Everyday Life in Bible Times

The Story of Man #1

by National Geographic Society (Editor), G. Ernest Wright (Contributor)

First printing 400,000 copies.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Reference, Christianity, Historical, Archaeology

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a journey around Mesopotamia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean Sea from Abraham to Paul. As you would expect from National Geographic, there are a lot of pictures which are still captivating even though the book is from 1967. Some of the pictures remind me of my trips to Israel and Lebanon from 2017-2019. The various authors seemed to be in awe of the land they journeyed and the people they met, and I enjoyed every bit of their personal experiences as well as the parallel stories of the Bible.

[R.J. Guy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about Israel and the whole Middle East region featured in the Bible. Yes, the print quality of the photos is rather old school compared to today's print quality, but the photos and artwork are well composed and the text is interesting in the traditional National Geographic manner. Don't get me started on today's National Geographic editorial policies, though!
The book takes us to the various sites featured in all the familiar stories from Genesis to Revelation through the eyes of different writers who visit then current (1960s) sites, people, and cultures as well as archeological findings and how they bring the people and events in Bible into focus. It is a book appropriate for all whether you are Jewish or Christian or not. Or even if you don't believe in God.
The saddest thing to realize is all the awful things that have happened in this region before and since then. Yet somehow the place, people, and their religions are an inspiration. Someday there will be peace, but it'll be a rough patch until then (see the book of Revelation for yourself).
Highly recommended for anyone interested in the topic because much of the material in this book is timeless, well researched, illustrated and written.

[Kate Hornstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

If, as a kid, you liked nothing better than spending a rainy day leafing through your parents' old National Geographics, you might like this book. If you can tolerate "othering," and out-of-date info about the Middle East of today, and you're not really looking for a book about day-to-day life in ancient times, you might like this. Before we had the internet, let alone Instagram, these National Georgraphic books opened up a world far beyond my rural childhood to me. Some of these photos are pretty cool and I even like the muted colors they're printed in (as compared to NatGeo magazine now). Worth a look if you're studying the Bible or you just like old timey things as I do. But you may be better off just Google imaging "Egypt" or "Bethlehem" (this book did point out this is where "bedlam" comes from. Who knew?) or getting a more up-to-date Bible atlas.

[Roger Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite what the title would lead you to expect this book does not push religion. When it gets to the part about the New Testament it comes close, but it remains a secular work even if it does come near to pushing religion. I do think it does quite a bit of tiptoeing around to avoid offending the faithful though. It is a National Geographic publication and it reads pretty much like one long National Geographic article. That is, the authors traveled the regions that are being written about interviewing the people who live there and then writing about their experiences. There is, of course, much in the way of references to the Bible and to the archaeological discoveries that are pertinent to the stories found in the Bible. It could be said that this is an overview of the findings of biblical archaeology. There are also references to the meager historical records of ancient times and how Middle Eastern archaeology back them up and how they relate to the Bible. It is in the way that the archaeology is presented that constitutes the tiptoeing. That is, there is no hesitation in telling us about evidence that supports biblical accounts, but you will have to look pretty hard to find any mention of evidence that contradicts the Bible. The book was published in 1977 and I don't really know National Geographic's policy concerning references to religion at that time, but it may have changed because I have read some recent issues of the magazine that do not hesitate to talk about the evidence that contradicts the Bible. There was an issue in 2009, for example, that strongly states that King Herrod was almost certainly innocent of the slaughter of male babies that the Bible accuses him of. That will not be found in this book though.

[Tory Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos alone make this a wonderful read. The various chapters are written by National Geographic reporters. Each chapter follows the trail of Jesus or one of his disciples. It is amazing to see how vibrant life is in these areas despite the passage of time. There are marvelous photos of archeological treasures as well as the inhabitants that now call these biblical places home. Since this book was copyrighted in 1967, I wonder how different the areas look now and how much damage has occurred because of the ongoing fighting in the Middle East.