Rating  - Connecting to Early Christianity
In the past month, [.....] has had visitors from six other countries and thirty-two other states. The internet is an incredible avenue of communication that reminds us we live in a global context. Sometimes we need this kind of geographical reminder. It puts my culture and worldview in perspective, when I realize there are other Christians spread throughout the earth. In much the same way it is important for us to realize that Christianity has been around for about two millenniums now.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are not the only Christians. We should relish an awareness of those who have gone before us, laying a path of faithfulness to God. The Orthodox Study Bible published by Thomas Nelson in 2008, is a reference volume that helps accomplish just that. Although the New Testament and Psalms were released in 1993 with study notes, this 2008 edition is the first which includes the full Orthodox canon. The Old Testament text of this edition is a translation of the Septuagint into English in a style mimicking the New King James Version.
Since I am an evangelical Christian rather than an Orthodox Christian, I will not pretend to review this study Bible from an Orthodox perspective. If you search the internet with any sense of tenacity, you will find a number of Orthodox critiques of the OSB. What I can do in this forum is offer you my opinion on the value of the OSB for the typical evangelical believer.
I am reviewing the hardcover version of the OSB; it is also available in bonded and genuine leather. The text is a readable font in a good size. The study notes are slightly different in format than the biblical text, but still very readable. The OSB does not feature cross-references within the text, but they are included in many of the study notes. Pull-page iconographic art is scattered throughout the text. Features beyond the study notes that some evangelicals might benefit from include the Introduction to the Orthodox Church, Lectionary, and Morning and Evening Prayers. More complete and useful editions of this type of content could be accessed in a one-volume introduction to Orthodoxy such as James Payton's Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition or Vladimir Lossky's Orthodox Theology: An Introduction.
The real value in the OSB for evangelical readers lies in the Old Testament. Here you have a reliable English translation of the Septuagint, used by early Christians and quoted in the New Testament. The Orthodox canon and book order may cause some confusion to the average reader, but the benefit some may feel from reading in a very real sense the Old Testament of many early Christians will outweigh this confusion. OSB study notes are insightful into early interpretations particularly of the Old Testament, but also the New. All Christians come through a common lineage with Orthodoxy, so the OSB will be of value and use to anyone who feels a need for this connection to early Christianity. I recommend that an evangelical interested in Orthodox Christianity purchase a one-volume introduction as referenced above. The OSB will be particularly useful to those interested in reading a translation of the Greek Old Testament familiar to our predecessors in the faith, and can also be used in conjunction with other resources as an introduction to Orthodoxy.
Rating  - Appreciative Anglican
Not having had the New Testament only version of this study Bible, I couldn't compare the study notes. But I love this Bible. The study notes are not the over-intellectual factoid based fare found in most study Bibles. The overwhelming focus of most of the comments seems to be "This is how this verse relates to Jesus, His ministry and His Church." The editors are not shy about their belief that the Orthodox Church is the "Only True Church" but,as an Anglican, I can enjoy the faithful insights of the Church Fathers, the wonderful icons, and the bonus of being able to read and enjoy all of the Bible that Jesus and the Apostles read and referred to. The bonded leather binding is luxurious, making this large Bible easy to hold and read.
Rating - PRELIMINARY REVIEW
Normally I don't do this... I'll give a product a good going over before I review it. However this is "on order" as a gift from a family member, but I couldn't wait, I saw it in the store and thumbed through it for a few minutes.
My initial impressions appear here. Set aside the "controversy" you've been seeing on here (granted, I'm Catholic, not Orthodox, so I might be missing something). This is a translation of the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), and the New Testament is the New King James Version.
This is a nice hardcover Bible, with some big colorful icons interspersed. There are nice introductions and foot notes for each book, traditional interpretations of what each book says and who wrote it, plus extensive prayers, "how to read the bible," canon lists, and liturgical calendar type stuff in the back (maps and the like as well).
As expected, this includes the Deuterocanonical books found in Catholic bibles, placed in the traditional order for Orthodox (Orthodox view the Septuagint itself, which always included these "extra" books not found in the Hebrew, as the inspired canon of the "Old Testament") plus the Anagignoskenomena not found in the Catholic canon (ex: 3 Maccabees, 1 Esdras). Some of the books are named differently as well, keeping with Orthodox tradition (1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings are known as "1-4 Kingdoms").
I didn't check to see if the Psalms were numbered according to the LXX or were the Septuagint (rather than Masoretic) translation. I know that was a sticking point with some Orthodox, but I didn't have the time to compare.
This provides a both a handy reference for the Bible, from a Christian believer's standpoint, and also a nice introduction to some basic Orthodoxy for non-Orthodox.
I liked the fact that the CHURCH FATHERS are referenced in the footnotes, showing for example what John Chrysostom thought of certain passages of the Gospel of John.
The trouble is, and hopefully this will be fixed in a future addition, there is no SPECIFIC CITATION given. So if I want to know in what book John Chrysostom said such and such, I have go to looking through his complete works to find out. Not everyone realizes you can look that stuff up online, but it would have been nicer, if they had done the quotations like David Bercot's "A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs" which gave specific citations. So we're just trusting the author that the Patristic writer really said this somewhere (though it may be a paraphrase).
The pages are thinner than expected and the book is surprisingly lightweight, but feels good in the hands. The paper isn't too cheap (I hate "newsprint" type bibles).
I'll probably revise this once I own the thing myself and have more time to use it, but for now, it's worth getting... an above average Bible, and has a certain "one-of-a-kind-ness" to it even if you already own a half a dozen Bibles (like I do).
Oh, and it's missing 4 Maccabees, but then I guess that text was never considered "canonical" by the Eastern Orthodox church, and was only in an "appendix" to the Septuagint (unlike 1-3 Maccabees).
What I've seen so far is good, though there could be a few improvements (like direct citations of the Patristic commentary).
Rating - Marvelous Source of Biblical and Patristic Wisdom
The Orthodox Study Bible is a marvelous source of Biblical and Patristic wisdom for which Orthodox Christians have waited with great eagerness. We do, however, miss the red lettering of the words of our Lord as found in the New Testament which preceded this wonderful work. I can not praise this resource enough! Congratulations to all who worked on it.
Go to the Product Information page
Customer Reviews for Thomas Nelson,0718003594,9780718003593,0718003594,220 |
