I’m very pleased to announce the release of a unique new Accordance resource: The Accordance Bible Times PhotoMuseum. What in the world is a “PhotoMuseum”? I’m so glad you asked.
Many of you are familiar with our Bible Lands PhotoGuide, which is essentially a richly illustrated guide to Biblical places like Gibeon, Hazor, and Jerusalem. Set the PhotoGuide as the tool to link to when you double-click a place name in the Accordance Bible Atlas, and the Atlas becomes infinitely more useful. (You can do that in the Map Tab Display settings of the Preferences.)
Where the PhotoGuide covers Biblical places, the new Bible Times PhotoMuseum covers ancient peoples (Edomites, Moabites, Philistines), along with the objects they used (Altars, Houses, Weapons) and the activities they pursued (Fishing, Music, Personal Grooming). It’s a bit like an illustrated Bible dictionary, but it’s like no Bible dictionary you’ve ever seen.
You see, most Bible dictionaries offer a general treatment of a subject and then illustrate it with a picture or two. The PhotoMuseum is unique in that it begins with the artifacts themselves, treating each subject by exploring the actual archaeological finds which inform our knowledge of that subject. In other words, it lets you look at the actual clues so you can better understand how they help unravel the mystery of the Biblical world.
For example, 2 Samuel 2:14-16 relates how the generals Joab and Abner chose twelve pairs of young soldiers to duel one another for the entertainment of the troops. Each of these soldiers then “grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side.” Commentaries on this passage sometimes mention a stone relief found in the Aramean city of Sam’al which shows two men dueling in exactly this way, indicating it may have been a stylized form of combat. Yet no commentary I saw included an actual picture of this relief. Because we began with the artifacts themselves, combing through thousands of photos for artifacts which illustrate the Bible, we found this relief (which is unassumingly displayed in a museum alongside dozens of similar reliefs), and immediately recognized its importance. You’ll find it illustrating the article on “Sword and Dagger.”
This is just one example. The PhotoMuseum is packed with nearly 600 high quality illustrations of important Biblical artifacts, and the significance of those artifacts is thoroughly explained and related to the Biblical passages they help us understand. Anyone familiar with the PhotoGuide knows that it is far more than a collection of photos of Biblical sites. In the same way, the PhotoMuseum has been carefully researched and designed to give you another window into the Biblical world.
I’ll be blogging more about the PhotoMuseum throughout the week: detailing how it was conceived, how it was developed, some of the things that make it unique, and our plans to expand it further. We’re really excited about this new resource, and hope it will be as well-received as the PhotoGuide has been.
The Accordance Bible Times PhotoMuseum has a regular price of $59.99. It is immediately available to be downloaded through Easy Install. Treat yourself to an early Christmas present and start exploring it today.