Books in Brief
The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography
Yohanan Aharoni
(The Westminister Press, 1979) 481 pp. $19.95
In his 1962 preface to the first edition of The Land of the Bible, Yohanan Aharoni states that “ … in the land of the Bible, geography and history are so deeply interwoven that neither can be really understood without the help of the other. To portray this mosaic of history and geography, with the aid of all available sources, is the aim of this book (p. xi).” Still dedicated to this goal, Aharoni more recently sought to update his work on the basis of new information recovered through archaeological excavations and the continuous research conducted by scholars in related fields. Because of Aharoni’s untimely death in 1976 his work on the new edition had to be completed by Professor Anson F. Rainey, the translator of both editions and Aharoni’s close colleague at Tel Aviv University.
The new edition follows generally the outline of the first edition, but at many points it departs from the previous presentation and expounds these subjects in the light of the most recent studies. Updated information is also presented in several of the maps, charts, and in Appendix 2, “List of Site Identification.”
The Land of the Bible is a study in historical geography. Its aim is to reconstruct the geographical setting during different historical periods and subsequently illuminate the context in which historical events and processes took place. The book is divided into two major parts: Part I is a general geographical survey of the major regions in Palestine as they are known in the present and in historical documents. It also describes the major routes in antiquity and the sources for this information, written and archaeological.
Part II is titled “Palestine during the Ages.” Here, Aharoni takes the reader through different historical periods chronologically and tries to identify for the student place names, routes, boundaries, etc. which are mentioned in Biblical and extra-Biblical sources. Several chapters in Part II, especially those devoted to the period of the monarchy, have been substantially rewritten. Much newly discovered information has been interwoven with the text of the first edition. New bibliographic sources have been added to the old ones in order to present a thoroughly updated picture. The maps and charts, some of which have been revised, help the student visualize the text by pulling together materials presented in the narrative and putting them in a clear and concentrated form.
Since the fields of archaeology and historical geography are in constant change, the new edition of this classic should be a welcomed addition in every book collection related to Near Eastern and Biblical Studies. And when the third edition appears, I hope it will include a complete bibliography.
As a service to readers the book reviewed on this page may be ordered from BAR at a discount.