Customer Reviews

The Discipleship Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version Including Apocrypha

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who's been involved in mainline churches and/or the emergent church movement knows: study Bibles are either overbearingly conservative and focused on personal piety or so terribly full of historical-critical details that the average reader would certainly give it all up in frustration. This is an excellent balance for mainline Protestants, Catholics, Anglicans, progressive Christians and Evangelicals and yes, even conservatives. It has a strong emphasis on issues of social justice and service while also respecting the importance of personal spiritual growth, a combination that both speaks from- and to- both the liberal and conservative ends of the church.

Besides that, I also appreciated that it came with colored maps (something the Renovaré Bible didn't have) and a good amount of concordance. The paper quality is decent and while there's a little text bleed-through, it's not too bad.

Before this, my Bible of choice was the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Study Bible, but it was still not quite what I was looking for. Thankfully, the Discipleship Study Bible fills a much needed gap that'll be great for all followers of Jesus.

Having recently finished reading the NIV Study Bible for the second time I was looking around for a different translation and study bible to read and came across the promotional literature for this one on the internet. I welcomed the fact that it included the Apochrypha/Deuterocanonical books including some I have not read before. I was concerned it would be too American (I am writing this from Scotland) in its language and comments but have not found this to be the case. I welcome its insightful comments that relate to the contemporary world. I am not a theologian, simply a Christian who has been reading bibles and bible studies for over thirty years and I have no hesitation in recommending this one.

I bought "The Decipleship Study Bible" because our new pastor uses NRSV in his teachings. I find that it is very easy to understand. Having grown up with a KJV that was difficult to understand, I now feel I can learn so much more about the Bible by using "The Decipleshp Study Bible, NRSV"

The Discipleship Study Bible (DSB) was released by Westminster John Knox Press in June of 2008 and retails for $39.99.

The DSB offers both background and commentary in an academic format, while also addressing the needs of spiritual growth (discipleship). Combining these two approaches, of understanding the text in the historical setting and in the contemporary setting, serves to set the DSB apart.

The DSB is organized around the following features (p. xii):
* Comments by an outstanding team of internationally known biblical scholars.
* Features common to most study Bibles, with basic information that helps make the ancient witness understandable to modern readers.
* Notes that attempt to make connection with the entire range of the Christian life.
* The use of the NRSV translation of the biblical text.

Other features of the DSB include:
* Introduction to the history and formation of the NRSV translation
* Full Apocrypha
* 8 full-color maps
* 69 pages of concordance, including biographies of biblical people
* Brief chronology, beginning in 2000BCE with the Ancestors and Exodus and concluding with the destruction of the second temple in 70CE
* Extended introductions to each biblical book (ranging from 1-6 pages)
* Study notes and commentary
Additionally, the DSB is printed with a nice medium-sized font and heavily bound in hardback.

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The greatest strength of the DSB, aside from its excellent team of scholars, are the notes found in the footing. They carry a nice balance of commentary, discipleship, and historical data. This is a very unique feature and provides a wonderful study tool for the reader. Examples of each approach include:

Commentary approach:
Psalm 119:22-23: "Often accused of being legalistic, the psalm clearly suggests the psalmist is not materially rewarded for his or her faithfulness. Rather, she or he is scorned and persecuted here and in vv. 42, 51, 61, 69, and elsewhere. Sorrow and affliction are also articulated in vv. 28, 50, 71, and elsewhere. Thus this servant (v. 17) is a suffering servant."

Luke 1:3: "An ordinary account--Here Luke implies that his is a more effective rendering of the Gospel in terms of both narrative sequence and theology. He reminds us that storytelling is at the heart of the Christian witness and that even in its earliest decades, multiple stories of Jesus circulated among Christian communities (vv. 1-2). The gospel has never been univocal. This accords with the scholarly consensus that Luke probably drew on Mark's Gospel and other sources when he composed his Gospel. Theophilus--Theophilus may be the name of a patron or a general reference to Luke's reader as a `lover of God.'"

Discipleship approach:
Luke 1:46-55: "Mary's Song--It is impossible to overestimate the significance of Mary's hymn, the Magnificat. The only extended speech in all of Luke-Acts attributed to a female character, it casts Mary as a prophet...The vision of social justice that Mary prophesies here reappears at the center of Jesus' mission, in Jesus' parables, and in Jesus' teaching on discipleship, where he reminds his hearers, `What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.' For Luke, discipleship is a life that embraces the gospel's call to justice and counters the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless."
(This also serves as an example of the social justice approach to the study notes)

Proverbs 2:1-22: "Wisdom and Faith Are Related--Having wisdom in one's heart is closely tied to being one of the Lord's faithful followers. An active pursuit of wisdom leads also to the knowledge of God, who is the source of all insight and understanding."

Historical approach:
Sirach 29:1-20: "On lending and borrowing--Absent a system of banking, lending or providing surety for a loan were individual acts that assisted someone less well off. Potential dangers accompanied these individual acts of kindness. Lenders often failed to get back what they lent, and those providing surety could easily lose the resources they offered."

Philemon 9: "According to the first-century Judean philosopher Philo, an `elder' is a man between fifty and fifty-six years of age. But an alternative reading, `ambassador,' is consonant with the diplomatic tone of the letter and Paul's ambassadorial self-presentation elsewhere."

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With a concentration on social justice and personal piety, I have found the DSB to be a refreshing approach to the typical study Bible format. The extended introductions and the well-balanced study notes make this an excellent resource for all those interested in extending their understanding of the Bible while deepening their faith and commitment to themselves and others through discipleship.

The editors and contributors are listed here:
Editors: Bruce Birth (Wesley Theological Seminary), Brian Blount (Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education), Thomas Long (Emory University), Gail O'Day (Emory University), and W. Sibley Towner (Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education).

Contributors: Bruce Birch, Brian Blount, Nancy Bowen, John Bracke, William Brown, Allen Callahan, Warren Carter, Linda Day, Kathleen Farmer, Mary Foskett, Terence Fretheim, Julie Galambush, Frances Gench, Frank Gorman, Jr., David Hay, John Holbert, Denise Hopkins, W. Lee Humphreys, Deborah Krause, Jeffrey Kuan, Nancy Lee, Gary Light, Clint McCann, Jefferson McCrory, Jr., Gail O'Day, Paul Redditt, Stephen Reid, Edesio Sanchez, Stanley Saunders, Vincent Skemp, Beth Tanner, Mark Throntveit, W. Sibley Towner, Robert Wall, and Benjamin Wright III.

Those Christians I know whom I also respect as intellectuals often refer to the NRSV. So, I have for some time been interested in purchasing an NRSV version, since every version in our house is the NIV. However, my frugal nature was keeping me from buying yet another Bible: how different could the translations really be for a lay person like myself? I realized that I wanted not only a new version (I keep hearing about this Tobit character...), but also a new approach to the notes that accompany the text. I could handle the platitudes from the notes in my Life Application Study Bible no longer; my frustration after reading a controversial verse, only to find that there was no note to accompany it, had finally come to a head. So, after reading a few reviews, I ordered this one.

The authors of the Discipleship Study Bible claim that study Bibles tend to fall into two categories: academically-oriented Bibles or life-application Bibles (such as all those Bibles which are geared toward certain groups: teens, women, African American, etc...). The problem with the academic Bibles (according to the authors) is that they can provide too much obscure information to be useful to those of us who are not historians. The problem with the application Bibles(according to me) is that they can nauseate you with thoughtless cliches and platitudes, while neglecting to comment on those verses which can be shocking. The authors explain that the Discipleship Study Bible seeks to strike a balance between these two groups.

I have only read 1 and 2 Samuel in this Bible, but have thus far found the authors to be successful in striking that balance: without overloading me with confusing or inane details, this Bible gives me excellent background information on not only customs of the time and place, but also how Books, such as 1 and 2 Samuel, for instance, came to be recognized as Books, as well as a brief explanation into what controversies have arisen throughout the Church's history in making decisions about what should constitute a particular book. They often provide insights into how the arrangement of verses and/or texts creates rhetorical meaning. They also openly admit that some episodes might be shocking to modern readers; they attempt to shed light on these instances, but do not feel the need to explain them away, packaging some of the world's great mysteries with a neat, tidy--and totally dishonest--bow.

Here is an example of a particularly good note in the Discipleship Study Bible:
2 Samuel 7:1-17
"...This oracle of promise for an enduring dynasty of David (v. 16) is one of the cornerstones of Davidic or royal theology that sees in the ongoing line of David a new evidence of God's saving grace in Israel. Some have seen here a covenant with David, extending and reshaping the covenant with Moses on Sinai. Others, however, have seen this chapter as crass political propaganda, seeking to absolutize the political power of Davidic rulers. There can be no doubt that this text has ideological interests seeking to legitimate Davidic rule. But this text is also a witness to a divine power beyond the power of kings--a divine power which nevertheless takes the risk of engagement with political and public realities. Even kings may be chastised (v. 14, and prophets regularly do so), but God will insist on ongoing relationship to the arenas of power, lest religion become a disinterested and unengaged spiritual practice apart from the realities of the world.

The dynastic oracle of promise to David has had an important theological role in the history of the church. Particularly since the Protestant Reformation, this text has been seen as the introduction of the reality of God's unconditional grace into the language of biblical faith...We are invited to consider the birth of Jesus in connection with God's engagement with the political issues of justice and power seen in the promise to David..."

This note--a particularly long one--goes on to explain that the text is often used as the "basis for the development of messianic hopes" and that is it now an Advent reading.

The same section, in another study Bible, says this:
"This chapter records the covenant God made with David, promising to carry on David's line forever. This promise would be fully realized in the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the word covenant is not specifically stated here, it is used elsewhere to describe this occasion (23:5, Psalm 89:3, 4, 28, 34-37)."

Hope this review helps. I'm learning a lot from this Bible, and I'll be buying another one for my sister.

I was very excited to see the reviews of The Discipleship Study Bible. It looked like Mainline Christians were going to finally get a Study Bible in answer to the NIV Study Bible and the Life Application Study Bible. Despite the big name endorsements, this Study Bible leave one wanting more.

The annotations are sketchy (but better than the New Oxford Study Bible), the front cover has a nice design but the back has endorsements all over it like a mass released novel. The font size is nice but the paper is so thin it makes it hard to turn the pages and you can see through to the next page. It is nice having a concordance (a major omission in the New Interpreter's Study Bible) but the number of citations it has are few (the editors should have doubled the number of citations). This edition also includes the Apocrypha which is of little use to Mainline Christians like members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Methodist Church. These two denominations seemed to have supplied the bulk of the writers of the annotations and book introductions.


I won't throw it into the trash, but I wish I could have seen a copy before I purchased it.

This is a larger print bible that has wonderful comments, concordance, maps, and explanations. It is very easy to read and tough enough for writing in... I like the hard back cover as well.

The NRSV has been my translation of choice since publication. This assembly of the translation with notes and suggestions has vastly improved its usefulness for personal and group studies.

I'm a Presbyterian pastor and use it myself, but more important, for me, is that when members use this translation with helps, our studies deepen and improve. I give copies to families starting out on the Christian life. They can use it and love it.

For those who want to study scripture with challenging questions, this is your Bible.

I like this translation very much - it is clear and easy to understand. Print is good size - that is one problem I have with most Bibles, but not this one. Recommend highly.

A study Bible such as this, beautifully rendered as to readability, paper quality and binding, must ultimately be assessed according to the nature of its study apparatus. The Discipleship Bible's treatment of the commandment to "not kill/murder" (Exodus 20:13) illustrates the risk of maintaining that no significant question remains regarding a text, when in fact it does. Commentator Nancy Bowen claims herein that capital punishment and war may not be addressed with the Ten Commandments, because elsewhere in the Bible they may be sanctioned as of God, though she does not mention Jesus' own prohibitions against violence.


On the other hand, Wilma Ann Bailey argues in her study-book on the question ("You Shall Not Kill" or "You Shall Not Murder"?) that the alteration by most modern, Protestant Bible translation committees of KJV's "thou shalt not kill" is based not on any shift in lexical understanding of the underlying Hebrew, but rather in response to shifting American political attitudes. It would be intriguing to see a discussion on this by Bailey, Bowen, and the Discipleship Bible commentator on Genesis, Terrence Fretheim, who, in his stand-alone commentary on Exodus, expressed a preference for translating "no killing" over "no murder" himself.

The overall thrust of this bible, however, seems one born of an earnest effort to illuminate the word for today, while recognizing (to some extent) the textual and societal complexities of the world in which it was produced. In some ways it accomplishes what the Oxford Annotated Bible did in its day, without the over-abundance (for most readers) of notes provided by, say, the HarperCollins or New Interpreters study Bibles. Three-and-a-half stars.