Borderland, Israel in the Time of Jesus
Summary
Borderland: Israel in the Time of Jesus published by Answers in Genesis is an in-depth look behind the scenes for the Borderland exhibit featured by the Creation Museum. This book dives into the processes of development, implementation, and creation of the exhibit from the first inkling of an idea to the exhaustive historical research to the building of the props and, finally, the assembly of the exhibit itself.
Assessment
The Borderland exhibit is a massively detailed and researched undertaking by the Creation Museum to bring to life what Roman, Jewish, and Greek culture looked like when Jesus walked the Earth. In this massive, richly illustrated book, the entire project is laid out along a historical timeline, describing in detail how the exhibition was crafted. From the props to the artwork to the written descriptions and layout of the exhibition hall itself, this book goes into the creative process as well as historical — both Biblical and archaeological — references and source materials.
Filled with full-color illustrations, process pictures, and computer models, the book brings to life the time and effort poured into this project by the planners and craftsmen who worked on it. Everything from social hierarchy to clothing to common jobs and lifestyle choices of the first century Israel is outlined in this book, creating a fantastically comprehensive context for what we know of the world Jesus lived in.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Timeline: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Organization: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
This is a fantastic resource for more context on Jesus’ Jerusalem as well as a look into the craftsmanship that goes into an exhibit such as this. I appreciated how thorough the book was in outlining everything from material collection to the actual creative process to the design choices that went into being as faithful to both the Bible and archaeological evidence as possible. I greatly appreciated how it opened my eyes to the cultural context of much of the Bible, especially the dynamics between the Romans, Jews, and Greeks.
Some of the writing and information was a bit redundant. They would state a fact, then restate it in only a slightly different way later and so a lot of ground was covered over and over again. In terms of how the book was written, this made the timeline a bit clunky and reused a lot of old material, rather than introducing new material or even a different perspective on what was provided.
That being said, this is still a fantastic book for learning more about what we know of Jesus’ life in a cultural and social sense. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, and the behind-the-scenes pictures are fascinating (I just wish a few were bigger!). I thoroughly enjoyed the look into the craftsmanship side of things, the leatherwork, the chainmail creation, even the sewing and blacksmithing. It was easy to see how much respect the creators of this exhibit had for the content and delight they had in bringing it to real life!
Wrap-up
Borderlands: Israel in the Time of Jesus is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the Creation Museum’s Borderland exhibition, which outlines what the world looked like when Jesus walked the earth. The book is beautifully illustrated with plenty of fascinating details about what went into the creation of the exhibition as well as what we know about the cultures and times that Jesus lived in.
Where to Enjoy
Answers in Genesis: Borderland (Hardcover) | Answers in Genesis
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