Reading the land enables us to read the Bible with greater insight. Though the truths of the Bible transcend time and place, they are rooted in them. Geographical data inform our understanding of activity in the land of the Bible, while the Bible’s own description of these events, embedded deeply in the realia of the land itself, helps us better understand the living context in which these events took place. When we develop a skill set that allows us to read the land of the Bible as fluently as we might read the text, we stand not only to gain a better appreciation of the divine-human events of Scripture, we also gain an understanding of how these events become relevant to us in our own particular living contexts. Chapters include: Exploring the World of the Bible Building Blocks of Biblical Geography The Land of Ancient Israel: The Southern Regions (Judah/Judea) The Land of Ancient Israel: The Central Regions (Israel/Samaria) The Land of Ancient Israel: The Northern Regions (Galilee) Transjordan Afterword: Geography of the Heart Biblical geography has great apologetic value. The biblical writers had to be accurate when presenting geographical material. Unlike some matters of history and doctrine, their assertions about the realities of land forms and climate, or about the relation of one city to another, or about the use of strategic routes could easily be verified both by their first readers as well as by contemporary readers. Verifiable geographic information provides a solid foundation on which to place and evaluate the veracity of other truth claims in the biblical text.

The History and Geography of the Bible Story: A Study Manual by Bob and Sandra Waldron is one of the best resources of its kind for individual and class study. It is important for each student of the Bible to gain information about the history and geography of the Bible in order to better understand the context of the message of salvation. The Waldrons have demonstrated an ability to take difficult material and make it both understandable and usable. The book can do several things for the user: (1) it will provide a complete survey of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; (2) it will give one a good summary of the history of the nations involved in sacred history; (3) it will acquaint one with the geography of the Bible lands. The good maps add tremendously to the quality and usefulness of the book. There are a total of 52 lessons. The first lessons discusses man as an intelligent being. The next 7 lessons give a brief look at all the Bible Lands. The rest of the lessons (9-52) correlate the Bible history and geography together. There are plenty of full color maps with corresponding blank maps for the student to fill in. Every few lessons, there is a section of review questions. Charts, lists, and easily read narrative make this a great study for your Bible class or personal study.