The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
by Thomas Nelson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas NelsonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-06-17
ISBN: 0718003594
Number of pages: 1824
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Book Reviews of The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
Book Review: In-Depth Review: Why this is now my study Bible of choice
Summary: 5 Stars
For purposes of full disclosure, allow me to say, first off, that I'm a practicing Catholic Christian of the Latin Rite, whose previous experience as a teacher of the English Language Arts will hopefully provide a unique perspective regarding the offerings of this particular Bible. I've been in possession of the leather-bound edition since I received it two months after my original pre-order; it's taken me a couple years, but I've really come to love it. As I mentioned in the title of this treatise, this Orthodox Study Bible has recently dethroned my trusty, old-RSV New Oxford Annotated Bible as my study Bible of choice. I had little notion that this would happen. Understand that I have quite an extensive collection of Bibles of the most varying translations that I use for comparative study; but, probably like you, I also have a preferred Bible to go to by default for prayerful reading. Over the last two years, I just found myself picking up the OSB more and more and the NOAB less and less. Allow me to articulate exactly why:
The case for the Septuagint Old Testament:
The unique and most compelling reason to acquire the OSB: it is the only complete Bible in English to be published with the Greek OT right next to the NT. If you have one of those reference Bibles, I'm sure you've noticed that many of the OT quotes used in the NT mismatch when you actually look them up, sometimes to a great degree--this is because Jesus and the disciples quoted from the Septuagint Greek, as opposed to other Hebrew sources, a vast majority of the time. This is so, because Greek was the common language of the day and the Septuagint translation (which includes the apocryphal/deuterocanonical "hidden books" of the "second cannon") was completed more than a century before Christ's birth. By the time of Christ's ministry, it was in widespread use by Jews throughout Palestine, particularly outside of Jerusalem by those who couldn't speak Hebrew. Bear in mind: the Hebrew OT that 99% of modern English Bibles are derived from is translated from Masoretic Hebrew (Hebrew with fixed vowels) whose manuscripts didn't exist until the middle ages, between the 6th and 11th centuries--about a thousand years after Christ! By then, the philosophy behind Jewish biblical scholarship had transformed immensely and the original meaning of certain passages were irrevocably changed. Isaiah 7:14 is the classic casualty of this: Masoretic Hebrew renders "young woman" while Septuagint Greek renders "virgin"--a pretty significant paradigm shift. Ever wonder why the OT books of the Christian Bible are in their current order as opposed to the way the Hebrew Bible orders them? That's right, the Septuagint lists them in order of Law, Histories, Writings, and Prophecy; the NT books are similarly ordered by Gospel, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. In the end, the Masoretic/Septuagint wars will rage on; but, it's still the most ancient translation of the OT, it's quoted extensively by the Fathers of the early Church, and it was the Bible of Jesus and His Disciples. If you don't already have a Septuagint, it's well worth picking one up, and the OSB version is preferable to the aging Brenton translation and even to the flawed-NRSV-based NETS (if you're a conservative practitioner of your faith, it's really hard to take the NRSV seriously with its intentionally literal-but-unorthodox renderings of scripture and its politically-motivated gender-sterilized language).
The case for the New King James Version New Testament:
Other reviewers have mentioned a distaste for the NKJV and, though I can empathize somewhat as a Catholic, I must humbly admit I'm rather fond of it. Perhaps it's because of my teaching background, but I have a respect beyond the average non-Protestant for the old KJV due to its indisputable impact on linguistic and literary spheres ever after (doctrinal ramifications notwithstanding). The result of this is that it has shaped our ear in the English-speaking world--its rhythms and cadences so familiar to us in certain passages that we take it for granted. The NKJV retains the phraseology and eloquence of its predecessor to an extent unmatched by any other contemporary translation, while updating the language and spelling to much needed modern standards. Because it adheres strictly to the formal equivalence methodology, it maintains a vocabulary and style in accordance with high English--this is not a "dumbed-down" translation like many other popular ones out there. The result is that the Bible still reads like sacred scripture, which it should. Now, some of you may be indignant of the fact that the NKJV relies on Byzantine text-type manuscripts, the majority text comprising over 90% of NT manuscripts extant; preferring your Bibles to be translated from the far more critical Alexandrian text-type, the substantially older but far less prevalent source. Well fear not, my friends, for the OSB maintains Byzantine renderings in the body of the NT, while all variations are footnoted--you get the best of both worlds.
The case for the commentary:
If you're strictly an academic, you may find this to have a limiting appeal; but if you consider yourself a member of the faithful laity, you'll get quite a lot out of this. Even if you're a Christian of Reformation descent, you'll appreciate the uniqueness in character of the OSB commentary because it's the only modern one available that doesn't depend on the historical-critical method to explain passages. Instead, it's comprehensively Christological, even in the OT where it succeeds in pointing out both significant and obscure messianic prophecies. The result is an OT commentary that approaches scripture with the same Christ-centered worldview that is readily present in the NT. If you're a mainline Orthodox Christian, my guess is that you're more likely to love it than not. Other reviewers mention its somewhat simplistic nature, but I feel that the OSB commentary's simplicity is its strength for ordinary study or prayerful reading. As someone who occasionally refers to the Haydock edition of the Douay-Rheims Bible for shedding light on certain difficult scripture passages, I find the OSB's concise, pointed commentary to be a refreshing change, in contrast to Haydock's sometimes excessive wordiness for normal use. Sure, for more in-depth study you'll likely want an additional source, but the vast majority of the time, and for the vast majority of people out there, the OSB's solidly patristic commentary is a sight for sore eyes. If you're an Eastern Rite Catholic, this will fit you like a glove--it even has scripture notes pertaining to the Chrysostom Liturgy. If you're a Roman Catholic, like me, trust me: there's no better modern, complete Bible out there that's made to bolster your faith like this one. The single-volume Navarre Bible is hopefully in the works and, as of this writing, the NT of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is available for pre-order with the OT probably years away. The potential benefits to such future volumes would be references to Papal encyclicals, pertinent teachings from the Catechism, and explanations by intellectual giants like Dr. Scott Hahn and other faithful scripture scholastics. The OSB commentary, along with the introductions to each book, purposely limits its scope to the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils of the first millennium. While this may sound like a detractor at first, it has one substantial benefit: these are the teachings that predate any Reformation, or subsequently needed Counter-Reformation, as well as the Great Schism. Essentially, these are the teachings of Christ's Church when Christendom was One: singular and united.
Formatting notes:
Again, as someone who reads significant amounts of literature, I have a real appreciation for the OSB's adherence to Modern Language formatting--it's something that goes largely unnoticed by most, but you'll appreciate it once you have it. Why is this important in the first place? Proper formatting allows for increased reading speed, comprehension, and overall pleasure. Now, the NKJV, itself, conforms to standard spelling, punctuation, and usage, as would be expected. However, this is the only Bible I've ever found that is paragraphed correctly. This is huge, and once you experience it, you'll loathe to go back to anything, especially single-verse Bibles. Sure, there are alternatives out there that paragraph the text according to content--even my old NOAB or the Cambridge Paragraph Bible does that. But not even these highly respectable editions provide line breaks during conversations where there's an extensive exchange of dialogue; John 8:12-40 provides a great example. Other alternatives don't paragraph for lengthy quotations either; take a look at Acts 2. Likewise, the full biblical text is set in a two-column format to aid reading speed as well as to assist in skimming, if needed; it's also graced with section headers within the chapters themselves for easier searching. The font is a nicely-readable 11-point for the text and about 8-point for the footnotes and commentary. Overall, the page layout is among the most practical and beautiful I've seen in any study Bible.
Other observations of note:
One major upshot to the beneficial formatting choices is the page thinness. In order to pack the wealth of information contained in this veritable library into a single volume, the pages evidently had to become nearly tissue-paper thin. Despite this, text bleed-through from the other side is surprisingly minimal--I just worry about dropping this one day and forever creasing a couple hundred pages for its lack of resilience. Also, the tome measures about 7x10x2, so it's a bit larger than your average personal Bible. The bonded leather is elegant and sturdy but suffers some minor-but-still-somewhat-irritating curl after use. The pages are gold-edged and the Bible has that overall humble and reverent appearance and feel that Bibles should have for the sacred scripture they contain.
As someone who, himself, is more accustomed to Masoretic Hebrew renderings in the OT from my NOAB, making the adjustment to Septuagint Greek is an occasionally surprising endeavor, but always a fruitful one. Since the NKJV OT was the base translation for this particular version of the Septuagint, many beloved passages you're used to are nearly identical; Psalm 23 is a good example that remains virtually unchanged. Others, like Proverbs 3:5 are completely different, showing, instead, a much closer relationship to the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom, chapter 8. Such Easter eggs are prevalent throughout the text and make having the Septuagint well worth it, even just for comparative study.
The full-color, high quality, iconic illustrations are a blessing, and further aid the sense of actually being in church as you read.
For all that you're getting, the OSB's price point is just right for both bonded leather and hard-bound. The publisher has also more or less recently come out with a red, genuine leather edition that is significantly pricier, but it sports a beautiful and ornate gold cover design.
In the end, the Orthodox Study Bible is a God-send (quite literally in many senses). If you're less interested in getting to know the "historical Jesus" as portrayed by scholars in most study Bibles, and more interested in meeting with Our Lord and Savior as understood by saints, "Highly recommended" would be an understatement.
If you found this review to be helpful or if you learned something useful, please click Yes below.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam!
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Summary of The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
The FIRST EVER Orthodox Study Bible presents the Bible of the early church and the church of the early Bible.
Orthodox Christianity is the face of ancient Christianity to the modern world and embraces the second largest body of Christians in the world. In this first-of-its-kind study Bible, the Bible is presented with commentary from the ancient Christian perspective that speaks to those Christians who seek a deeper experience of the roots of their faith.
Features Include:
- Old Testament newly translated from the Greek text of the Septuagint, including the Deuterocanon
- New Testament from the New King James Version
- Commentary drawn from the early Church Christians
- Easy-to-Locate liturgical readings
- Book Introductions and Outlines
- Subject Index
- Full-color Icons
- Full-color Maps
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