Books in Brief

The Land and People Jesus Knew: A Comprehensive Handbook on Life in First-Century Palestine

Written and illustrated by J. Robert Teringo (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1985) 263 pp., $24.95

This is a fine, even elegant production in the tradition of the “handbooks” that churches turn to around the time of Christmas pageants.

To understand what I mean, readers need only refer to their church libraries, where they will probably locate A. C. Bouquet, Everyday Life in New Testament Times (1954). Bouquet was long on text, but short on illustrations (pen and ink drawings), nor did he seem to have consulted with any archaeologists of note. Of similar value is Henri Daniel-Rops, Daily Life in the Time of Jesus (1962), which presents the author’s own understanding of ancient texts (but little of archaeology) relating to his subject matter.