Well, this week I am finally moved into my new house and the new studio. I am teaching the kids about how to find responsible, legitimate sources for first-century history. A lot of books out there are agenda-driven and not fact driven, full of opinions and urban legends. The books that I will be talking about are from true scholars, people who are answerable to the academic community for the integrity of their work. Here is a list of the books I talk about – note, none of these are kid friendly and a lot of them aren’t even adult friendly. Very few resources are friendly at all, for that matter.
Loeb’s Josephus – the authoritative version
The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation – Weiss, Abegg, et al
Kehati Mishnah – the authoritative commentary on the Mishnah, the legal rulings and historical decisions of the Jews, lots of information about how they did things in the Temple and in their day to day lives.
Backgrounds of Early Christianity – Everett Ferguson
In The Shadow of the Temple – Oskar Skarsaue
The Carta Jerusalem Atlas – Dan Bahat
The Sacred Bridge (atlas of the Holy Land) – Rainey, et al.
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha – Charlesworth
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary by Tyndale, 3 Volumes – out of print but cheap used on amazon.com
Colorful Ceremonies of the Beis HaMikdash
IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament – Keener – great starter book
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary
Feast Anthologies – Philip Goodman
Mishnah Torah translated by Touger
Here is the video!