The Tabernacle of Moses and the Children of Israel

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit with a well known Jewish man in the area to talk to him about what it would mean to his community to have a series of images that really depict Old Testament passages.  Interestingly enough, I discovered that there really isn't a lot of material to draw from and his reaction was one of enthusiasm and elation when I mentioned that there was a possible source or at least the beginnings of a possible source.  After further conversation, I was amazed to find out that many Jewish schools use Christian material for their education and entertainment and that there really wasn't very much as far as Jewish productions and material.  Due to the close similarities between Judaism and Christianity, the two become a good match for educational materials regardless of whether they are images or text.  The only difficulty, as mentioned by this man, was an obvious one.  "Of course any mention of Jesus in anything is a great turn off for us and we simply cannot use the material."

Taking this conversation one step further, I began to do a search on the web for imagery that could be used in a variety of ways to help people visualize passages from the Bible.  Interestingly enough I was extremely surprised when I discovered that there really isn't anything of good quality available.  Most of the material that I discovered was images that resembled the kiddy images that you would find in a preschool book or clip art.  I asked myself the question, "Isn't there anything out there that would be considered quality art that would help people to visualize what biblical stories may have looked like?"  Certinaly there are things here and there that one would consider as descent enough to support a lesson or an article, but for the most part, there isn't anything.

Enter AnimMan Studios.  Here is a company who is dedicated to making imagery that is certain to trigger the imagination.  I have seen tons of art in my day and I certainly know what is good and what is not, but combining what is very good with something never before seen...that is something worth writing about.  What they have done is taken a popular biblical topic and turned it into something spectacular.  Through seemingly extensive research and study, they have successfully pulled off a book filled with images that are absolutely mind blowing.  This book is simply titled The Tabernacle.  If you are even remotely interested in art and images pertaining to the bible and in particular the Tabernacle, then you must check this out!  Simply stated, the images will draw you in with their lifelike quality, transporting you back in time.  All the images inside this book are computer generated, beautifully designed and crafted after the pattern mentioned in the passages.  What is interesting is that you can look at the imagery, read the passage that is there and continually go back and forth between the two identifying all the details.  It is absolutely an amazing book!

To my understanding, the book will be made available through the on-line publisher Xlibris in December 2009 in their on-line bookstore.  The author has also made himself avaiable through his website at the above link to answer any questions that you may have.