I own a handful of Study Bibles, but I do not use any of them regularly. They all are helpful, but I usually prefer a Bible with a good cross-reference system for my "every day" Bible. My ESV Classic Reference Bible fits the bill nicely, except that it lacks margin space. My next Bible will probably be the Wide Margin Reference Bible (hardback, of course).When I graduated from college my in-laws-to-be wanted to buy me a new Bible. I looked at a number of Study Bibles but ended up settling on the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I have enjoyed this Bible very much and I am still using it. The reference section at the end is outstanding. However, two things I've grown to appreciate are wide margins and cross-references. The chain reference system takes up much of the margin space and, although it is a very thorough system, it's a bit cumbersome to use.
Come to think of it, one Bible that has all of the reference tools and wide margins in it that I would like would probably remain on my shelf because it would be too bulky to carry around. This is what happened with my International Inductive Study Bible (mine is the first edition).
Well, I own other Study Bibles such as The MacArthur Study Bible, and the Ryrie Study Bible. My wife is currently using the Reformation Study Bible and also owns a Life Application Study Bible. I've benefited from the notes of the Macarthur Study Bible and my wife loves the notes from the Reformation Study Bible. She shares them with me often and I've come to appreciate it too.
There are some concerns that I have about Study Bibles and I'd like to either confirm them or dispel them. Some Study Bibles seem to be "over cooked." It seems as though they are the product of marketing strategists and profiteers. Is there really a need for so many kinds of Study Bibles (and Bibles for that matter)? The covers of some are obnoxious and borderline irreverent. The editing of the text is way overdone with graphics and crazy fonts, pictures, anecdotes, articles, and many other features. In some cases, the annotations and extra features drown out the Sacred Text. Where's the propriety in that?Well, I am working on reviewing a couple of Study Bibles (The ESV Literary Study Bible and The Apologetics Study Bible) and I would really appreciate your input. I've put together the following survey to help me gain a clearer picture of what makes for a good Study Bible and to find out who uses them. This survey is not exhaustive so I'd be glad to receive your comments on issues not addressed. If there is another Study Bible that you use (Q's 12 and 13) please leave a comment with the title. Also, please forward this post to others. The more people information I can gather the better this survey will serve its purpose.
Please pass the word about this survey. Many thanks!!!
Jason,
ReplyDeleteSince this is still a recent post, maybe I can make a couple of suggestions regarding your poll.
1 - Don't forget to list some of the old stand-bys. I have at least four Study Bibles and you did not list any of them.
Old Schoolfield
New Schoolfield
Open Bible
Thompson Chain Reference
2 - Is there a way to rank some of the categories in the questions - for instance, with 1 being the most important, in what importance do value the following items in a study Bible?
I also think that we tend to use Study Bibles differently based upon our stage in life and what we are looking for as we read. If I am wanting to do some straight reading, I will get out an "gift Bible" that has no notes whatsoever. A lot of studying gets done on computer with software. When I am preaching, I generally use my Open Bible (but obviously not for the notes at that time).
Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing your evaluations of some of these newer Study Bibles. I am probably going to pick up a Reformation Study Bible on Wednesday.
In Christ,
Pastor Frank Sansone
Jason,
ReplyDeleteI gained the most benefit from my study Bible when I was in high school and college. I didn't know it at the time but I was using it as a poor man's commentary. Now that I am older, out of school, and can afford it, I just buy commentaries and use a KJV Cambridge wide-margin or an ESV classic.
Frank,
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions. How did I overlook the Schofield??? I guess I'm trying to distinguish between a reference Bible and a Study Bible which has commentary notes. That said, I'd think that many people use reference Bibles like they would use a Study Bible (there are many similarities).
I'd like to know who uses these, too. The survey tool I'm using is a bit limited. It's all that I could find last night. It doesn't provide a ranking tool, like you suggested. I like that idea and think that it would be very helpful.
I'm going to look around for a tool that will let me make a list and allow readers to rank the listed Study/Reference Bibles.
Thanks for the suggestions!!!
Another study Bible that might be useful (if you can find it) is the Criswell Study Bible. I think it was later reprinted as the Believer's Study Bible. As far as I know both are out of print now, but according to Thomas Nelson they have been replaced by the Baptist Study Edition.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that familiar with the Criswell, but it has lengthy, more in depth notes and might be helpful to pastors and serious students of the Word. The Baptist Study Edition lists W.A. Criswell and Paige Patterson as the editors, so it probably contains much of the content of the old Criswell.
I tend to like a study Bible that has margins wide enough to make notes in and contains footnotes on textual, historical, archeological, and other background matters. The old Ryrie was very good. The Expanded edition enlarged the Scripture text, so there was less marginal space for note-taking, and it has in-text maps and charts, which in my opinion clutters up the Scripture text. I still use my Ryrie, but not as much as I did in the late 70s and 80s. Now I tend to favor a good reference Bible like Foundation Publications' NASB. It has wide margins plus extensive cross references and translators' notes.
The first link I gave doesn't seem to lead to the right place. I don't know what happened there, but I meant to link to a Q & A page where Thomas Nelson gave the information on availability of these study Bibles. The second link should take you to the page for the Baptist Study Edition, which is available in the New King James Version.
ReplyDeleteStudy Bibles like Ryrie and Criswell will have some Baptist/Dispensationalist-specific material, but there is much more that will benefit any conservative Bible believer, regardless of your Millennial viewpoint.
Andy,
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have a similar view of study Bibles. Thank you for your comments.
Tim,
I'm not all that familiar with the Criswell Study Bible/Baptist Study Edition. This looks interesting.
I appreciate all of your input, however, I'm not satisfied with this survey tool from Quibblo. It isn't very useful for evaluating results. I've searched all through their FAQ section and there is not much help there. I've found another tool and will see if this works better. If so we'll try it again. I'll include the suggestions provided above. Thanks.