Customer Reviews

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version, Expanded Edition (Genuine Leather Black 8914A)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The New Oxford Annotated Bible, RSV, with Apocrypha is an amazing work. It uses the accurate RSV translation, and includes the study notes of great scholars like Bruce Metzger and Herbert May. I found the essays at the end of the Bible helpful as well, especially in an Old Testament class. The RSV (and NRSV) also offers the entire apocrypha/deuterocanon accepted by major Christian churches, which will enhance study.

This New Oxford Bible is slightly different than the NRSV version. Many of the notes are identical to those included in the NRSV version, or else they are very similar. The text itself is of course different. The RSV contains archaic language in the Psalms, and has no inclusive language, among other differences. The NRSV however, makes more use of the better texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Overall I would say this Bible is written from more of a Christian faith perspective than the NRSV counterpart. One example I noticed is in the Introduction to Isaiah in the RSV, where it mentions Jesus as the incarnate suffering servant. This is omitted in the NRSV, probably in a desire to make it more ecumenical among Non-Christian religions.

Overall I think this is a great Bible to own. The scholarship is excellent and embraces Biblical Criticism, while coming from a perspective of faith. The translation is beautiful and readable. I am proud to include this is my collection of Bibles for both personal and academic use.

I just wanted to make a note to all the reviews referring to this particular item as the NRSV. Look again! It is the RSV, which means no inclusive language and this is a lovely Bible put out by Oxford University Press. So, if you are looking for a nice leatherbound, annotated study Bible of the RSV with the Apocrypha, ISBN 019528335x is the one for you! Nice and traditional with excellent Orthodox notes.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible, RSV with apocrypha is not called the Common Bible without reason. The RSV and Apocrypha is the only Bible translation that the Roman, Orthodox and most Protestant denominations have authorized for use. Although the RSV's successor, the New Revised Standard Version is allowed for personal study in the US Catholic Church, it is not authorized for use in the Liturgy. While the Canadian Catholic Church does use the NRSV in some of its lectionary readings, this is largely because they were prematurely printed and they will be replaced eventually. The Orthodox Church in America has rejected the use of the New RSV for liturgical use AND teaching the faith (such as bible studies within the parish) thought it is OK for personal study. So, as it stands, the RSV is the only translation that is officially used by Roman, Orthodox and most protestant churches. That's enough for me to use it, but it also helps that it is a great translation, though I echo a former commentators view about the translation of Isaiah 7:14, at least the RSV does not go so far as to irregularly use "mortal" for Son of Man (especially in Daniel) in the Old testament and not the New, or use "pale green horse" instead of the traditional pale horse in Revelation. So, I highly recommend the RSV with apocrypha as a great translation for anyone who likes a bible that is current in scholarship, reverent with language and ecumenical in use.

[Update: when I wrote this review several years ago, it appeared that the Canadian Roman Catholic Church would be forced to replace their lectionary texts that used the NRSV. I understand now that a "modified" version has been approved by the Vatican.]

I bought this Bible recently as a replacement for my well-worn NIV study bible. I had come to enjoy the RSV after using it along with several other translations on my PC bible software -- it is written at a more advanced level than the NIV and seems to be closer to the original language while still remaining accessible to modern readers. This RSV is sturdy, easy to read, and has the benefit of a "modern" translation of the Apocrypha.

I often find text notes, inline maps, etc. to be merely distracting rather than helpful, and often the notes included with a Bible are somewhat questionable in their merit. (My NIV study bible has more notes than text on many pages.) This RSV edition keeps the notes short, succint, and scholarly. The maps are all in the back along with some excellent scholarly articles. Kudos to the publishers and editors for such a clean, thoughtful layout.

The only thing I'd change is that there's virtually no room in the text or in the margins for making notes. I use post-it notes stuck at the various places, but that's getting cumbersome.

_The New Oxford Annotated Bible With the Apocrypha_ is the most complete canon of scripture currently availible. It includes the entire text of the Greek Septuagint, the version of the Old Testament quoted in the New Testament by the Evangelists, the Apostles and St. Paul of Tarsus. The Messianic passages in the origninal Hebrew texts became more intense with the translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew to the Greek circa 200 BC. Tradition holds that the Septuagint, known as the Book of Seventy, was translated from Hebrew to Greek by 70 elders in Alexandria over a period of 70 days. A somewhat obscure conflict in the history of the church has arised over the number of books contained in the Bible, and the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Old Testaments list different numbers of books as being canonical, or of Divine Inspiration. Martin Luther only accepted the books originally in Hebrew, which excluded ten "Apocryphal" books in the Roman Catholic Canon and which were known to the Catholics and Orthodox as "deutero-canonical" i.e. later added to the Canon and being of equal value to the Hebrew Scriptures. In many Bibles translated into English, such as the King James the Apocrypha was included, but in 1825 they were removed from publication along with the rest of the Bible. In this Bible, the RSV, the entire text of the Septuagint, including Luther's so called "Apocryphal" ("hidden") books is here tranlated. Some books in the Septuagint never made it into the Western Latin Translation of the Vulgate, such III and IV Maccabees and Psalm 151. The names of the "Apocryphal" books are these: I and II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to the Book of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (aka Ecclesiasticus or "Church Book"), Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, I, II, III and IV Maccabees and Psalm 151. The RSV translation is better than the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) because of the NRSV's use of fabricated gender-inlcusive language and non-traditional renderings of the text. The RSV has the same problem, most notably in the controversy in the translation of Isiah 7:14 from Hebrew where the Hebrew reads "young woman" while the Greek reads "virgin" (the KJV followed the Greek translation). However the RSV is an older and more conservative translation. The notes accompanying the text may be good for historical context and ancient culture, but they offer little spiritual wealth, merely reflecting the PC views of modern academia. But the RSV's strength in this translation and this edition lies in that it is the only Bible given approval between the Orthodox, Catholic and mainline Protestant Churches.

This volume is a joy to sit with and read. The sheer beauty of its supple black leather, gilded (gold) pages, two silken bookmarks and an elegant but very readable font makes this a wonderful bible. I have many Bibles, in all shapes and sizes and translations, and this is already my favorite. As a rather sophisticated Bible reader, I can find no demoninational or doctrinal slant. It is a pure, unadultrated, and beautifully cadenced text with minimal notes, which are of a scholarly nature (alternate words, definitions, places, interesting facts: great stuff). Give this to someone for Christmas, they will be blessed.

This Bible should be on every Christian's book shelf. It contains the most extensive canon of Scripture as accepted in the Eastern Churches. The RSV is also the finest english translation of Scripture to date (unfortunately the NRSV is quirky in some places and makes excessive use of inclusive language). The introductions and notes are, for the most part useful, but do represent a slight liberal protestant bias (see for example the notes on John 6). Also, the DeuteroCanonical books are included in an appendix in the back and should be either placed between the two testaments or in canonical order. Nevertheless, this is the most ecumenical edition of the Bible available in a translation that is liturgically acceptable to Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. I would use this Bible along with the New Jerusalem Bible.

The Oxford Annotated Study Bible is pretty much that - a study bible. The strengths of this SB are:

1) Excellent introductions to the books of the Old and New Testaments, including full discussions of the issues over authorship and historical and social contexts

2) Helpful essays on interpretation at the end

3) Inclusion of the Apocrypha, with commentary

4) A helpful concordance at the end.

However, this Bible also has some faults. The commentary is rather dry, languid and uninspiring; often you feel the authors are as dusty and dry as this book would be after sitting in the Oxford Theology library for half a century or so. At other times, the commentary leaps to some obscure point which the commentators assume the student would know (not all of us are Oxford students!) while other important sections are only given a very cursory examination (for example, the purpose and ideas in the 'Law' books of the Pentateuch are not explained, and the notes on very important books like Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation, etc do not really help much in interpretation). Some more clarity and liveliness in the exposition would certainly have helped make the Bible come more alive, which the NIV commentators seem to be able to do with such grace and elegance.

If you are a fundamentalist or evangelical, this Bible is probably not for you, unless you want to get a more liberal viewpoint. I would recommend the NIV, which sticks to the principle of the Bible being the 'God-breathed, infallible word of God.' Evangelicals will like the allowance of historical and literary criticism without compromising the scriptures themselves, and fundamentalists will probably also like the refusal to depart to a more liberal agenda. If you are fairly liberal though like I am, this is a pretty good resource, the flaws in the commentary aside, though a good Bible dictionary and commentary (such as the New Interpreter's Bible Set, or the NIV Commentary) are also necessary resources in my view for any serious bible study.

This is a pretty good investment for your money and a useful study bible to add to your collection.

Of all of the available translations that I have had exposure to, this is by far the best. All of the available books are there, but are organized in such a way as to not interfere with serious study by members of any denomination. The translation itself and the annotations are marvelous. I couldn't ask for any better.

Definately the edition for those not comfortable with "inclusive language". Great ecumenical scholarly work. The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical section (to include the Orthodox cannon) is placed as an appendix in the back, behind the New Testament books. Lots of introductory material and plenty of footnotes. Not the same as the "catholic edition" but not prejudicial either.