Even Briefer

The Archaeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus and the Beginning of the Early Church, revised edition

Jack Finegan (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1992) 409 pp., $29.95, paper

Significantly revised after more than 20 years, this guide takes the reader on a historical journey through the sites and objects connected with the life of Jesus and early Christianity. Relevant drawings, maps and detailed plans enhance the text, and each item is accompanied by an illustration and a bibliographical source for additional information. To the helpful list of ancient sources and other background material in the original, the author has added a table of months in the Roman, Egyptian, Macedonian and Hebrew calendars; a list of Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian bishops of the Jerusalem church with explanatory comments; and an outline of festivals of the early Church. The archaeological and historical material has been considerably expanded. New material includes recent studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the history of the early Church; and traditional theories, as well as radical new theories, on the dates of the birth, the ministry and the death of Jesus. In addition, numerous recent excavations are covered. This exhaustive compilation of material is a scholastic treasure for the serious student of New Testament archaeology.

The Wall-Paintings of Thera