Vacation Reading

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We asked several prominent scholars to tell us what books about the Bible they would take along on a vacation—books fascinating and sound enough to hold their attention and well-written enough to make reading a pleasure, not a chore. Below is a wide range of suggestions of Old and New Testament literature from four Bible scholars and from an eminent art historian whose focus is on Christianity, the Bible and the visual arts.

If you want to put some of these books in your vacation luggage and you can’t find them in local bookstores, those with prices listed can be ordered them from BAS Books. Just write to 3000 Connecticut Ave., N. W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20008.

John Lundquist

The World Atlas of Archaeology

Edited by Margaret Crowther and Elizabeth Pichon
(Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985) $65.00

The best general historical atlas. Its worldwide coverage is topical, providing superb two-page accounts of each subject, with beautiful maps, photos and charts. Chapters related to Bible studies include “The Phoenicians in Syria,” “The Ancient Near East” and “Syria and the Temple of Solomon.”

The Bible and the Image, the History of Photography in the Holy Land

Yeshayahu Nir
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985) $39.95

Beautifully produced, excellently written account of early photographic techniques used in the Holy Land. The volume includes historic 19th-century photos of local inhabitants, landscapes and historic places, such as the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Herodian temple masonry.

Atlas of the Bible

John Rogerson
(New York: Facts on File, 1985) $35.00

Far and away the outstanding Bible atlas available. The maps, photographs and line drawings are incomparable; the text is superb. The author successfully integrates geography and biblical history.

Armies of the Ancient Near East

Nigel Stillman and Nigel Tallis
(Worthing, England: Wargames Research Group Publication, 1984) $28.50 + $2.00 postage

This little-known book gives details of military organization and tactical methods for every ancient Near Eastern people, including the Israelites, and capsule summaries of every major ancient battle. There are dozens of line drawings of warriors in military uniform and of weapons and implements of ancient Near Eastern warfare. May be purchased from The Compleat Strategist, (212) 685–3880, credit card orders only.

James S. Ackerman

My suggestions include some of the best examples of literary criticism as it is applied to the biblical text. These books open up the Bible’s meaning in exciting new ways.

The Art of Biblical Narrative

Robert Alter
(New York: Basic Books, 1981) $17.95

Focuses on the literary techniques through which the bibilical writers elicit meaning. Beautifully written and easily accessible to the lay reader.

The Art of Biblical Poetry

Robert Alter
(New York: Basic Books, 1985) $17.95

A companion volume to The Art of Biblical Narrative that analyzes poetic devices in ancient Israelite literature. Helpful to both lay and scholarly readers for better understanding biblical poetry.

The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative

Frank Kermode
(Cambridge, Massachusetts/London: Harvard University Press) $14.00

A brilliant book that expands our understanding of the Gospel of Mark. It compares elements in the narrative of Mark with interesting ancient and modern parallels, such as the Gospel of Matthew and James Joyce’s Ulysses.

The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading

Meir Steinberg
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985)

A prodigious accomplishment, and a classic in the field. A comprehensive description of the stylistic devices biblical writers used to produce meaning in narrative. A more difficult work than the three above; readers may want to turn first to the others.

Marvin W. Meyer

The Writings of St. Paul

Wayne A. Meeks
Norton Critical Edition (New York: Norton, 1972) $9.95 paper

For readers who wish to sample a wide variety of sources pertaining to Paul. Includes excerpts from Augustine, Luther, Nietzsche, Schweitzer, Buber, Barth and others.

The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth

Gerd Theissen
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982) $19.95

A fascinating study of Paul in the context of the society of his day. Slightly more technical than Meeks work.

Four Other Gospels: Shadows on the Contours of Canon

John Dominic Crossan
(Minneapolis: Winston [Seabury], 1985)

A brilliant study of four extracanonical texts: the Gospel of Thomas, Egerton Papyrus 2, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Peter. Crossan exemplifies the concern of many of today’s New Testament scholars with the relationships between the canonical and the extracanonical gospels.

In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
(New York: Crossroad, 1984) $22.50

Analyzes New Testament texts in light of contemporary feminist issues.

John Dillenberger

Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture

Jaroslav Pelikan
(New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1985) $22.50

With the comprehensiveness and sure touch one expects from Pelikan, his new book provides us with the differing historical images of Jesus. We are helped to understand how these images reflect and form their times, and how to appreciate that rich variety.

Image as Insight: Visual Understanding in Western Christianity and Secular Culture

Margaret Miles
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1985) $27.95

Fresh insight, research and verve combine in a volume that looks anew at the early church, 00714th-century Tuscan painting, the art of the Protestant and Catholic reforms and the contemporaneous scene. The book shows how differently history is interpreted when visual as well as verbal texts are used.

Religious Art in France. The Twelfth Century: A Study of the Origins of Medieval Iconography

Emil MaÆle
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978) $70.00

Pioneering works that give us the best account of the interrelation of the sculpture of the medieval cathedrals with religious faith, including the biblical sources, of the 12th and 13th centuries. While expensive and heavy (not for a light travel bag), they are engaging reading.

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Beverly R. Gaventa

The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology

Bruce J. Malina
(Atlanta: John Knox, 1981) $10.95

Anthropological models illuminate first-century assumptions regarding honor, the family and ritual purity. While some of Malina’s comments are more suggestive than convincing, he shows the peril of reading our social expectations into the New Testament. An engaging volume.

New Directions in New Testament Study

Patrick Henry (philadelphia: Westminster, 1979) $10.95

A survey of developments in New Testament scholarship over the past few decades. Henry covers important topics (diversity in early Christianity, Jewish matrix, problem of the historical Jesus, sociological exegesis). References as divergent as Henry Ford and T. S. Eliot illustrate the work and help interpret the work of “insiders” to interested “outsiders.”

History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel

J. Louis Martyn
revised edition, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1979)

Despite its sober title, this is a fascinating probe into the Gospel of John. Martyn characterizes John as a two-level drama in which the story of Jesus is used to address the problems of an early Christian community.

The Churches the Apostles Left Behind

Raymond E. Brown
(New York: Paulist Press, 1984) $4.95

The death of the apostles challenged various communities during the last decades of the first century. Brown clearly explores the strategies that enabled early Christian churches to survive a critical period.

We asked several prominent scholars to tell us what books about the Bible they would take along on a vacation—books fascinating and sound enough to hold their attention and well-written enough to make reading a pleasure, not a chore. Below is a wide range of suggestions of Old and New Testament literature from four Bible scholars and from an eminent art historian whose focus is on Christianity, the Bible and the visual arts.