Page 19 - DILMUN NO 7

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THE OXFORD BIBLE ATLAS desolation that fringes the western edge of the
Edited by Herbert G. May Dead Sea.
(BD. 3.600) It is, however, comforting to learn that not
Yet another book of good quality produc­ all the mysteries arc as yet solved, and those of
tion and one that will appeal to any serious us enthralled by the story of Joseph’s rise to a
student of Bible history, whose interests position of power in Egypt will find that the
encompass archaeology too. date is still uncertain and that the most learned
Like “Southern Arabia” it is profusely il­ scholars arc in disagreement on the subject.
lustrated with black and white photographs, To conclude : not an easy book to follow
and the coloured maps arc extremely informat­ and a major drawback is the smallness of the
ive, without being too detailed. print which contrasts unfavourably with the
The book’s chief virtue lies in these maps, clarity of the maps and photographs. Nevertheless
for they pin-point accurately the place-names it docs bring to life the bare facts as related in
that we meet with in the Bible and whose the Bible and clearly establishes the series of
location would be vague were it not for the cultures as they arose. What the book does not
archaeological proofs that have come to light do is to offer evidence of the intellectual and
in recent years. The study is exhaustive, for moral pursuits of ancient man and, despite the
it covers a range from Asia Minor to the wealth of research that has gone into its com­
Arabian Gulf, and the text closely relates the pilation it might perhaps have been made more
historical events, as recorded in the Bible, to interesting by some hypothetical digressions on
the exact geographical sites concerned and they the life of the people concerned - no matter
can be located by study of the adjoining map. how fanciful. A good reference book for the
For example : (i) “Goliath was slain while serious student, but not recommended as bed­
the Philistines were encamped between Socoh time reading.
and Azekah and the Philistines were pursued
as far as Gath and Ekron”. (1 Samuel 17)
From the map it appears that Goliath was
killed some twenty-five miles west of the Recently published was the book of Dr.
northern end of the Dead Sea and that Gath lies Ali Taqi on the changing status of the Bahraini
a further twenty-five miles to the south. woman, (i)
(ii) “David, fleeing from Saul hid in the The booklet, which contains 52 pages,
wilderness of Ziph, Maon, F.n-gedi and Paran.” consists of three chapters.
In the first chapter, Dr. Taqi states that
Again the map shows the location of these “the status of women in society is not just an
place-names, all of which lie among the wild individual phenomenon but it reveals a whole
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