The editors of Biblical Archaeology Review have selected the 1,300 photographs that best tell the story of the Bible through archaeology. The Biblical context of each image is explained in extensive captions written by world-renowned scholars.

The Biblical World in Pictures. Biblical Archaeology Society, 4710 41st St., NW, Washington, DC 20016, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org, ©2003. Libronix DLS Format. $179.95. OakTree Software, Inc. 498 Palm Springs Drive, Suite 100, Altamonte Springs, FL 32701, ©2004, http://www.OakSoft.com. (877) 339-5855. Macintosh Format, Accordance compatible, $179. Reviewed in The Emmaus Journal, Winter 2004, Book Reviews, pp. 308ff.

In 1978 I was able to visit Israel and Greece and took hundreds of slide photographs. Unfortunately they have gathered dust in boxes since then, and I have rarely used them. First, I am not a professional photographer, and that was all too evident in many of the pictures. Second, the conditions were not always good for taking the pictures: the air was hazy, or maybe the sun was in my eyes, or people were blocking the scene, etc. Third, I would sometimes forget what the picture was showing. In 1982 the Biblical Archaeology Society began producing sets of slides which relate to the biblical world. I realized immediately how attractive they would be. Their top quality slides were taken by professional photographers and were accompanied by explanatory captions written by biblical scholars. But slides are still inconvenient. They must be sorted through and equipment must be set up.

That problem is now solved with the convenience of modern technology. The full ten sets of the Biblical Archaeology Society slides have now been put on one CD-Rom. They include over 1300 photographs of biblical scenes and sites, maps, artifacts, manuscripts, and inscriptions. There are sets for the Hebrew Bible, New Testament Archaeology, Galilee, Jerusalem, Egypt-Sinai-Negev, Mesopotamia, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Archaeology, Archaeology and Religion, and Ancient Inscriptions. The slides can easily be copied into Power Point and displayed on your computer or projected onto a screen. These are ideal resources for illustrating a Bible lesson in the pulpit or classroom. The material for a course in Bible geography is available here. Small groups and studies will benefit from the vividness of these pictures. They can even be used in personal study. As you study your Bible you can visit Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, Hebron, Dan, or Caesarea. You can look at the ruins of an ancient Jewish synagogue, see fishermen in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, look at coins used for the payment of the temple tax, or see a farmer threshing his wheat by tossing it into the air. Each picture is accompanied by an explanatory paragraph which explains its significance and cites relevant biblical passages.

While I would recommend these photographs in either the Accordance format for the Macintosh or the Libronix format for the PC, there were two striking differences between them which clearly show the superiority of Accordance. First, there is a dramatic difference in picture quality between the two formats. The very first picture shows a northern Galilee valley strewn with poppies in late springtime. In Accordance these red flowers are bright and vivid. A snow capped Mt. Hermon can be seen in the background. The colors of the same picture in the Libronix format seem dull and muted. The mountain is barely visible. The difference was striking enough that I wondered if the problem was in the computer screen. I tried it on a new computer which had an excellent screen, with the same results. The pictures in Accordance are clearly superior.

The second advantage of Accordance is convenience in searching for slides. When I was looking for the city of Corinth in Accordance, I found eight pictures. When I searched for Corinth in Libronix, I got all of the references to Corinth in the text captions as well as the pictures of the city.

The second CD-Rom has even more resources available. This is the archives of Biblical Archaeology Review, a magazine founded in 1975 on the subject of biblical archaeology. From the beginning, BAR adopted a unique approach. The journals devoted to biblical archaeology at the time were very technical and detailed. Even biblical scholars who did not have some expertise in archaeology could get lost in the technicalities. Although written by experts, BAR was designed to present the latest discoveries in the field of biblical archaeology in understandable language for the general audience of those interested in the Bible and the biblical world. Through the years it has sought to present the latest discoveries in an interesting way. It has not shunned controversy and often presents articles on the same subject by authors who have opposing viewpoints. While evangelicals have welcomed BAR and the many discoveries of archaeology that have supported the accuracy of the Bible, BAR itself does not have a doctrinal agenda and will often include viewpoints which oppose the accuracy of the Bible.

BAR became popular soon after it began publication. Starting as a small magazine with little color in 1975, it became a major work. This CD-Rom, which contains all of the issues from 1975-2003, includes over 9000 photographs, maps, drawings, and charts. There is even more here than in the Biblical World in Pictures CD-Rom. In addition there are over 1700 articles.

An elder from the church in New Jersey where I came to know the Lord received the first issue and then read BAR faithfully until he went home to be with the Lord twenty years later. He was not a biblical scholar, but he became highly educated in biblical archaeology and was current with the latest discoveries in the field. This magazine is the best resource for the average student of the Bible to learn the archaeology of the Bible.

Of course everything said above about the value of the Biblical World in Pictures CD-Rom applies here. The photos, maps, illustrations, and drawings can all be copied onto Power Point and used to illustrate Bible studies. Archaeology is a field which begs for photographs and illustrations. BAR has excelled in its pictures through the years. All of these are now available to us in the CD-ROM.