Review of The Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands

‘A Panoramic Survey of the History, Geography, and Culture of the Scriptures’

As I read through the thick glossy pages of this hardbound book, I was gripped with a sense of urgency to keep it all to myself, under lock and key in my home reference library. 

There are 11 chapters including titles such as (in Part One) The World of David and Solomon, The World of the New Testament, and (in Part Two) Archaeological Discoveries Supporting the Authenticity of the Bible.

The book goes in depth on the physical realities of the books of the Bible from the Neolithic Age to the Early Roman Period. Not only archaeologically, but what characters saw, heard, touched, tasted, and smelled. 

From the Handbook:

Genesis 19:24 says “The Lord rained on Sodom and Gommorrha sulfur and fire from … out of heaven.” This clearly describes a cosmic event, but its exact nature eluded scholars until recently. Before the actual location of Sodom was confirmed northeast of the Dead Sea at Tall el-Hammam in Jordan (See Breakout 2.07), all sorts of unverifiable therories were suggested – from volcanism to explosions of natural gas triggered by an earthquake. Years of sampling from the MBA destruction layer at Tall el-Hammam and the surrounding area now confirm that Sodom and its satellite towns – 300 square miles in all – were obliterated in the super-hot fiery blast of the meteoritic airburst event (see Figure 1.06).

Maps, Charts, Illustrations, and Photos all make for fascinating reading. It is an exacting handbook. 

Fascinating pictures take you away to a time when David faced the giant Philistine or Jesus spoke to the disciples in the upper room. This book is a wonderful, exhaustive supplementary tool to add to your Christian library, be it for scholarly or home use.

Grab your copy on Amazon or other fine retailers today!