Antiquities, History of Biblical Events, Geography 

This new look at the Bible presents an entirely different way of understanding and enjoying the greatest story ever told. An invaluable family reference work as well as fascinating history, it brings new insights into the great ages of the Old and New Testaments. In its pages Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all of the other great figures of the Bible are seen in the context of their own times. Both texts and illustrations link the timeless stories of the Bible with the most recent archaeological discoveries.

Today we know much more about the daily life and history of Biblical times than ever before. We know more than some of the later people of the Bible did about the customs and times of the Patriarchs, though we are further removed from them in time: the various customs of Jacob's day were very different from Solomon's, for instance. The Jew of Jesus' Jerusalem spoke a language unknown to Isaiah. The clothing people wore, the food they ate, the weapons soldiers used, even the ideas men had, varied considerably over the two millennia of known Biblical history. What united all the people of the Bible - great and small - was their faith in the Lord.

From the first promise of a land to Abraham to the triumph of Paul's evangelism, it is faith that gives the Bible stories their special meaning. This book shows how that faith was lived by real men and women. Each historical period of the Bible, from Abraham to Paul, is introduced by a general description of the times. Them, as the story of each of the great people is told, the Biblical account is mingled with fascinating new information and explanations that illuminate the stories in a vital way. The Bible itself - in the widely accepted Revised Standard Version - is quoted extensively.

Details of everyday life are given a special immediacy thanks to the discoveries of modern archaeology. A long-lost inscription accidentally uncovered by two boys, for example, describes the remarkable engineering feat accomplished by King Hezekiah in diverting water from the spring of Gihon into the city of Jerusalem. The documents produced at the historical monastery of the Essenes at Qumram, generally known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, shed new light on the times of Jesus. These and many other insights and discoveries are explained in a clearly readable text, supplemented by more than 100 carefully researched new drawings that present an authentic and exciting view of Biblical life.

Here are accurate architectural renderings of the temples, palaces, houses, cities, fortresses, and shrines described in the Bible. These revealing pictures, like the special illustrations, were prepared by the world's leading Biblical experts and artists.

More than 200 color photos show Biblical sites and artifacts that still exist today. Striking landscape photographs capture the beauty and drama of the Holy Land in a way that evokes the stirring times of the Bible. Informative maps show the places and terrain where the people of the Old and New Testaments made their migrations, built their cities, fought their wars, and nurtured their enduring faith.

Here is how the great people of the Bible lived and worked - from the Patriarchs to the Apostles. An unprecedented project, created by a team of scholars, theologians, writers, and artists working with the editors of the Reader's Digest, Great People of the Bible is a book for those who find the Bible a profound source of faith, inspiration, literature, and history.

Taken from the inside flaps.

Cover painting, Census Day in Bethlehem, by Jean Leon Huens.