Using the Atlas to Understand Biblical Events

Today’s post is from Morris Proctor, certified and authorized trainer for Logos Bible Software. Morris, who has trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos seminars, provides many training materials.

When we study words and events in Scripture, we need to study them within their original context. This doesn’t just mean reading verses before and after our passage, it also means interpreting the words in light of the world in which they were written. This world includes the historical, cultural, and yes, even geographical contexts.

For example, in reference to geographical context:

• Luke 10:30 states a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho yet Jericho is northeast of Jerusalem
• Acts 25:1 says Festus went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea yet Jerusalem is south of Caesarea

Knowing the elevation of the city easily explains the phrases down from and up to Jerusalem.

To aid our discovery of geographical context, Logos Bible Software links many biblical events to the Atlas tool. Try this:

• Open an English Bible with the reverse interlinear option like the NASB, LEB, KJV, NKJV, or ESV
• Navigate to a passage with a significant biblical event such as Jesus’ walking on water in John 6:16-21 (A)
• Right click on any word in the passage (B)
• Select from the right side of the context menu Jesus walks on water (C)
• Select from the left side of the context menu Atlas (D)

• Notice the Atlas tool opens in its own window (E)
• Explore the Atlas window noting several things:
  • Map related to the event (F)
  • Drop down legend with explanations and links to more info (G)
  • Sidebar with brief description of the event (H)
  • Link to Factbook for more detailed information about the event (I)
  • Link to Media Search for images related to the event (J)

Not all events in the Bible directly link to the Atlas, but many do, which makes discovering geographical context just a right click away!

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For more detailed training, check out the Camp Logos 2 video training now on pre-pub!