282 of 286 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review: Chronological Study Bible, November 7, 2008
This review is from: The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version (Hardcover)
The new Thomas Nelson Chronological Study Bible is more than I expected. Swirling around the publishing date of this new Study Bible was much controversy. Many people were skeptical about it and I admit so was I. However, if you purchase this Bible, I think your skepticism will subside (mine has).
I've been pouring myself into this Bible, wandering how long it would take me to review it. However, I can't approach this as if it were a normal fiction or non-fiction book. For me to read every page of this Bible, and then comment on it would take months. I have though, thoroughly looked at, worked with and studied this Bible. In fact I was up past midnight last night pouring into it! Below is a synoptic view of this Bible, starting with what it is.
Before cracking this Bible open, I expected it to be a Bible set up in the Chronological Authorship of the Scriptures. If this were the case, Job most likely would have been first, it being the first of the Biblical books written. However, the Chronological order is of the Biblical Narrative, not of the authorship. It also follows the narrative History of the entire world, placing the Biblical events into a time line, which we can (due to History class) better place in our minds when it happened. The Bible is divided into Nine Epochs (or ages of the Earth). The Epochs Being: Epoch 1: Creation- 2000 B.C.; Epoch 2: 2000-1500 B.C.; Epoch 3: 1500-1200 B.C.; Epoch 4: 1200-930 B.C.; Epoch 5: 930-586 B.C.; Epoch 6: 586-332 B.C.; Epoch 7: 332-37 B.C.; Epoch 8: 37 B.C.- A.D. 30; Epoch 9: A.D. 30-100.
Within these eras, the Chronological Narrative of the Earth and the Bible is placed. Instead of reading the Scriptures as separate books, this places the entire Bible on one Narrative time line.
I was skeptical at first, because I didn't know this was the approach of this Study Bible before I read it. I thought it would be the same feel as a normal Bible, so I wandered why I should bother spending my money on a product that simply re-arranged the Bible by the first books written to the last books written. However, placed in this narrative chronology, it brings the Scripture into a whole new light! You can follow for example David and his Psalms. We see an event happening to David and we can see the Psalm written by David, directly after the event! That in and of itself allows me to understand the particular Psalm as well as David better! It opens the eyes of the reader to a whole new plain of Biblical understanding.
I believe that Thomas Nelson has done well with this Bible also, because they understand the importance of story to my generation and the generations after me. Connecting to story is a HUGE way for my generation to connect with God. Placing the Bible in it's narrative chronological order will speak to people of my generation that a normal Bible won't.
Also, seeing the Scriptures in this ways brings a depth of Study that other Study Bibles don't bring. It incorporates the history of the world along side the Biblical History, helping the reader to better understand the cultural context of a particular piece of Scripture.
There are MANY features that I haven't even mentioned, all of which bring amazing things to this Bible. Some a person could do without, but they are all pretty interesting none-the-less. Here is what you'll also learn about (taken from back cover): Agriculture and Herding, Architecture and Building, Arts and Literature, Beliefs and Ideas, Cults and Supernatural, Culture and Society, Daily Life and Customs, Food and Drink, Geography and Environment, Health and Medicine, Marriage and Family, Plants and Animals, Politics and Government, Religion an Worship, Science and Technology. All of these features are placed in little boxes or bubbles in and around the text. My only issue is that at points it feels very cluttered and hard to follow. Once you get used to navigating the scriptures as well as these extra boxes and bubbles, it connects and makes sense, but it can be difficult at times.
Lastly, the layout of the Scriptures can be difficult to understand. If you are trying to find a specific passage from memory of where it was in your original Bible, chances are you won't find it. Unless you look at the very back of the Bible, which gives (in Biblical order) the pages certain portions of scripture can be found. It takes awhile to learn how to use, but once you do, this Bible is quite incredible. Read it as a story and it will make reading/understanding this Bible a whole lot easier.
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83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reference, November 10, 2008
This review is from: The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version (Hardcover)
The Chronological Study Bible is a new edition of the New King James Version, with the passages arranged in chronological order.
The dust jacket states that it is the "first study Bible" to have the passages arranged in chronological order; though this is technically true, "study" is the operative word, as there have been other chronological Bibles before. My family has had Harvest House's Narrated Bible for years; its author, F. LaGard Smith, arranged the New International Version text in chronological order and added some extensive (often over one page long) historical background.
That said, the Chronological Study Bible is a step above any other chronological Bible I've seen. Between every transition, there is a note explaining the historical context. Virtually every page either has an extensive commentary box (which, in a rather unusual move for study Bibles, is placed at the top of the page instead of the bottom), or smaller in-column boxes with notes on one of fifteen different categories. Categories covered range from Culture and Customs to Medicine, Science, and Technology.
One of the sticky issues that comes up in the arranging of a chronological Bible is whether or not to accept Genesis' account of the Creation of the world at face value. This Bible largely sidesteps the question, referring to Creation as "undatable" and putting the first eleven chapters of Genesis in a section of their own headlined "Creation--2000 B.C." However, the commentary works from Evolutionary dating assumptions, making references to an Old Stone Age before 10,000 B.C. and stating in a highlighted box, "Scholars have placed the first human settlements as early as 7,000 to 8,000 years before Christ. Time Capsules, which do provide reliably historical context elsewhere, provide dates as early as 23,000 B.C. at points in the first eleven chapters. I deducted a star for this (though, had deducting a half-star been an option, I would have had the rating as 4.5 stars.)
Outside of that, the notes and commentary look fascinating. This will be a useful addition to virtually any pastor's or layman's library.
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64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gain a Unique Perspective on a Familiar Text, October 30, 2008
This review is from: The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version (Hardcover)
For many people, the Bible is a familiar book. Through years of experience, we've learned where books like Jonah and Jude are located. We know that the Psalms are a large book located in about the middle of the text. Yet the Bible is rooted in history and THE CHRONOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE reminds us of this fact with every page.
The text is full of vibrant color and fascinating sidebars. From Genesis to Revelation with care and Biblical scholarship, the text is arranged in chronological order. As the introduction explains, "Rearranging the order of the Bible's books may appear to some readers to be a violation of the integrity of the Bible. The goal of THE CHRONOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE is not to replace the time-honored canonical arrangement, but instead to honor time as the setting in which the biblical record appeared. Readers who study this Bibl will return to their traditional Bibles better equipped to read them. No longer will the words be disconnected holy pronouncements out of the blue. They will be seen for what they really are: words "fitly spoken...like apples of gold in settings of solver" prov. 25:11) (xi)
The rearrangement of the text helps you see the Scriptures with a fresh vision. I loved the reading experience and highly recommend this book.
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