Zondervan archaeology title

I'd really like to see Zondervan's Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology edited by Blaiklock. It is superior in my view to the Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land currently available in Logos. I called about this when Zondervan released a bunch of titles to Logos, and was told that eventually all Zondervan titles would be offered. This is one I'd have a priority on for purchase.

I'd also like to see the Archaeological Study Bible by Zondervan released in Logos. There's a lot of great stuff in that volume that would be a lot easier to find if it were searchable.

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Ted Hans

[Y]

James Matichuk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/203707#Comment_203707

Wouldn't be a priority for me. Publication date is 1983.

EmileB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/203713#Comment_203713

Just because a work has a publication date that is earlier doesn't mean that it isn't still valuable, especially a general reference of this type. Also, I hope Logos does not share your view of a book's value, desireability and usefulness based solely upon its publication date (probably the majority of the books in the Logos library pre-date 1983... should they not have been published?) I know of two general biblical archaeological dictionaries. The first is Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land (carried by Logos, and of similar vintage)... which is not, contrary to its title, encyclopedic in nature. Its range and depth of articles is not as great as Blaiklock's New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, in my opinion. While its true that there are bible background commentaries appearing of more recent date (it seems to be the current fad among publishers), and which include a fairly good amount of archaeological data, I don't know of any broader, more in-depth, dictionaries/encyclopedias... at least none available in Logos. And these do not include the scope and depth of information available in Blaiklock. This information is not elsewhere available, nor in this format, and is therefore highly valuable for those who work in the area of Bible backgrounds, history and archaeology. If you know of a more recent resource of this type with this scope and depth of information, please enlighten me, and I will eagerly put in a request for that resource to be added to the Logos library. It is needed.

Best wishes,
Emile

James Matichuk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/203788#Comment_203788

Emile B,

When I question the publishing date on this, I am not questioning the publishing date on all resources. I am questioning the ability of a reference work in archeology to speak exhaustively when nearly 30 years have past since its publication. A lot has happened in Biblical archeology since that time. That being said, I am sure it has some great and relevant articles, and certainly someone can use it profitably if they are up on some of the current developments. It still wouldn't be a priority for me right now. Perhaps this resource and subscription to Biblical Archeology would suffice to be up-to-date. Archeology is a living discipline and a lot has been done over the past three decades. By way of analogy, I would think a thirty year old medical dictionary would be mostly useful, but in at least some places, I would hope for more up-to-date information.

I have the Zondervan Bible Background commentaries and am quite happy with my purchase of them. In my opinion, they are a vast improvement on the IVP Bible Background commentaries in that they are copiously footnoted. In the Logos edition, this means that they link to various resources I have in my library (Texts of Ancient Egypt, Pritchard's older but still useful The Ancient Near East, and Hallo and Yonger's newer and more useful The Context of Scripture). As it is linked to the Biblical text, it tends to source relevant information to the understanding of that text. Therefore, it may not give the level of detail in relationship to particular digs or archeological sites.

EmileB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/203818#Comment_203818

I'd agree that archaeology is a living discipline, and that much (exciting) progress has been made in the last 30 years. However, most of the material covered by the book would not fall into a category that is subject to dispute. Issues such as site locations, topographical descriptions, biblical and classical history of the site under discussion, the history of excavations and the finds of those excavations at the sites, etc... these are by and large not in dispute. The work has little that would be subject to interpretation or change from recent findings (not saying that some instances may not exist... simply that such information is not the type of information presented or intended in this volume, for the most part.). I agree that a BA subscription along with this book would be a fine grouping for understanding the current state of knowledge in the field (which is why I wish the BAR and BA collections in Logos could be updated, and supplemented by excavation reports from IES such as Qedem, or the excellent New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations... alas, the last is terribly expensive) . I also agree with your assessment of Zondervan vs IVP, as well as the need for something linked to particular digs/sites as opposed to the Biblical text, the latter of which makes it difficult to find in-depth information. A commentary note simply does not... and by nature, cannot... contain the type of information -- at least in depth -- that the dictionary/encyclopedia does. General Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias don't provide enough scope and depth, either. That's why there is a need for a more in-depth dictionary/encyclopedia devoted to biblical archaeology, and other than those I've already mentioned... Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, the New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, and the last-mentioned New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations... I don't know of any that currently exist. That is why the second resource is important.

Cheers,

Emile

Ted Hans

I'd really like to see Zondervan's Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology edited by Blaiklock.

[Y][H]

I would also in addition with your suggested book above, love to see the books below make it into Logos.

Archaeology and the New Testament by John
McRay
Archaeology and the Old Testament by Alfred J.
Hoerth

Ted