The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible

2000 Catholic Press Association Award Winner!

The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible offers those with an interest in their historical and religious heritage a guided tour through the Bible. It describes the stories and events of the Bible and places them in their historical and geographical context. Fabulous 3-D cutaways, maps, and ground plans, all based on the latest historical evidence, enhance the comprehensive text and bring the dramatic events of the Old and New Testaments to life in glorious detail.

When the Bible says that Abraham migrated from Ur, Jacob fled to Haran, and Jesus healed and taught in Galilee, many people think of these places as merely names with a semi-legendary status. But with recent archaeology, sites such as Jericho, Hazor, Megiddo, and Masada are now living monuments to the dramatic action described in the Bible. The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible illustrates the most important of these sites, while capturing the atmosphere of biblical times with graphic reconstructions, and photographs of archeological remains and biblical artifacts.

The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible begins with the events of Genesis and follows the sequence of the biblical books, ending with Revelation. The main text gives succinct outlines of biblical stories and explains points of theology. Special features, such as "The making of the Psalms" and “Modern Bedouin Encampments,” shed fascinating light on a variety of topics.

Central to The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible is its use of 50 maps (route maps, groundplans, and locators) to detail biblical territories and routes, and to pinpoint the locations of important events. In the Old Testament, for example, a Mesopotamian ziggurat will show how the Tower of Babel might have looked, while Solomon's Temple is shown in all its magnificence. In the New Testament, the city of Jerusalem and the siege of Masada are among the visual panoramas presented. In addition, feature map spreads show major journeys and empires, and location shots add their own authentic vistas.

Specially-commissioned reconstructions and beautifully illustrated reflective page spreads build on this foundation to add contextual information to the discussion of biblical stories. Additionally, 300 superb full-color photographs take the reader to the Holy Land as it is today in order to better understand how it was in biblical times.

The Collegeville Atlas of the Bible is divided into two main sections corresponding to the Bible itself:

The Old Testament

In the Beginning
The Patriarchs
To the Promised Land
From Judges to Kings
Decline, Fall and Restoration
The Hellenistic Age

The New Testament

Jesus’ Early Life
The Ministry of Jesus
Death and Resurrection
The First Christians
Revolution and Revelation

Special features:

Specially-commissioned 3-D artworks and ground plans based on the most up-to-date archaeological finds reconstruct the palaces, cities, and towns chronicled in the Bible.

Expert text explains the stories of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, explaining the history and the theology related to each one.

Carefully selected quotations are taken from the Bible, alongside quotations from other historical sources, for a new angle on these ancient stories.

Detailed relief maps show the routes of individuals and the movements of peoples, from Abraham’s first journey in Mesopotamia to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, to Paul’s last journey to Rome.

Detailed descriptions and images of surviving artifacts prompt discussion of aspects of everyday life in the Holy Land.

Fully illustrated reflective spreads add a thoughtful discussion of many biblical stories.

Authoritative and comprehensive, its 50 maps, 18 major artworks, and 300 full-color photographs make this atlas of the Bible a visual feast.

Will appeal to anyone interested in archaeology and ancient history, especially the cultures of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the splendid empires of the Middle East.

Marcus Braybrooke is a Church of England vicar and co-president of the World Congress of Faiths. He has written several books about the Bible, Judaism, and interfaith relations.

James Harpur has written and edited several books on religion and the Bible. His interest in the sacred is also shown in two volumes of poetry.