1. The Environment of the Bible 1 The Geography of the Land of Israel 1 Plants of the Bible 8 Trees and Shrubs 10 Animals of the Bible 12 Birds of the Bible 14 Nations Within the Promised Land 16 The Egyptians 18 The Assyrians 20 The Babylonians 22 The Greeks 24 The Romans 26 Other Nations 28 2. Archaeology and the Bible зз Past and Present: the Work of Excavation 33 Writing 42 Archaeology and the Old Testament 45 Archaeology and the New Testament 58 3. The Story of the Bible 65 How the Bible was Written and Became one Book 65 How the Bible Came to Us 69 Understanding the Bible 79 The Books of the Bible 81 4. Key Teaching and Events of the Bible 97 A to Z of Bible words Flood 100 Captivity in Egypt 104 Exodus 109 Conquest of Canaan 114 Exile 121 Return from Exile 126 5. Religion and Worship in the Bible 129 The Religion of Israel 130 The Commandments 132 Fasts and Festivals 134 Tabernacle and Temples 137 Priests, Levites and the Sacrifices 140 The Prophets 142 Between the Testaments 144 Jewish Religion: New Testament Times 146 The Teaching of Jesus 148 Christian Worship in the New Testament 150 Canaanite Religion 152 Egyptian Refigion 154 Assyrian and Babylonian Religion 156 Greek and Roman Religion 158 6. People of the Bible 161 A to Z 7. Home and Family Life in the Bible 193 Life Within the Family 194 Special Occasions 197 Clothes and Fashion 201 Town and City Life 206 Life in the Villages 209 Housing 212 Food for the Family 217 Social Life 221 8. Work and Society in the Bible 225 Amateurs, Professionals and Slaves 226 Farming 227 Building, Masons and Carpenters 230 Clothes-making 232 Mining and Metalwork 234 Pottery 236 Other Jobs 238 Medicine 240 Trade and Commerce 242 Money, Weights and Measures 244 Government and Administration 247 Education 250 War, Weapons and Warriors 252 Travel and Transport 255 9. Places of the Bible 257 A to Z 10. Adas of the Bible 289 The Land of Israel 290 Bible History at a Glance 292 The World of the Old Testament 294 The World of Genesis 296 Into the Promised Land 298 The Judges 300 Israel’s First Kings: Saul, David and Solomon 302 The Two Kingdoms 304 The Rise of the Northern Powers 306 Invasion and Exile 308 Return to Jerusalem 310 Jerusalem 312 The World of the New Testament 314 Israel in the New Testament 316 The Outreach of the Church 318 Index to the non-alphabetical sections 321 Acknowledgements 327

Eerdmans' Family Encyclopedia of the Bible it aims to bring the Bible to life for today's reader, illustrating through written and visual images the setting, the events, and the people of biblical times. Technical lan-gauge is kept to a minimum, and the photographs and drawings—over 500 of them—are realistic ratherthan imaginative. Theemphasis is on accurate, up-to-date information, presented in a clear, interesting, and exciting way which will appeal to the entire family, as well as to pastors and teachers.