Sunday, I received my new copy of Biblical Illustrator Plus CDROM. I’ve been using Biblical Illustrator for years to help me prepare for the Bible studies I teach on Sunday morning. BI contains background articles that go along with the two main Sunday School curricula used in most Southern Baptist churches. BI is completely separate from the regular teacher’s material, but honestly I value it more. Every quarterly issue contains around 25 articles that offer background information for the biblical texts covered in our studies. The information is usually more detailed than what is offered in the average commentary, but short enough to be digested in one sitting. A working knowledge of biblical languages is not required.

G. B. Howell Jr. is editor of BI. In this newest issue, he is interviewed regarding the role he has played over the past six years. In that interview, he offers a very good description of what BI has to offer:

We continue to offer articles on biblical archaeology, geography, history, people, Greek and Hebrew word studies, and some theology. Every issue has a book review that introduces a new resource to our readers. And we offer a CenterSpread that is art intensive but has an economy of words. ... We have begun offering, though, sidebar boxes with self-contained information (see “St. Catherine’s Monastery,” p. 9). We added a twopage article that addresses some aspect of biblical archaeology, either a find or a site of significance.

The cover of the Summer 2009 issue features a bronze mask of a maenad or female follower of the wine-god Bacchus (Roman, 1st cent. A.D.). In addition to the curricula-related articles, this issue offers a review of Paul Barnett’s book, Paul: Missionary of Jesus. The archaeological article by Joe Cathey focuses on the City of David. The center spread covers the geography of ancient Galatia.

I teach the Explore the Bible curriculum which covers Galatians and James for the months of June - August. Many of the articles that you will see in the table below relate to these books of the Bible. Other articles offer background information for the Bible Studies for Life and MasterWork curricula. Below are the new articles in the current issue of BI:

Jerry Batson	Anointing in the Early Church	James 5
Joseph Beckler	Abide in John's First Epistle	1 John 2:3-17
Martha S. Bergen	Jewish Feasts & Festivals	John 7:10-39
Rick Byargeon	Sinai: The Mountain of God	Ex 33:12 - 34:9
Joseph R. Cathey	ARTIfacts: The City of David
Bennie R. Crockett Jr.	Three Social Divisions in the First Century	Gal 3:26-29
Terry Ellis	Sins of the Flesh	Gal 5:16-26
R. D. Fowler	Mirrors	James 1:19-27
John L. Harris	The Book of Jonah in Its Historical Setting	Jonah
G. B. Howell Jr.	Paul: Missionary of Jesus by Paul Barnett [book review]
Francis X. Kimmitt	Ancient Culture and Law	Ex 33:12 - 34:9
John Mason	Literacy in the First Century	Galatians, James, 1 Peter, 1 John
Allan Moseley	The Tabernacle: Its History and Use	Ex 35:4 - 36:7
Mark Rathel	"Light" in John's Writings	1 John 1:1 - 2:2
Charles A. Ray Jr.	Genuine Humility	James 4:1-17
C. Mack Roark	James' Ethical Imperatives	James
Don H. Stewart	Galatia: Its History	Galatians
L. Thomas Strong III	The Social Elite in the First Century	James 2:1-13
J. Mark Terry	Gideon: His Life and Times	Judges 6:11-40
Timothy Trammell	Traveling Through Galatia [center spread]	Galatians
Robert A. Weathers	Colossae in the First Century	Col 1:1-29
C. Alan Woodward	The Churches of Galatia	Gal 1

The articles above are in both the print issue of BI and the BI Plus CD-ROM. However, the articles below are from previous issues and can be found only on the CD-ROM edition, Biblical Illustrator Plus.

Scott Andrew	Faith	James 1:3; 2:14; 2 Peter 1:5
Stephen J. Andrews	Sackcloth and Fasting in Jonah	Jonah
Stephen J. Andrews	Hazor: A Great City	Josh 10:1 - 12:24
Waylon Bailey	Aaron's Golden Calf	Ex 32:15-19, 30-34; 34:4-6
Bryan E. Beyer	God's Message for Ninevah	Jonah 2:10 - 3:10
James A. Brooks	Gnosticism	1 John 4:1-3
James A. Brooks	Redemption	1 Pet 1:18; Eph 1:7
Trent C. Butler	Near Eastern Creation Stories	Genesis
James Carter	Old Testament Backgrounds of the Book of James	James
Robert O. Coleman	The Fountain	James 3:11
Robert O. Coleman	The Sirocco and the Flower	James 1:11
Bob Dean	The Counselor	John 14-16
David S. Dockery	The Meaning of Deposit	2 Cor 1:21-22; 5:1-5; Eph 1:11-14
David S. Dockery	To Betray Another	Matt 26:26-56
Charles W. Draper	Law and Faith	Galatians
Mark R. Dunn	Counselor: The Meaning	John 14:15-31; 15:26-27; 16:5-15
Mark R. Dunn	Who Were the Samaritans?	John 4:4-26
J. Scott Duvall	Grace	Rom 5:6-17
Kendell H. Easley	The Prison Epistles	Philemon; Colossians
Terry W. Eddinger	Ninevah: Assyria's Last Capital	Jonah 4:1-11
Gary Lee Gramling	Paul's Ethical Absolutes	Colossians
Sharon H. Gritz	The Betrayer: Judas Iscariot	Matt 26-28
Fred Howard	Prayer: A Word Study	Psalm 28:6-7; Col 4:2-4; 1 Thess 5:16-18; 1 Peter 5:6-7
Paul N. Jackson	A Christian Ethic of Business	James 4:1-17
Robert Earl Jones	Abide: The Meaning	1 John 2:3-17
Scott Langston	Midian in the Time of the Judges	Judges 4:1 - 9:57
Bill Latta	Gold Rings and Fine Clothing	James 2:2-3
Michael Martin	Fallen from Grace	Gal 5:4
John Mason	Horses: Their First Century Use	James 3:1-5
M. Pierce Matheney Jr.	The Historical Setting for the Book of Jeremiah	Jer 1:4-10; 4:1-4; 6:16-17
David M. May	The Spirit of Restoration	Gal 6:1-10, 14-18
Glenn McCoy	Christ's Second Coming	Heb 9:28; James 5:7
Glenn McCoy	The Royal Law	James 2:1-13
Larry McGraw	Freedom and the Christian	Matt 18:15-17; Gal 5:13-15; 6:1-5
Larry McGraw	The Life Situation of James	James
Larry McKinney	The Background of Schoolmaster	Gal 3:1-5, 23 - 4:7
Harold L. McManus	First Century Wars and Their Causes	James 4:1
Warren McWilliams	The Galatian People	Galatians
Janice Meier	Gideon: All We Know	Judges 6-8
John Polhill	John's Use of "Witness"	1 John 5:1-12
John Polhill	The Meaning of "Justified"	Gal 2:11-21
John Polhill	No Respecter of Persons: God's View of Race Relations	Acts 10:34-35
Wayne W. Poplin	Gideon: A Mighty Warrior	Judges 6:11
Gregory T. Pouncey	Libertinism & Legalism	Gal 5:16-26
Michael Priest	Titus and Paul	Titus
M. Dean Register	God's Wisdom/Man's Wisdom	1 Cor 2:1-16
Charles A. Ray Jr.	Antichrist in John's Letters	1-3 John
Charles A. Ray Jr.	Christ and the Kosmos	Phil 2:19-24; James 3:13-16; 1 John 2:15-17
Charles A. Ray Jr.	The Law of Freedom	James 1:22-27; 2:14-18
E. Randy Richards	Stop Lying	Col 3:8-9; James 3:3-12; 1 Pet 3:8-10
C. Mack Roark	Introducing 1 John	1 John 1:5-10; 2:3-11
Paul E. Robertson	The Churches of Galatia	Galatians
David M. Russell	The Colossian Heresies	Col 1:9-23
Billy Simmons	A Religious History of Galatia	Galatians
Bob Simmons	The Curse	Gal 3:15 - 4:7
Billy K. Smith	The Meaning of "God's Spirit Moved"	Gen 1:1-5, 31 - 2:1, 15-17
Harold S. Songer	Anointing with Oil: What Does It Mean?	James 5:14
Gerald L. Stevens	"Blaspheme": A Word Study	James 2:1-13
Robert A. Street Jr.	Micah: His Life and Times
Leslie "Thomas" Strong III	Family Life in Ancient Corinth	1 Cor 7:1-5; 8-16
Roger R. Sullivan	Corinth's Religious Atmosphere	1 Cor 8:12-13
J. Mark Terry	Jonah's Vine	Jonah 4:1-11
William B. Tolar	A Different Gospel	Gal 1:1-12
William B. Tolar	Paul's Fruit List	Gal 6:16-26
Timothy Trammell	Faith Affirmed	1 John 5:1-12
Timothy Trammell	The Purpose and Life Situation of John's Letters	1-3 John
Robert A. Weathers	Sexual Purity in the New Testament	Job 31:1-4; Psalm 10:3-4; 2 Cor 10:4-5; 1 Thess 3-5, 7
Elgia "Jay" Wells	Lessons for Race Relations	Acts 10:1-48; 8:26-40
Terry L. Wilder	The Role of a Steward	1 Peter 4:7-19
Jerry M. Windsor	Grace	Ephesians
C. Alan Woodward	Heresies in the Colossian Church	Colossians
G. Al Wright Jr.	Testing	James 1:2-4, 9-15, 26-27

Now, when I’ve written about BI before, I’ve suggested that it has value even for people who don’t teach from SBC curriculum. Why? Well, the articles provided in each issue are invaluable if one is involved in any aspect of preaching or teaching. Every CD in the “Plus” edition contains almost 100 articles. A couple of years ago, I began copying the articles (all in PDF format) from the CD onto my hard drive. I divide them up by books of the Bible as can be seen below:

Thus, regardless of whether I’m working on a Sunday School lesson, sermon, college lecture, or some other study of the Bible, I have dozens of background articles at my immediate disposal.

Recently, I’ve started listing articles in my personal notes in Accordance where I do the bulk of my preparation for teaching the Bible. I haven’t completed this project yet, but once I’m finished, I’ll have a running index in biblical order of the articles I have available.

I promise you I receive no commission from Lifeway for promoting BI here on This Lamp! I simply remain very enthusiastic about this resource and highly recommend it to others who are in any kind of teaching or preaching ministry. The print edition is $24.95 a year and the CDROM edition (with all the extra articles from past issues) is $34.95.

Tags: Biblical Illustrator, Accordance

I received my Fall 2007 edition of Biblical Illustrator Plus CD-ROM about three weeks ago. As always, the articles look very interesting, just from scanning the table of contents. I teach from Lifeway's "Explore the Bible" curriculum which focuses on the Gospel of Matthew for September through November, and many of the articles in this quarter's BI relate to elements of this gospel.

I highly recommend Biblical Illustrator for any student of the Bible's history. The articles are accessible for anyone of almost any background. Even if one has access to journals and such works as the Anchor Bible Dictionary (a favorite of mine), BI is sometimes a faster and more specific resource. And although I could not imagine preparing a Sunday School lesson without it, BI is also valuable for those not using Lifeway's curriculum. Every quarter I take all the articles on the CD (which are in PDF format) and organize them onto my computer's hard drive by biblical book. Then whenever I am preparing a sermon, Bible study, doing research, or anything in which I would need to access historical information about biblical ideas and customs, I have scores of articles at my disposal.

The cover of the Fall issue of BI contains a photograph of the "statue of Amenophis III from his mortuary temple on the West Bank at Thebes, famous for the so-called 'Colossi of Memnon.' Amenophis III was the first Egyptian king to be worshiped as a god in his own lifetime. Eighteenth dynasty, about 1350 B.C." The image relates to the article "King as God" by Joel F. Drinkard, Jr.

The back cover of the CD-ROM case contains these thoughts:

"The God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness' ...
So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female."
--Genesis 1:26-27, HCSB

How simple and yet profound! "Created" changes our origin and destiny. "In His own image" affects our understanding of human dignity, worth, and potential.

Of all creation, God created human beings in His image. That unique feature has compelled mankind to seek, to know, and to worship Him. But, how we have messed that up! People have worshiped everything from nature to creatively fashioned idols. Some have even worshiped man as god. In all of those cases, mankind has missed it.

But "In these last days, [God] has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. He is the radiance of His glroy, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:2-3, HCSB). In Him alone do we find worship satisfaction.

Below are the new articles in the Fall 2007 issue of Biblical Illustrator:

Andrews, Stephen J.	Book Review: Bible Archaeology: An Exploration of the History and Culture of Early Civilizations by Alfred Hoerth and John McRay
Bergen, Robert	Jerusalem's Fall to the Babylonians	Dan 1
Beyer, Bryan E.	Who Were the Medes?	Dan 5
Booth, Steve	Who Were the "Sinners"?	Matt 9, 11, 25
Capes, David B.	First Century Capernaum	Matt 4, 8, 12
Drinkard, Joel F.	The King as God in the Ancient Near East and Israel	Dan 3
Eddinger, Terry W.	Kings and Kingdoms in Daniel's Time	Book of Daniel
Gonzalez, Rudy	Almsgiving: Its Use and Abuse	Matt 6:1-18
Gritz, Sharon H.	Judas Iscariot, the Betrayer	Matt 26-28
Jackson, Paul N.	The Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees	Matt 5:13-20
Kelly, Bobby	Matthew and His Gospel	Matt 1-2
Lane, Hal	Stranger: A Word Study	Matt 25:31-46
McCoy, Glenn	Joseph the Carpenter	Matt 1, 2, 13
Polhill, John	You Have Heard It Said: Jewish Laws Behind Jesus' Teachings	Matt 5:21-48
Ray, Charles A.	John the Baptist: His Life and Ministry	Matt 3, 11, 14
Roark, C. Mack	Forgiveness and the Jewish Tradition	Matt 18
Stevens, Gerald L.	Divorce in the First Century	Matt 1, 5, 19
VanHorn, Wayne	Belshazzar: All We Know	Dan 5:1-31
Ward, Patrick D.	The "John the Baptist Cave" [ARTifacts]
Weathers, Robert A.	The "Kingdom of Heaven" in Matthew	Matt 12, 13, 16, 19
Wilder, Terry L.	What About the Gospel of Judas?
[CenterSpread]	The Messiah's Ministry: An Account by Matthew

The articles above are in both the print issue of BI and the BI Plus CD-ROM. However, the articles below are from previous issues and can be found only on the CD-ROM edition.

Arnold, Stuart	Debtor's Slavery	Matt 18:21-35
Bailey, John	Jesus as "Prophet"	Matt 21:4-14
Boyd, Timothy N.	The Disciples in History and Tradition	Matt 9:36 - 10:1, 27-29
Brooks, James A.	Lawyer and Scribe in the First Century	Luke 10:25; Matt 5:20; 23:1, 23, 27
Caldwell, Daniel	Babylonian and Persian Kings	Dan 3:1-30
Carter, Terry	A Talent	Matt 18:21-35; 25:14-30
Champy III, Harry D.	Belshazzar: All We Know	Dan 5:1-7, 25-28
Cheavens, Alice D.	The Roman Mile	Matt 5:41
Cole, Dennis	First Century Bethlehem	Matt 2:1-12
Cook, Donald E.	Jesus' Use of Parables	Isa 5:1-7
Cook III, William F.	Lamps in Ancient Israel	Matt 5:13-20
Davis, Conn	House Construction in Jesus' Time	Matt 7:24-29
Dehoney, Wayne	The Place of Jesus' "Sermon"
Draper, Charles W.	The Heavenly Host	Ps 148:2-5; 103:20-21
Drinkard, Joel	The Spoils of War	Dan 1:3-5, 8-16
Drinkard, Joel	Wealth, Trade, Money & Coinage in the Ancient World	Prov 16:16; 22:4; 28:20
Dunn, Mark R.	The Blind in Jesus' Day	Matt 9:18-38; 15:16-20
Fowler, R. D.	Zebedee the Fisherman	Matt 20:20-28; Rom 12:9-13
Easley, Kendall H.	Commerce in First-Century Israel	Matt 13:24-52
Easley, Kendall H.	Prayer Customs in First Century Judaism	Matt 6:5-15
Evans, Bob	The Practice of Making Oaths	Matt 5:27-37
Green, Joe	The Learning and Wisdom of Chaldea	Dan 1:17
Gregg Sr., D. Larry	The House of Herod	Isa 9:6-7; Matt 1:18-23; 2:1-2, 9-11
Gritz, Sharon	Kingdom of God in Intertestamental Judaism	Matt 13:1-23; 13:24-52; 16:13-28
Gritz, Sharon	Pilate's Power and Authority	Matt 28
Haag, H. Joseph	The Early Church's View of Poverty	John 12:5; James 2:15-16
Hall, Kevin	Apocalyptic Literature	Books of Daniel and Revelation
Hankins, L. Milton	Beams & Motes	Matt 7:1-12
Huckaby, Gary C.	Caesarea Philippi	Matt 16:13
Jackson, Paul	Jesus' Last 40 Days	Matt 28:1-10
Jones, Timothy Paul	The Meaning of "Raca"	Matt 5:21-26
Knight, George W.	The Galilee Boat	Matt 14:22-33
Knowles, Julie Nall	The Church's Use of the Model Prayer	Matt 6:9-15
Lain, Gil	Ancient Storage Facilities	Matt 6:26
Lain, Gil	Early Ships and Boats	Matt 14:29
Lane, Hal	Worry: a Word Study	Matt 6:25-34
Lanier, David E.	Salt in Ancient Israel	Matt 5:1-16
Lemke, Steve W.	"Falling Away" or "Erring" from the Faith?	1 Tim 4:1; 6:10
McCoy, Glenn	God as Heavenly Father	Matt 5:45, 48
McCoy, Glenn	The Mount of Transfiguration	Matt 17:1-13
McGraw, Larry	God's Angelic Messengers in the New Testament	Psalm 103:20-21; Matt 13:39-42; Mark 13:26-27; Acts 12:7-9, 11; 27:23-24
McWilliams, Warren	Predestination: Time and Space	Matt 6:8
Miller, Stephen R.	Capital Punishment in the Ancient Near East	Dan 3; Esth 4:11
Miller, Stephen R.	The Neo-Babylonian Empire	Book of Daniel
Moseley, Allan	Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: All We Know	Dan 1:8, 14-17; 3:17-18, 26-28
Parsons, Mikeal C.	The Holy Spirit: A History of Interpretation	Rom 5:5
Patterson, Bill	Divorce in First Century Israel	Matt 19:4-6, 10-12; Rom 16:3-5a; 1 Cor 7:7-9, 32-35; Eph 5:21-22, 25
Peacock, Kevin C.	The Battle of Carchemish	Books of Ezekiel and Daniel
Poulton, Gary	The Roman Military in Jesus' Day	Matt 8:1-13
Pouncey, Greg	Who Were the Magi?	Matt 2:1-23
Rathel, Mark	Salvation: A Word Study	Luke 2:25-38
Reeves, Rodney	Mourning the Dead in the First Century	Matt 9:18-31; 36-38
Register, Dean N.	Jesus as the Son of God	Matt 3:17; 4:3
Roberts, Sharon	Pearls in the Ancient World
Robertson, Paul E.	The Love of Money	1 Tim 6:10
Robinson, Dale G.	The Trumpet in the New Testament	Matt 24:3-6, 29-31, 42-47
Sandlin, Bryce	A History of Darius I	Dan 6:1-28
Simmons, Billy E.	Poverty and Wealth in the Early Church	Matt 6:1-18
Tench, Tony	The Pure in Heart	Matt 5:3-12
Trammell, Timothy	Introducing Matthew's Gospel	Matt 2:1-12
Ward, Patrick D.	City Gates in Jesus' Day	Matt 7:13-29
Ward, Patrick D.	Jesus' Early Life
Warren, William	Our English Bible
Wood, Darryl	Prayer: Its History and Use	1 Thess 5:17
Woodward, C. Alan	Annas and Caiaphas	Matt 26:1-56; John 18:15-27; 19:1-42
Woodward, C. Alan	"Mammon"	Matt 6:19-24

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Finally, I was honored to be quoted in an ad for Biblical Illustrator appearing in one of Lifeway's publications this quarter. Here is a reproduction of the ad below. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Tags: Biblical Illustrator

The cover of this quarter's Biblical Illustrator Plus CD shows a terra-cotta model of a war chariot from Cyprus, dated from the 7th century B. C. The back of the CD contains this blurb:

It's just dirt. Some believe that. But what people do with that dirt makes a huge difference. In some large metropolitan cities, land is being sold, not by the acre, but by the square foot. Location does matter.

This issue of Biblical Illustrator Plus looks at dirt and location and what happened at those locations. It looks at the Land of Promise that God gave His people. It looks at events that occurred in specific locations and at people from specific regions. This issue looks at those who built buildings and empires on that dirt--some for worship, some for self-aggrandizement. And we look at how some of those empires rose and waned.

People feel a kinship to the dirt, to the land, to its peoples, and to its cultures and traditions. In the end, though, may we remember that what matters is what we do for God and how we honor Him.

As I've mentioned before, Biblical Illustrator contains background articles for a number of Lifeway's Sunday School curriculums. The class I teach at Simpsonville Baptist Church uses the Explore the Bible curriculum, and this quarter we will take our lessons from the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. The articles below that are drawn from the Minor Prophets directly relate to the texts I'll be teaching.

Below are the new articles in the Summer 2007 issue of Biblical Illustrator:

Ken Cox	The Promised Land: A Crucial Locale	Deut 1-5
R. Raymond Lloyd	Who Were the Amorites ?	Book of Deuteronomy
Rick W. Byargeon	The Cities of Refuge	Deut 4-5
David L. Jenkins	What Happened at Ebal and Gerizim?	Deut 27-34
C. Alan Woodward	Temple Personnel in the First Century	Acts 2:41-47; 4:1-37
Timothy Trammel	Joppa: Its History and Significance	Acts 9-11
Stephen W. Carlson	Do You Believe in Magic?	Acts 13-14
David E. Lanier	The Synagogue in the First Century	Acts 13-15
Paul E. Kullman	The Synagogue: Its Design and Construction	Acts 13-15
LeBron Matthews	Solomon in All His Splendor	1 Kings 3:1-28
John Traylor	The Allure of Baal	1 Kings 19; 2 Kings 23
Alan Moseley	Locusts!	Joel 1-3
John Mark Terry	The Early and Latter Rains	Joel 1-3
John L. Harris	The Day of the Lord	Books of Joel and Obadiah; Zeph 1-2; Zech 14
Robert C. Dunston	Nahum: Getting His Message Across	Book of Nahum
Wayne VanHorn	The World Situation According to the 7th Century Prophets	Books of Nahum, Habakkuk & Zephaniah
David M. Wallace	Idols in Production and Ritual	Hab 1:1 - 3:19; Deut 4-5
Martha S. Bergen	Zechariah and Haggai: Motivators and Builders	Books of Haggai & Zechariah
Robert A. Street	Zechariah's Visions and Oracles	Zech 1-8
Jeff S. Anderson	The Spritiual Climate at the End of the Old Testament Era	Book of Malachi
Daniel P. Caldwell	Horses in Ancient Warfare	Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai & Zechariah
Eric A. Mitchell	ARTIFacts: Giants in the Land: Southern Baptists and Biblical Archaeology
D. Larry Craig	Book Review: Kregel Dictionary of the Bible and Theology by Henry W. Holloman

Now, as I've said many times, the best value of Biblical Illustrator lies in the CD: Biblical Illustrator Plus. In addition to the articles above, the CD contains over sixty articles from past issues. Additional articles in the Summer 2007 are listed below.

Bob Simmons	Corinth: A Roman City	1 & 2 Corinthians
Robert Street	Josiah: Rebuilder and Reformer	2 Kings 21:1 - 23:5
Charles W. Draper	Law & Faith	Book of Galatians
Bryan E. Beyer	Evil: the Meaning	Gen 3:1-6; Isa 5:20-21; Mal 2:16
Bryce Sandlin	The Life Situation of Zechariah	Zech 3:1-2, 6-8; 4:1-6, 8-10a
Vernon Elmore	The Life Situation of Obadiah	Obadiah 1-4, 8-10, 8-10, 13-17
Fred Wood	Life Situation in Malachi	Mal 1:6-9; 2:8-9, 13-16
James Travis	Historical Setting of Nahum	Nah 1:1-3a, 7-9, 12-15; 3:5-7
Harold Moseley	Israel and the Nations	Minor Prophets
Larry McGraw	Tanning	Acts 10:34-36, 39-48
Thomas D. Lea	The Sanhedren in the First Century	Acts 4:1-4, 7-12, 31; 5:17-21a, 29-33, 40-42
Bill Tolar	Hellenist and Hebrew Christians	Acts 4:32, 34-35; 6:1-5, 7a
Mark Rathal	The Fear of the Lord	Eph5:21; 2 Cor 5:11
R. Wayne Jones	Ancient Persia	Ezra 1:1
Harry B. Hunt	From Cyrus II to Darius I	Ezra 4-5
Sharon Roberts	Prophetesses in Ancient Israel
Kevin C. Peacock	Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks	Acts 2:1-47
L. Manning Garrett III	What Is Wisdom?	1 Kings 3-4
Claude F. Mariottini	Origins of the Monarchy in Israel	1 Chron 4:9-10; 1 Kings 3:5-15
Julie Nall Knowles	Jezebel Unveiled	1 Kings 19-20
Marsha Ellis Smith	Syria & Israel in 9th Century BC	2 Kings 5:2-6, 9-14
Ray Lloyd	Habakkuk: the Man and His Times	Hab 1:1
Steve Lemke	Mount Carmel	1 Kings 18:20; 2 Kings 5:15
A. O. Collins	Josiah's Reform	2 Kings 22
Claude F. Mariottini	Josiah and His Court	2 Kings 22:1 - 23:30
John D. Duncan	Reconcilliation	2 Cor 5:11 - 6:2
Wayne Van Horn	People Who Built the Temple	Ezra 6:14-22
Donald W. Garner	Zerubbabel's Temple	Ezra 4:1-6; 5:2-3; 6:14
Bryce Sandlin	A History of Darius	Dan 6:1-28
George W. Knight	First Century Antioch of Syria	Acts 11:19-30; 12:24-25
Rick Johnson	God's Jealousy	Deut 5:1-9, 11-13, 16-21
David S. Dockery	Sanctification	2 Thess 2:13
D. C. Martin	Malachi: His Life and Times	Book of Malachi
Julie Nall Knowles	First-Century Cypress	Acts 13:1-52
Waylon Bailey	Ahab: King and Adversary	2 Kings 17:1-24
Elgia "Jay" Wells	Lessons for Race Relations	Acts 10:1-48; 8:26-40
Larry McGraw	Barnabas and Paul's Missionary Journey	Acts 13; 14
Linda Oaks Garrett	Kosher or Not?	Acts 9:32 - 11:18
C. Mack Roark	Controversy and Response	Acts 15:1-35
Harold R. Mosley	Does It Pay to Be Good?	Mal 3:13 - 4:6
Robert A. Street	The Hind	Hab 2-3
Billy E. Simmons	Barnabas and Mark	Acts 12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37-39; Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11
Patrick D. Ward	Beersheba	1 Kings 19:3
Linda M. Bridges	Barnabas: An Early Missionary	Acts 14:12; 15:2
Robert O. Coleman	Repentance in the Old Testament	Mal 3:7
James Travis	Of Dreams and Visions	Joel 2:28; Dan 8:1
A. O. Collins	Locusts	Joel 1:4
Harry B. Hunt Jr.	Attitudes Toward Divorce in Post-Exilic Judaism	Mal 2:13-16; Matt 5:31
Glenn McCoy	Reuben, Gad, and East-Manasseh	Deut 29:8
Eugene Skelton	Darius I Hystaspes	Hag 1:1
Robert A. Weathers	Sexual Purity in the New Testament	Job 31:1-4; Ps 101:3-4; 2 Cor 10:4-5; 1 Thess 4:3, 5-7
James E. Carter	The Chosen	Acts 6:5
Kelvin Moore	The Persian Empire	Books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther
R. Raymond Lloyd	The Heart in Old Testament Theology
E. Lebron Matthews	Treaties and Covenants	Book of Deuteronomy
Wayne VanHorn	The Levites	Deut 9:1 - 11:22
James Newell	The Fathers in Israel's History	Book of Deuteronomy
David M. Wallace	The Arabah	Deut 1:1 - 3:29
Rick Byargeon	Memory and History in Israel's Faith	Deut 6:1-25; 7:1 - 8:20
Dorman Laird	A Jealous God	Deut 4:44 - 5:33
Stephen J. Andrews	How the Giants Have Fallen	Deut 1:1 - 4:43; 29:1 - 30:30
Claude Mariottini	Mount Nebo	Deut 31:1-8, 34
Francis X. Kimmitt	From Kadesh Barnea to Jericho	Books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy & Joshua
Stephen R. Miller	Tithes & Offerings	Mal 3:6-18

Biblical Illustrator magazine is available for $24.95 a year. Biblical Illustrator Plus CD runs $34.35. I recommend the latter. If you teach Sunday School in a Southern Baptist Church, you may simply want to ask your Minister of Education to order you a copy of the CD with the next curriculum order. And although BI is aimed primarily at teachers, in my opinion, anyone interested in biblical history and backgrounds will benefit from this quarterly publication.

Tags: Biblical Illustrator

The new issue of Lifeway's Biblical Illustrator is out. BI is geared as an extra resource for Sunday School teachers but is appropriate for anyone who is interested in biblical history and backgrounds. Biblical Illustrator provides supplementary articles related to Lifeway's Sunday School curriculum including Bible Studies for Life, Explore the Bible, and MasterWork. Although some other passages are covered as well, most of the articles this quarter focus on the Gospel of John and 1 & 2 Peter.

Biblical Illustrator is a resource anyone can use, however --even those who are not directly involved in these studies. The magazine itself has about twenty new articles each quarter, but the real goldmine of information is found on the CD which will add another seventy or so articles from past issues. These articles are in Adobe PDF format with full color (in most cases) pictures from archaeological digs or landscapes from biblical sites. Although the CD comes with a Macromedia-based graphical interface for accessing the articles according to lesson date, I tend to copy all of the PDF's over to my hard drive and then sort them by book of the BIble. Carrying them around with me on my laptop gives me quick access to information if I am working on a lesson or sermon, regardless of the curriculum context in which they were originally written.



Spring 2007 New Articles:
"Village, Town or City" by G. Al Wright, Jr. (John 11:1-44)
"Peter's Eschatological Understanding" by Mark R. Dunn (1 Pet 4:7-19; 2 Pet 3:1-18)
"New Testament Canonization" by William Warren (2 Pet 3:1-18)
"Meekness: A Word Study" by Bill Patterson (Gal 5:13 - 6:5; Col 3:12-17)
"Joseph: Ruler in Egypt" by Harold R. Moseley (Gen 50:15-21)
"The Reality of Jesus' Resurrection" by Jerry Batson (Luke 24:1-49)
"With a Voice of Singing: Hymns in the Early Church" by Becky Lombard (Phil 2:5-11; Col 3:12-17).
"The Holy Mountain" by Lynn O. Traylor (2 Pet 1:12-21)
"Deserving of Death: Stoning in the Old Testament" by T. Van McClain (John 8:2-47)
"Cappadocia in the First Century" by Alan Ray Beuscher (1 Pet 1:1-12)
"All Your Conduct" by Terry Ellis (1 and 2 Peter)
"First Century Clothing" by Roberta Jones (1 Peter 3:1-12)
"First Century Teaching Practices" by Norma S. Hedin (John 8:2-47; 11:1-44; 13 - 19)
"Of Spices and Perfumes" by Argile A. Smith, Jr. (Jhn 18:1 - 19:42)
"Simon Peter: the Man and His Ministry" by Bobby Kelly (1 & 2 Peter)
"Signs in the Gospel of John" by Robert E. Jones (John 9:1-41; 11:1-44)
"The Role of a Steward" by Terry L. Wilder (1 Peter 4:7-19)
"The Pool of Siloam" by Stephen M. Ortiz (John 9:1-41)
"Peter's Use of Word Pictures" by Gregory T. Pouncy (1 & 2 Peter)
Book Review: George W.. Knight, The Illustrated Everyday Bible Companion. Reviewed by Jerry M. Windsor
ARTIfacts: "Gezer: A Sleeping Giant"
"From the Upper Room to Golgotha" --center spread (see above; John 13-19)

Articles from Previous Issues
"Where Jesus Ascended" by Lynn O. Traylor (Luke 24:1-53; Acts 1)
"The Riddle of Suffering" by Curtis Kent Horn, Jr (John 9:1-41)
"Raising Lazarus" by Bob Simmons (John 11:1-57)
"Describing the Enemy" by Lynn O. Traylor (John 10:1-42)
"Andrew: Just Peter's Brother?" by Steve Lemke (John 6:1-59)
"Passover in the First Century" by Robert Earl Jones (John 13; 14)
"Jesus' Last Week: Map and Chart"
"The Mount of Transfiguration" by Glen McCoy (Matt 17:1-13)
"Peter, Babylon, and Rome" by E. Randy Richards (1 Pet 1:1-12)
"Gnosticism" by Cecil Ray Taylor (1 John 3:1-5, 9-18)
"Faith Affirmed" by Timothy Trammell (1 John 5:1-12)
"Euodia and Syntyche" by Buelah Thigpen (Phil 4:2, 4-13, 16-19)
"The Life Situation and Purpose of 1 Peter" by Garland R. Young (1 Peter)
"Pilate's Power and Authority" by Sharon H. Gritz (Matt 28)
"The Background of Jesus' Covenant" by David E. Lanier (Matt 26:26-29)
"Peter's Messages" by Jerry N. Barlow (Acts 2; 3; 4; 5 10; 15)
"Women in Jesus' Ministry" by Julie Nall Knowles (Mark 15:40-41; John 20:1-18)
"First Century Women's Dress" by Mona Steward (1 Pet 3:1-12)
"Joseph and His Brothers" by Ken Cox, Jr. (Gen 50:15-21)
"Freedom and the Christian" by Larry McGraw (Matt 18:15-17; Gal 5:13-15; 6: 1-5)
"The Meaning of Violence" by Jerry McGraw (Gen 6:11-13; Ps 55:9-11; Jon 3:6-10; 1 Pet 3:9-12)
"God's Revelation in the Sinaitic Covenant" by Jerry W. Lee (Ps 99:9; Ex 19:1-12, 16, 18a; 1 Pet 1:13-16)
"Jesus and Peter--Peter's Use of Jesus' Teaching in His Letters" by Timothy Trammell (1 & 2 Peter)
"Sin, Iniquity, Transgression: What's the Difference" by John T. Bunn (Ps 51:1-2)
"Wine in the Roman World" by W. Murray Severance (1 Pet 4:3)
"Rome's Political System in the First Century" by Harold S. Songer (1 Pet 2:13-14)
"The New Testament Concept of Covenant" by Robert M. Shurden (1 Peter 2:9-10)
"Peter's Use of the Old Testament" by C. Alan Woodward (1 Peter)
"Aliens: A Study of Two Words" by James Wiles (1 Pet 1:1-12)
"Paul vs. Peter" by Mack Roark (Gal 2:1-21)
"A Christian Ethic of Business" by Paul N. Jackson (James 4:1-17)
"The Servant-Christ" by Bob Evans (Phil 2:1-13)
"Tetelestai" by Bennie R. Crockett Jr. (John 19:16-18, 28-30; 20:11-18)
"Jesus the Teacher" by Robert J. Dean (John 13:1-17)
"Jesus' Post-Resurrection Appearances" by Tony Tench (Luke 24:13-21a, 27, 30-35)
"Counselor: The Meaning" by Mark R. Dunn (John 14:15-31; 15:26-27; 16:5-15)
"Early Christian Eschatology" by Lynn Jones (1 Pet 4:7; 2 Pet 3:3)
"The Holy Spirit: A History of Interpretation" by Mikeal C. Parsons (Rom 5:5)
"Liberty" by Elmer L. Gray (Gal 5:13)
"The Early Church's Use of Messianic Passages" by Thomas D. Lea (Isa 53; Acts 28:23)
"Beams and Motes" by L. Milton Hankins (Matt 7:1-12)
"The Reality of Jesus' Resurrection" by Terry Ellis (Luke 23:24)
"Lazarus: All We Know" by D. Paul Smith (John 11:1)
"Pharisee!" by Dennis J. Horton (Luke 16:14; 18:10; John 9:40)
"Jesus' Use of Allegory" by Larry V. Crutchfield (John 10:9, 14)
"The Life of Simon Peter" by John Polhill (Luke 9:20)
"Judas Iscariot" All We Know" by Vernon O. Elmore (Luke 22:3; John 12:4)
"Hypocrite" by Elmer L. Gray (Matt 6:2)
"Herod Antipas: The Builder and Ruler" by Timothy N. Boyd (Luke 23:1-56)
"Slaves in First Century Israel" by R. Garland Young (John 15:1-17)
"A History of Footwashing" by Gary M. Poulton (John 13)
"Eyewitness Accounts in the New Testament" by Gary Hardin (2 Pet 1:12-21)
"The Counselor" by Bob Dean (John 14; 15; 16)
"The Spirit World in the First Century" by Paul N. Jackson (2 Pet 2:10b-11; col 2:18-19)
"Prayer: A Word Study" by Fred Howard (Ps 28:6-7; Col 4:2-4; 1 Thess 5:16-18; 1 Pet 5:6-7)
"Who Was the Adulterer?" by Rick Byargeon (Ex 20:14)
"Teachers in the First Century Church" by Bob Dean (Gal 6:1-10)
"Egyptian Culture in Joseph's Time" by Janice Meier (Gen 37:2-4, 26-28; 50:15-21)
"The Covenant with Israel" by Thomas J. Delaughter (Ex 19:4-6)
"The Meaning of Truth" by Terry Ellis (John 14:15-26; 16:5-15)
"The Meaning of Joy" by Kendell H. Easley (Phil 1:18 - 4:19)
"Idolatry in Colossians" by R. Garland Young (Col 3:1-17)
"Son of Man in John's Gospel" by Argile R. Smith, Jr. (John 1:19-51; 3; 5-6; 8-9; 12)
"Introducing John's Gospel" by Leslie Thomas Strong (John 1:1-18)
"The Feast of Dedication" by Elias Coye Still, III (John 10)
"Bethany" by William B. Tolar (John 11)
"Philip's and Peter's Missionary Work" (Acts 6:1 - 8:40)
"Peter's Miracles" by Charles W. Draper (Acts 3; 4; 5; 12)
"Controversy and Response" by C. Mack Roark (Acts 15:1-35)

The Biblical Illustrator Plus CD also contains an audio/video interview with SBTS professor, T. J. Betts regarding his recent participation in an archaeological dig in Hazor.



The cover of Biblical Illustrator contains the image above described internally as the "Traditional site of the Upper Room in Jerusalem, which was restored in the 14th century. The stone flooring is possibly, for the most part from the original flooring.

Subscriptions for Biblical Illustrator magazine ($24.95/4 issues) and Biblical Illustrator Plus CD ($34.35/4 discs) are available from the Lifeway website.

Tags: Biblical Illustrator

Seems like it's already Christmas here. Well, not literally, but almost since today I received the newest issue of the Biblical Illustrator Plus CD-ROM. The cover of this issue features a Persian horse as a number of the articles are written to coincide with studies on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Biblical Illustrator contains background supplemental articles for teachers to accompany a number of Lifeway curriculum series including Bible for Life, Explore the Bible, MasterWork, and the January Bible Study.

Here are the articles for the new issue (which I'm having to manually type because the contents PDF is password protected and I can't copy and paste the names of the articles, [grumble, grumble]):

"Confidence: A Word Study" by Michael Priest
"Roads and Travel in the First Century" by Robert J. Priest
"Salvation: A Word Study" by Mark Rathel
"'In the Beginning': A Comparison of Genesis 1 and John 1" by R. D. Fowler
"Curses and Blessings in the Old Testament" by Wayne VanHorn
"Ancient Altars" by George H. Shaddix
"Reaching the Heavens: A Study of Ancient Towers" by Stephen J. Andrews
"John, Follower of Jesus" by Timothy Trammell
"A Man Named Nicodemus" by Randall L. Adkisson
"Galilee in Jesus' Day" by Mark R. Dunn
"Beside the Sea of Galilee" by Bill Patterson
Book Review: John E. Curtis, Nigel Tallis, Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia
"The Persian Empire" by Kelvin Moore
"Zerubbabel's Temple" by Conn Davis
"Ezra: Scribe and Priest" by Robert C. Dunston
"The King's 'Cupbearer'" by Kevin Peacock
"The Jerusalem Gates" by Gary P. Arbino
"Postexilic Hebrew Worship Practices" by G. B. Howell, Jr.
"Susa: Esther's Capital City" by Terry W. Eddinger
"Xerxes: King of Persia" by Stephen R. Miller
"The Feast of Persia" by Dorman Laird

The CD-ROM edition of Biblical Illustrator also comes with more than 70 related articles from previous issues:

"Tyre and Sidon" by George L. Kelm
"Ancient Persia" by Wayne Jones
"The River that Leads to Ahava" by LeMoine DeVries
"From Cyrus II to Darius I" by Harry B. Hunt
"The Role of Queen Esther" by Janice Meier
"Andrew: Just Peter's Brother" by Steve Lemke
"John's Use of 'Witness'" by John Polhill
"Antichrist in John's Letters" by Charles A. Ray, Jr.
"The Purpose and Life Situation of John's Letters" by Timothy Trammell
"Gnosticism" by Cecil Ray Taylor
"Introducing 1 John" by C. Mack Roark
"My Little Children" by Bennie R. Crockett
"Nebuchadnezzar" by Vernon O. Elmore
"Propitiation: A Word Study" by Hal Lane
"Friendship in the Old Testament" by Raymond Lloyd
"Babylonian and Persian Kings" by Daniel Caldwell
"John's Use of Logos" by Darryl Wood
"The Significance of Curses and Blessings" by Pamela J. Scalise
"Grotto of the Annunciation" by W. Murray Severance
"Flesh and Spirit: Romans 7:14 - 8:17" by George R. Beasley-Murray
"Son of Man in John's Gospel" by Argile A. Smith, Jr.
"Introducing John's Gospel" by Leslie Thomas Strong
"Ancient Near Eastern Flood Stories" by Francis X. Kimmitt
"Flesh and Spirit in John's Gospel" by Larry McGraw
"David's Dynasty" (unnamed author)
"The First Evangel" by Wayne VanHorn
"Noah's Life and Times" by Scott Langston
"First-Century Games" by Gary M. Poulton
"Enoch: Example of Faith" by James E. Carter
"God's Revelation in the Sinaitic Covenant" by Jerry W. Lee
"The Elect Lady" by Douglas C. Weaver
"The Arabians" by M. Dean Register
"Languages of the Ancient Near East" by Waylon Bailey
"Ahasuerus: His Life and Times" by A. O. Collins
"Heroes Between the Testaments" by Elmer L. Gray
"Shushan" by W. Murray Severance
"'Aliens': A Study of Two Words" by James Wiles
"Peter's Use of the Old Testament" by C. Alan Woodward
"In God's Image" by Harold R. Mosely
"Destroyed Relationships" by Rick Davis
"David's Kingdom" by Kevin C. Peacock
"A Booth" by Alan Moseley
"Immanuel" by Bennie R. Crockett, Jr.
"Moses' Snake in the Desert" by Leon Hyatt, Jr.
"The Meaning of 'God's Spirit Moved'" by Billy K. Smith
"Feast of Booths" by Vernon Elmore
"First Century Mirrors" by Kendall H. Easley
"First Century Slavery" by A. O. Collins
"Love's Abiding Nature" by John Mason
"Paradise" by Charles Ray
"A Walk Around the Walls with Nehemiah" by George L. Kelm
"Ritual Baths of the First Century" by Norma S. Hedin
"Hosea: the Man and His Message" by Leon Hyatt
"Perils of the Return" by Philip J. Swanson
"Simeon and Jesus" by Todd D. Still
"The Scriptures in Jesus' Day" by Rodney Reeves
"Hate/Murder" by Don H. Stewart
"Cain in the New Testament" by Gregory T. Pouncey
"Sanctification" by David S. Dockery
"Joseph: Mary's Husband" by R. D. Fowler
"Jerusalem Before the Return" by Jerry Lee
"Zerubbabel's Temple" by Donald W. Garner
"Enemies of Rebuilding Jerusalem" by Jerry W. Lee
"Messianic Expectations" in Intertestamental Judaism" by Carolyn Ratcliffe
"The Jewish World When Jesus Was Born" by Jeff S. Anderson
"Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls" by Phillip J. Swanson
"Music in Celebration" by Becky Lombard
"The House of Herod" by D. Larry Gregg, Sr.
"The 'Word' in John's Gospel" by Sharon Gritz
"The Tower of Babel" by Phillip J. Swanson
"People Who Built the Temple" by Wayne VanHorn

The print edition of Biblical Illustrator is described on its website as "Well-researched articles related to LifeWay Sunday School lessons" with "[v]ivid portraits of Bible lands, people, and customs" plus "[m]aps, archaeological finds, and breathtaking color photos." The CD-ROM edition, Biblical Illustrator Plus "includes the current issue of Biblical Illustrator, quick access to over 200 pages of additional material, multiple articles for the current Sunday School lessons, and archived articles from previous issues of Biblical Illustrator."

Tags: Biblical Illustrator

On the title page of the NIV Archaeological Study BIble (from here on out simply ASB), the work is described as "An Illustrated Walk through Biblical History and Culture." And that's probably the best description for this Bible. It's really about much more than merely archaeology--despite the title.

I served for five years as a chaplain and Bible teacher at a Christian high school. Whenever I got new groups of students, I always had to explain to them that our study of the Bible was not going to be like a Sunday School class where they showed up and heard nice stories. I informed them that our studies would be rooted in the surrounding history of the Bible because God's Word wasn't written separate from the culture where it originated. I especially liked it when I got comments such as "Hey, we've studied this in World Civ, too!" I've always felt it was important to connect the Bible to the history that surrounded it.

One of my graduating seniors, who had taken my classes for a couple of years, remarked, "Mr. Mansfield, I bet if a three-year-old was sitting in your lap and asked you why the sky was blue you would say to him, 'Well, first you have to understand the meaning of "sky" and "blue" from the viewpoint of ancient Mesopotamians in relation to their religious and political backgrounds. Only then will you begin to understand....'" I took that as a compliment. And this is why I like the ASB. Don't tell anyone, but at some point over the years much of my interests in biblical studies has shifted from theological priorities to those of a historical nature. Perhaps this is because I came to recognize that many of the theological errors that have come from some interpreters over the centuries are rooted in historical misunderstandings of the context(s) in which the Bible was written. The ASB will go a long way in preventing such errors.

The ASB is essentially a project from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and published by Zondervan. Walter Kaiser is listed in the colophon (p. 2307) as the executive editor, and Duane Garrett (now at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) as the general editor and in charge of theological review. From what I've overheard, the bulk of the ASB was done by Dr. Garrett. The "About this Bible" section (pp. xii-xiii) at the beginning of the ASB demonstrate the purpose and value of this work:

The NIV Archaeological Study Bible focuses on the historical, literary and cultural context of the Bible. This context includes the history of people and places populating its pages, daily life in various periods and under widely diverse circumstances during Biblical times, and ancient texts that illuminate the Bible and the archaeology of the Biblical world. In addition the articles in this Bible devote particular attention to challenges archaeologists and Biblical scholars face on the critical issue of the trustworthiness of Scripture.
...
Many modern Christians shun the study of the ancient world for fear that scholars will make them aware of troubling facts that will serve only to undermine their faith in the Bible. In reality a careful study of the world of the Bible enhances our confidence in its historical accuracy and in its distinctiveness as the Word of God.
...
Further, many well-intentioned Christian readers, although not fully committed to a postmodern way of thinking, tend to interpret the Bible strictly in terms of their own experiences and standards, without ever considering what a prophet or apostle was saying to the people of his own day. An awareness of the beliefs conflicts, history and habits of the people of Biblical times forces us to confront questions like, "What did Paul actually mean when he wrote these words to the Corinthian Church?"

The ASB is a wealth of historical, cultural, literary, and archaeological information about Bible times. First there are 8,000 notes running along the bottom of the page like any regular study BIble. Most of these are a subset of the notes--specifically the historical and cultural notes--that run in Zondervan's NIV, NASB and TNIV Study Bibles. I would assume there may be some additional notes as well, but I didn't perform an in-depth comparison with the older works. But the study notes aren't where the strength of this Bible lies. Of immense value is collection of 500 short articles which are organized along the subcategories of archaeological sites, cultural and historical notes, ancient peoples and lands, reliability of the Bible and ancient texts and artifacts.

On a completely different level, the ASB has to be the most beautiful study Bible I have ever seen. There are no simple white pages with black text in this Bible. Every page is framed in a faux-parchment like background. The background is not brash enough to distract from the content, but it adds to the overall sense of history which is at the heart of this Bible's theme. The articles themselves are framed within a more overt parchment design, and all the photographs are in color. Surely the publication of the ASB gives testimony that computer-based graphic design has come of age. This is a truly remarkable product and you need to hold it in your hands and see it with your own eyes to fully appreciate it.

The average study Bible is aimed at a popular audience, and it's value is usually in it being a one-stop reference source. The ASB seems to be a step above the average popular study Bible, but that does not mean that it would not be accessible to the average Christian. In my experience teaching adults, I've found that there's great truth in the fear of delving into historical backgrounds because of some risk of undermining one's faith. I remember teaching a Sunday School class once where I suggested as a means of strengthening their faith that they read some non-biblical religious texts. There was almost a unanimous refusal to even consider this suggestion because they were afraid that it might make them doubt their faith. The ASB is not afraid to confront these issues and in fact shows the value of doing so. There are articles in the ASB on non-Biblical creation myths and flood stories. The documentary hypothesis receives full article treatment. And yet all this is done from a conservative-evangelical perspective with the goal of strengthening the reader's faith in the reliability of the Scriptures.

For me, I have no doubt that I have most, if not all of the information found in the ASB elsewhere in my library. But nowhere do I have this kind of information in one place so tightly tied to the biblical text as it is here. In my teaching, the ASB is a great first stop in research--much like the value of an encyclopedia. But also like an encyclopedia, this is a work that I can cheerfully become lost in. The articles are addictive--and there are 500 of them! Reading one is often not enough. I turn a page or two and there's something else that strikes my interest and I read that in some kind of biblical ADD response.

A few weeks ago, I gave myself a Saturday afternoon to sit in a local Starbucks and just explore the ASB to my heart's content. Some of what I write below came from my notes taken on that day, and some comes from my experience using this Bible as a reference in other teaching settings.

One feature of the ASB that I didn't mention above is the "Ancient Voices" that are scattered in the margins throughout the work. These are readings from genre-similar writings of the culture. At first it can be a bit odd to see pagan writings alongside biblical passages, but once the reader gets beyond this, he or she will be reminded that our Scriptures were not written in a cultural vacuum. When I was teaching from Song of Solomon a few weeks ago, I came across this ancient little ditty on p. 1036:

I will lie down inside,
and then I will feign illness.
Then my neighbors will enter to see,
and then my sister will come with them.
She'll put the doctors to shame
for she (alone) will understand my illness.

I love the mischievous playfulness in those lines, very much like the lines of the writer of the Song of Songs. There is a note at Song 4:9 explaining that sister "is a common term of endearment in the love poetry of the Ancient Near East," but unfortunately this explanation is six pages away from these lines. No doubt the uninitiated modern reader may not understand the use of sister in these lines and in Song of Solomon without this explanation. For my purposes, though, I wanted to know the source of the "Ancient Voices" lines. The only thing listed with the above-quoted passage was "Papyrus Harris," which did not tell me much. One might think the "Ancient Voices" segments would be listed or indexed somewhere in the back of the Bible. However, I finally found the source listed in the acknowledgments on p. xix. Although I thought this placement odd, I was delighted to see that the collection source for "Ancient Voices" comes from The Context of Scripture, edited by William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger. I was first introduced to these books a few years back in doctoral seminars with Daniel I. Block who always insisted that we must read Scripture in conjunction with other ancient literature.

In the front of the ASB there is an introductory essay on "The History of the Holy Land" which traces development from pre-Israelite culture through the modern day. Although the five-page article is brief, it will serve as a good introduction for many readers to the ongoing volatile nature of this region and the peoples who have inhabited it over the centuries. And if any reader is disappointed by the brevity of this article, perhaps this can be offset by the fact that the introductory article is cross-referenced throughout to many of the 500 other articles in the ASB. The introductory article also introduces the readers to the ASB's use of words in bold. Any word in bold in any of the articles is defined in a glossary at the back of the Bible. Unfortunately this bold highlighting is not applied to any of the 8,000 study notes, and I also noted that sometimes words listed in the glossary were not always bolded in the articles.

The ABS, like any good Bible, includes maps in the back--14 in all. Unfortunately, none of them are remarkable in any way related specifically to the other contents in this Bible. In fact, I believe they are just the same maps Zondervan includes in most of their other Bibles these days. I would have been interested to see perhaps maps of current archaeological digs, significant archaeological discoveries, important locations in Jerusalem, and even one detailing the proximity of the various Qumran caves to one another.

The map of the Exodus in the back only shows the "traditional" route (which is likely incorrect) and none of the other suggested routes in spite of the fact that the ASB contains excellent articles on other suggested routes of the Exodus: the northern route theory (p. 108), the southern route theory (p. 109) and the Arabian route theory (p. 112). Unfortunately no in-text maps display these routes, so it is left to the reader to plot these out alone. Related to this issue is an article (p. 123) that acknowledges disagreement by scholars on the exact location of Mt. Sinai (the traditional site which is the home of St. Catherine's Monastery is probably not the actual location). But again there is no map depicting alternative locations either in the text of the article or in the back of the Bible.

I admit that during my afternoon exploring and taking notes on the ASB, I ran out of time. Kathy came to get me before I got too far out of the Old Testament. But there is excellent treatment of the New Testament as well. For instance, there are articles on the Synoptic Problem and "Q" (p. 1685), the legend from the Middle Ages about the Needle's Eye Gate (it's thankfully debunked; p. 1594), the Pontius Pilate inscription (p. 1714), the use of the Septuagint in the New Testament (p. 1995) and so much more. Anyone interested in Greek and Roman history will especially appreciate many of the cultural articles in the ASB New Testament.

There are two main resources missing from the ASB that I wish it had. As I mentioned, study Bibles are good starting points for research or even good tools for quick reference. I wish that the editors had chosen to include bibliographies beyond merely the sources for which permissions were received. And it's really a shame that the NIV, the base text of the ASB, does not include the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books. Although I do not personally view these books as authoritative Scripture, they are important witnesses to the intertestamental time period, and I would have liked to have seen them get the standard ASB treatment. However, to the credit of the ASB, the subject index lists half a dozen articles strictly on the apocrypha and the intertestamental period just under the word apocrypha.

And truth be told, I don't see how the ASB could be any bigger than it is without going to two volumes. At two and a half inches thick and over four and a half pounds, it is easily the largest non-family Bible I own. However, it actually has fewer pages than the TNIV Study Bible. My hunch is thicker paper had to be used to accommodate the use of full-color printing. I have the hardback edition of the ASB (see Amazon link below), but it also comes in a variety of leather editions.

The ASB also includes a CD-ROM, a growing trend among publishers of study Bibles. The CD-ROM essentially has three resources. First, there is a three-minute video about the ASB, but it's primarily a commercial and anyone viewing it has probably already bought the Bible anyway. Perhaps a better idea would be a video tutorial giving an overview of how to use the tools in the ASB. Second, the CD includes a copy of the NIV text (along with notes and cross-references) with the Zondervan-specific software program Pradis. Third, the user is able to access about 128 of the 500 pictures from the ASB in a program called iView. No doubt not all of the pictures in the ASB were available for inclusion because of copyright limitations, but according to the aforementioned video, the user is encouraged to use the included images in teaching presentations and handouts. What is surprisingly missing from the CD-ROM are the wonderful articles and notes from the ABS. These would be handy in teaching settings, too; and would surely serve as great advertisements for the ASB to anyone who received them.

Of course, my greatest complaint about the CD is predictable if you know me--it's only for Windows! Don't tell Zondervan, but I was able to view it in Parallels Desktop on my MacBook, but it's not the same as running it natively. I don't believe that making the CD-ROM cross-platform would have been all that difficult. The CD's interface uses Macromedia Flash which is cross-platform already. The NIV text could have been included with Accordance Bible software for the Mac since Zondervan already partners with Accordance on a number of products. Finally, the Mac OS already includes its own image viewer, iPhoto. A simple script could have been used to import all the ASB image files into iPhoto. And that's what I did myself. I imported all 128 images into iPhoto and I even directed my system screensaver to the images. I'm already getting compliments from my students at IWU who want to know how to get that screensaver with biblical locations and artifacts!

Finally, I must say something about errors in the ASB. One of my readers has commented elsewhere that a number factual/technical errors througout this Bible. He said that in examining 12 pages he found 20 errors (or was that 12 errors on 20 pages?). I've done a couple of different Google searches, and I cannot find any definitive list of errors in the ASB, although I am not doubting that some errors in a work this ambitious must surely exist. The most egregious (to borrow a word used by someone else I pointed this out to) error I can specifically point to is an upside down Rosetta Stone on p. 101. This kind of error is a bit embarrassing, and maybe we can blame that on the graphic layout person --however, the ASB will eventually have to be revised simply to correct this. I know it's not the reader's responsibility to edit a publisher's works, but generally when I come across an error in a book or Bible (or even in software), I try to contact the publisher and report it. This can easily be done on a publisher's contact page and will help to ensure better quality publications in the future. Perhaps between printings Zondervan could release an errata page.

I have not taken the time to sift through the pages of the ASB and run fact checks. But my experience with this Bible so far makes me very enthusiastic about the project. I'm supportive enough to use it myself (it already has a permanent place on the shelf above my desk), recommend it to others, and we're even planning to give a copy to my brother-in-law for Christmas because he loves history (hopefully he's not reading this). I, too, love history and truly appreciate the application of it to the Scriptures as found in the ASB. The ASB would also make a great standard Bible for use in introductory New Testament and Old Testament courses in colleges and even seminaries.

I'll be interested to see if Zondervan eventually releases the Archaeological Study Bible in other translations besides the NIV, which is now almost three decades old. I'd be keen on a copy in the TNIV, and if it were released in a wide-margin edition, too...well, then I'd really be set.

Related: Archaeological Study Bible Website

Tags: NIV, Biblical Illustrator

Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, produces a wonderful quarterly magazine with articles on archaeology and historical backgrounds designed to supplement a Sunday School teacher's preparation. Every issue of Biblical Illustrator has around 20 or so articles tied to subjects in the Bible study curriculum in addition to at least one general article and one book review. The articles are intelligent without being too technical for the average teacher. And although they are not necessarily written with the student in mind, the magazine would be appropriate for the person in your Sunday School class who has a strong interest in history. The articles are usually written by experts in the field and are illustrated with pictures of archaeological finds, pictures from biblically-related sites, and ancient artwork

In the title I call Biblical Illustrator a hidden gem because I don't know how many Baptist Sunday School teachers are familiar with it. In fact, I think I'm the only person at my church who uses it. In the church I grew up in, Biblical Illustrator was standard fare among our teachers, but I haven't seen it used as widely in the churches of which I've been a part since coming to Kentucky.

Below is a listing of the contents from the current Fall issue of Biblical Illustrator. One thing you'll notice is that a number of different portions of the Bible are covered. Lifeway produces a variety of curriculums, and Biblical Illustrator provides background articles for three of them. If you've visited this blog in the last week or so, you'll know that the class I teach just started a study on the book of Hebrews. You'll note below that there are quite a few articles to aid my preparation, but I certainly don't mind having the other articles as well. I usually find myself reading the whole issue in addition to the articles from back issues available on the optional CDROM that I'll describe further down below.

Article Title	Author	Related Text
Daily Life in Biblical Times by Oded Borowski	McLemore, James D.	Book Review
The Veil	Bergen, Martha S.	Hebrews 6; 9-10
From Slaves to Soldiers	Harris, John L.	Joshua
What's for Supper? The First-Century Diet	Gritz, Sharon	Hebrews 5:11-6:12
"Better" in Hebrews	Booth, Steve	Hebrews
First-Century Gymnasiums and Exercise	Simmons, Billy E.	Timothy 4:6-16
Agricultural Metaphors in the New Testament	McCoy, Glenn	Hebrews 5:11-6:12
Why Are 1 and 2 Timothy So Different?	Weathers, Robert A.	1 and 2 Timothy
Who Were the "Officers"?	Jenkins, David L.	Joshua 1:1-15; 24:1-31
The Aim and Message of Hebrews	Smith, Argile A.	Hebrews
The Jordan River	Register, Dean	Hebrews 5:11-6:12
Life for the Babylonian Exiles	Hall, Kevin	Isaiah 40-55
Moses in the Book of Hebrews	Jackson, Paul N.	Hebrews
Genealogies, Myths, and Old Wives' Tales	Chambers, Andy	1 Timothy 1; 4; 2 Timothy 4
Seated at the Right Hand	Stewart, Don H.	Hebrews 8:1-9:28
Ai	Caldwell, Daniel P.	Joshua 7:1-25
In the Days of Ahaz	Newell, James	Isaiah 7:1-9:7
Seizing Property	Young, R. Garland	Hebrews 10:19-39
Ephesus Through Timothy's Eyes	Gregg, D. Larry, Sr.	1 and 2 Timothy
Ancient Weights and Anchors	Roark, C. Mack	Hebrews 6:13-7:28; 12:1-29
ArtiFACTS: Biblical Archaeology: Why Does It Really Matter Anyway?	Drinkard, Joel F., Jr.	General Article

But wait...there's even more. Not too long ago, someone at Lifeway had the great idea to make each issue available on CDROM. Now, if you get Biblical Illustrator Plus, you not only get every article in the print magazine in PDF form but also between sixty and seventy articles from back issues! Each time I get a new copy of Biblical Illustrator Plus, it's like a mini-Christmas for me. Although the CDROM comes with an interface that will run on either a Macintosh or Windows system, that's generally not the way I use it. I move all the articles to my hard drive sorted into folders named after books of the Bible. In merely a year's time, that gives me access to hundreds of articles that I can use not only in Sunday School but other teaching venues as well.

If you teach Sunday School in a Baptist church, this is a must-have resource. However, even if you aren't Baptist, you might find great value in Biblical Illustrator. Subscriptions per year cost $20.55 for the print copy and $34.55 for the CDROM. If you teach in your church, you may be able to ask your minister of education to order this resource for you.

For further information:
• Biblical Illustrator (Print)
• Biblical Illustrator Plus (CDROM)
• Complete Article Index (1974-2006)

Tags: Biblical Illustrator

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