like to gain a better understanding of certain sites or where certain events took place. The Pompeii Map is also useful for those studying the Cambridge Latin Course.

The Mythology section is useful for those studying Greek and Latin who would like to understand the mythology behind the translations and those who have an interest in Ancient History.

For those studying Greek and Latin at school, there are dedicated languages sections with resources for grammar and vocabulary for the various UK examination boards, particularly for Common Entrance. The Greek Mythology and the Recommended Reading (Historical Fiction) and Media sections will help with understanding the cultures behind the languages.

From a biblical perspective, the most interesting sections are the Ancient Maps and the Digital Maps. For example, this one on provinces of the Roman Empire with clickable info popouts.

Or the one on ancient battles that includes four sites (Yodfat, Gamla, Beth Horon, Jerusalem) from the first Jewish war.

Lots more to check out, so have fun!

Ancient Theaters, Amphitheaters, Stadiums, and Odeons in Turkey

I love maps like this! (Found this map on Twitter.) It locates on a Google map all the Ancient Theaters, Amphitheaters, Stadiums, and Odeons in Turkey. I also do not tire of seeing as many of these sites as I can.
If I were to quibble at all about the map, I think a distinction can be made between a stadium / stadion and a hippodrome, the former for footraces, the latter for horse and chariot. Technically, I think it's a hippodrome in Istanbul (Byzantium) that is near the Blue Mosque. The stadium at Aphrodisias is so huge that I can imagine horses there, but it doesn't seem to have the starting posts or center spine as hippodromes would. For those who have traveled to Israel or Jordan, there are fine examples of hippodromes at Caesarea Maritima and Gerasa (where races are still held for tourists). Of course the most famous hippodromes is probably the Circus Maximus in Rome. (On a personal note, I have fulfilled one of my bucket list items of running at all four stadiums of the Panhellenic Games cycle: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea.)
As for theaters, the one in Ephesus is one of the largest in the ancient world, capable of holding up to 25,000 spectators. The one in Aspendos is one of the best preserved. The one in Pergamum is the steepest. There is a full list of Roman theaters in Wikipedia. I suppose that can be someone's project to map all those along with the list of ancient Greek theaters!

Mapping Time

"The Temple of Time" (1846) by Emma Willard — Source (Cartography Associates: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

I came across this fascinating article about the 19th century educator, Emma Willard, and her concept of mapping time: "Emma Willard's Maps of Time" by Susan Schulten. Schulten "explores the pioneering work of Emma Willard (1787–1870), a leading feminist educator whose innovative maps of time laid the groundwork for the charts and graphics of today."
The article is worth reading, and Willard's mappings of time are remarkable. Consider "The Temple of Time" pictured above. (Click HERE to see it with full magnification possible, and you really do need to zoom in to see all the detail.) It's interesting enough that history is organized by Statesmen, Philosophers, Discoverers, Theologians (in the center position of prominence!), Poets, Painters, and Warriors. Also note, however, the way history is viewed. As Schulten writes, "Emma Willard sought to invest chronology with a sense of perspective, presenting the biblical Creation as the apex of a triangle that then flowed forward in time and space toward the viewer." While creation is the apex, there still is the sense that the further back in time things are, the less prominent they are in present memory.

Detail from "Picture of Nations; or Perspective Sketch of the Course of Empire" (1836) by Emma Willard — Source (Cartography Associates: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

Consider this picture of nations (HERE for the zoomable view) which provides a perspective on the rise and fall of empires not from a geographical view but from a understanding of connectedness. There is further interpretation provided by highlighting key events. E.g., that white star in the middle right represents the birth of Jesus. Compare that to the kind of timeline that is typical for today, such as this one from the Accordance Timeline module.

While checking out Willard's representations, I found that she did also create some actual maps. E.g., check out the series of maps of "BC 1921 - Christian Era" showing what looks like progressive revelation. All the depictions are on the David Rumsey Map Collection. From an interesting technical aspect, there is also Willard's "World" map, but choose to use the Georeferencer option to set a background layer (click on the globe in upper left) with adjustable opacity of the foreground map. If you sign in, you can also get access to a 3D option. Great mapping fun!

BiblePlaces.com celebrates 20 years!

BiblePlaces.com by Todd Bolen is one of the premier sites on the web for finding photos of biblical places. The photo collections are outstanding and include ones that are organized based on historical views, regional groups, and books of the Bible. In his latest newsletter he describes the 20 year history of this web site and the work he's done. It's a fun read, and if you go all the way through, he shares a "Galilee: Then and Now" set for free. It's in the PowerPoint format that he's been using to organize photos and include the information and biblical links needed to make sense of the pictures. You can see more of his pictures and helpful overviews of Bible places by checking out the SITES.
While at BiblePlaces, also check out his blog with weekly updates of info related to the Bible, archaeology, mapping, museums, and more. Better yet, just sign up for his newsletter!
Congratulations to Todd Bolen and the others at BiblePlaces for 20 years!

ORBIS: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World

Paul's First Mission Journey on ORBIS

I've mentioned ORBIS before, but Chiara Palladino just posted an excellent review of the site. She writes:

The aim of Orbis is to allow investigation of the concrete conditions of travel in the ancient world, with a particular focus on the 3rd-century Roman route and transportation network. Orbis is a response to the long-standing scholarly debate about visual representations and study of “spatial practice” in the premodern world: traditional mapping approaches fail to convey the complexity of the variables involved in travel practices and provide a flat view of phenomena that are strongly connected with space and movement, such as trade, economic control, and imperialism. Orbis was conceived to respond to the specific question of how travel and transport constraints affected the expansion of the Roman Empire.

You will want to read the rest of the review and see examples of what sort of insights ORBIS 
can offer. From a biblical perspective, it can provide a good sense of how long and how expensive travel might have been in New Testament times. You cannot list more than a beginning and endpoint for each journey, but you can keep stringing them together to get the kind of map of Paul's first mission journey I depict above. You will see that not every city is included in the ORBIS database, so it does not include smaller locales like Lystra and Derbe. You also should create a map by right clicking on a site to make it a start or endpoint, since some of the names have changed by the 3rd century CE. (E.g., Antioch of Pisidia is listed as Caesarea of Phrygia.) You do have the options to choose fastest, cheapest, or shortest; set the season which would affect sailing options; choose whether you go by road and/or river/coastal sea/open sea.

Paul: Neapolis to Thessalonica - Via Egnatia

In this segment Paul traveled on his second mission journey from Neapolis > Philippi > Amphipolis > Appolonia > Thessalonica, ORBIS correctly picks out the Via Egnatia route. We also learn that such a trip would take 5.8 days to cover 173 kilometers (107 miles). 

So check out the review, and then play around with ORBIS for yourself.

Atlas of the Biblical World released!

I am happy to report that the Atlas of the Biblical World I coauthored with Robert Mullins is now available through Fortress Press and Amazon.

Based on the latest current scholarship, Atlas of the Biblical World features striking full-color maps and insightful commentary to make the ancient biblical world come alive. The complexities and questions that accompany the responsible study of the ancient world and its intersection with the biblical narrative are addressed through innovative map design and analysis. Sharp commentary that accompanies each map provides factual data, addresses questions of interpretation, and locates the biblical narrative in its wider historical and cultural context, making this particular atlas an ideal introduction for students of biblical studies. The atlas will feature over 60 full-color maps, illuminating commentary, full-color photographs of key historical artifacts, timelines, charts, and an index to the maps and content.

The official blurb from Fortress is quite glowing (!), but I am very happy to stand behind the content Bob and I have provided. The abundance of quality maps means that there is usually a map on every two-page spread, so that the commentary refers directly to the map at hand. Bob wrote the larger share of the atlas covering OT history. I wrote the chapters beginning with Alexander the Great to the Second Jewish revolt. I also provided most of the cover photos and six others in the book.

Here is what I wrote in the preface:

This atlas is intended to serve both as a collection of maps useful for biblical study and as a survey of biblical history. With a subject so vast and with space limited, the authors had to make choices about what to include. It is hoped that what remains is a helpful introduction to the Bible’s people, places, and events. The volume is organized chronologically rather than by the order of biblical books, but it does parallel the biblical narrative and is thoroughly cross-referenced. It should be easy to consult this atlas as one reads the Bible and place the biblical events within the larger history and context of the biblical lands. A Gazetteer is included for convenience in locating sites.
This atlas provides more than just maps with historical commentary. Geography is important, because it accounts for why things happened where they did. History—based on archaeology and extra-biblical artifacts in addition to the Bible—is important because it clarifies what happened. With better clarity about where and what events in the Bible occurred, we are better able to interpret the biblical story and understand why things happened from the perspective of what God has been doing since the beginning. 

As for us contributors:

Dr. Robert Mullins, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University and co-leader of an excavation at Abel Beth Maacah, has written chapters 1–45. Mark Vitalis Hoffman, Glatfelter Professor of Biblical Studies at United Lutheran Seminary, and frequent traveler to and photographer of archaeological sites in Israel, has written chapters 46–69. The cartography is the work of Cambridge-based Nick Rowland. Page layout and design has been carried out by Bounford.com, Great Gransden,  Cambridgeshire, while the index and gazetteer have been compiled by Christopher Pipe of Watermark, Cromer.

At 170 pages, it does not compete with the more comprehensive atlases available and which I have reviewed here and here. (I am still using the Crossway ESV Bible Atlas in my seminary course that surveys biblical geography and history.) It is intended, however, as the kind of atlas one could bring along on a trip to the biblical lands, since it is in a portable size, with good paper stock, and a very durable binding. Using the criteria I set in my own reviews,

• Approach: It is intended as a Bible-reading companion, but the Gazetteer and Index make it useful for general reference.
• General Matters: It can be used as a travel companion and is also ideally suited for adult Bible studies. I think it is reasonably priced at $24, and it is also available for Kindle or ebook for as low as $13. That's a great bargain.
• Scope It covers the full biblical story from prehistory to Revelation and the second Jewish revolt in 135 CE. The intertestamental period from Alexander the Great to the Herodians gets special attention, since it is so important for establishing the context of the New Testament. While some atlases have chronological proportionality (and hence the 100 years of the NT period gets only scant attention compared to the 2000+ years of OT history), our atlas has ~35 pages covering the NT.
• Perspective: Both Mullins and I understand the Bible to be telling a story. We do not need archaeology to 'prove' the Bible, but we also regard the Bible as one important resource for making sense of the archaeological record. We have our opinions, but we reflect the most recent and best scholarship.

I hope you will check the atlas out, and I'd love to hear any feedback!

VizBible Map of Paul's Journeys

I just learned about this fabulous mapping project that is shared by Robert Rouse on the VizBible site. It displays Paul's journeys which can be displayed separately, and the but the really wonderful aspect is that the sites on the route are hyperlinked to a popup that indicates on which journey and which Bible text mentions the site. Further, there is a link to the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire which opens in a new window. From there, you have access to tons of further information from Pleiades, Brill's New Pauly, Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, more maps, articles, etc. Yes, it becomes a rabbit hole from which you may never emerge, but you'll enjoy the journey! It also works well on a smartphone through a browser with pinching to enlarge/shrink and to select a site.

 

HERE is the Rouse's blog post describing the work he did in creating the map, and while you're on the VizBible site, be sure to check out the other visualizations he's created.

HT: Tim Bahula on Twitter

Bible Atlases - Updating listing and review

Back in 2013, I posted about my search for a good Bible atlas (HERE and HERE) that I could use for a class I teach surveying the lands of the Bible. I realize that I never followed up with my decision on which atlas I chose. I first used the New Moody Bible Atlas, but I switched to the Crossway ESV Bible Atlas, and this latter one has turned out to be excellent for my purposes.
I have, however, compiled a list of 15 atlases I surveyed with annotations on their content and my impressions. I also have noted which are available in Accordance, BibleWorks, and Logos along with other resources.
You can see my summary HERE.
There are doubtless a number I haven't included, either because I don't know about them, they were primarily devotional, or they were more intended as travel handbooks rather than course textbooks. If I missed one you think I should review, let me know. Thanks.

Athens, Greece now in 3D on Google Earth and GE Quiz Maker

There are a number of locations in Google Earth that have received a photo-realistic 3D treatment. Athens recently was given such a treatment. Very nice! You can use the classic desktop version or view it on Chrome in the new Google Earth app. (The screenshot above is from the desktop version.)
As I noted in April, Google is discontinuing support for the desktop version, but the web app still does not have all the capabilities of the desktop version. For example, in the desktop version, you can view 3D reconstructions (not 3D imagery) like this view of Jerusalem.

So if you have not yet done so, get the desktop version.
HT: Google Earth blog

 

Speaking of Google Earth, you may want to try out the GE Quiz Maker that allows you to create geographic quizzes and fly you around the world. Links on that page will get you to a sample quiz and to the template you can use to create your own quizzes.