NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S WHO’S WHO IN THE BIBLE:
Unforgettable People and Timeless Stories from Genesis to Revelation
By Jean-Pierre Isbouts
Publisher: National
Geographic
Published: Nov. 5, 2013
ISBN: 9781426211591
Amazon Synopsis:
From the author of In
the Footsteps of Jesus and The Biblical World comes a vibrant
family reference that brings to life the fascinating characters of the Old and
New Testatments of the Bible. From the fall of Adam and Eve to Judas' betrayal
of Jesus, the key events of the Bible are expressed through the lives of hundreds
of people. Told through exquisite art
Book Links
My Thoughts:
This is a beautiful, hardcover
book full of photographs of paintings, statues, carvings and other artwork
inspired by the Bible. It contains timelines and maps that will help the reader
better understand the when and where of the events that happened.
The book is divided into 5
chapters:
From Genesis to Deuteronomy
From Joshua to Kings
From Chronicles to Maccabees
The Four Gospels
From Acts of the Apostles to Revelation
Each chapter gives a synopsis
of each of the major players in that section in the Bible and tells some of
their story. Artwork from across the centuries depicting scenes from the Bible
have been included on almost every page of text. And at the end of each chapter
is an alphabetical listing of Who’s Who for each of the five chapters of the
book. This alphabetical listing gives the name of the individual, the meaning
of his/her name, tells who the individual is and provides references to their
location in the Scriptures.
The author uses the Catholic
canon of Scripture as the basis for the material that he includes in his book.
For those of Protestant beliefs, this simply means that they need to know that
there will be a few books of the Bible that they will be unfamiliar with.
Not all the major stories of
all the well-known characters of the Bible have been included in this
book. For example, Moses and the
crossing of the Red Sea was reduced to a small paragraph on a map whereas in
the Bible itself, it covers several chapters. This is understandable in that
this book is more about who each person is, rather than all the things that
they did.
A list of further reading,
references to secular books is given at the back of Mr. Isbouts’ book, divided
up as related to each of his chapters. This helps readers to find other
material on these individuals found in the Bible. Also at the back of the book
is an index for easy reference for the reader to quickly look up any of the
individuals mentioned anywhere in this reference text.
I think that Jean-Pierre
Isbouts has done a marvelous job in writing this book. It is a fascinating book
simply to flip through and look at for the sake of the beautiful art contained
within. The information it contains is well-written, interesting and
well-referenced. It will indeed make a lovely gift for anyone who is interested
in the history of the Bible and the early church.
I highly recommend this book
and give it 5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher,
National Geographic for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for a
fair and honest review. I was not
required to provide a positive opinion. All thoughts are my own.
About the Author:
Jean-Pierre Isbouts completed
his doctoral program on archaeology and art at the university of Leyden and is
currently professor of culture and media studies at Feilding Graduate
University of Santa Barbara, California. He has written several other books,
including “National Geographic’s The Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas,” “From
Moses to Muhammad” and “In the Footsteps of Jesus.” Isbouts has also written
four television programs that explore the legacy of the Bible, including the
Hallmark television mini-series “The Quest for Peace,” which won the 2005 God
Aurora Award and the 2005 DeRose-Hinkhouse Award.
Contact the Author
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