144 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tired of commentaries? This Bible may help., December 11, 2003
This is a very good study Bible for gaining insights into the original languages of the Scriptures. As other reviewers have noted, it contains condensed versions of Hebrew and Greek lexicons and dictionaries in the back of the Bible. This makes it handy to look up KEY (more important) words in order to get a better understanding of the text. This Bible was not meant to define every word (it would be too big to be portable), but it does a good job of handling many of the key words.
This Bible is only available in bonded leather or as a hardback. No genuine leather cover is available that I know of. The binding seems solid (time will tell). The pages are very good quality for the price. The print size if very good in the Bible's text but rather small in the lexicons and dictionaries. This Bible also has a very good concordance with many more references than many of the other study Bibles out there. It has a Notes area in the back and the standard full-color maps you would find in a good Bible. It also has a handy center-cross reference.
This version is the 1977 New American Standard, not the updated '95 version. Nevertheless, it is a good, accurate, formally equivalent translation.
What I appreciate the most about this Bible is the ability to look up some words for myself instead of relying on an abundance of commentary to try to explain the text. So if you would like to get past someone else's interpretation and discover what the text means to you, this Bible can be very helpful. If we are to know what God means, it is certainly beneficial to know what He originally said. And that is the main benefit of this Bible - looking up the original Hebrew and Greek words.
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72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding study Bible, January 2, 2007
As I learn more about the Bible, I find more I want to study. It's funny that way. It's the only book simple enough to be understood by all, but complex enough that scholars can devote their whole lives to its study and not come close to plumbing its depths.
This Bible supplements my NIV Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible, as I wanted a more literal translation for this sort of study tool. I purchased the leather bound version, and am very happy with it.
All the awesome grammatical tools are present, except for a few differences, such as the dictionary being that of Strong's work, instead of the more modern Kohlenberger.
What this Bible contains:
Bible text of OT and NT
Grammatical aids to the NT
Lexical aids to the OT and NT
NASB Concordance of OT and NT
Guide to transliteration
Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
Maps
Pros:
- This Bible is a little better suited to word studies, as it is a more literal translation.
- The layout of most of the Bible has slightly larger text for easy reading, without being too bulky.
- There are key notes that are usually extremely helpful and consistent with conservative, exegetical scholarship
- The cross references are very beneficial
- Despite this being a different and complicated system of notation, visual layout of the features on a two-page section in the front of the Bible make it easy to learn to use.
Cons:
- It uses Strong's dictionaries rather than Kohlenberger's lexicons. Strong's definitions are based on Thayer's Greek Lexicon, which is dated scholarship that is no longer the best source, and which confuses classical and Koine Greek frequently, causing incorrect assumptions. (This is the reason for this getting only 4 stars)
- The dictionary in the back appears to be a copy and past from another work, as the text is shrunk and very difficult to read, with a large blank space at the bottom of the page indicative of being copied from another sized page than what is used in this Bible. The Greek and Hebrew characters are very difficult to make out because of this.
In deciding between the NASB and NIV versions of this extremely valuable study tool, I am torn. On the one hand, you have the literal text of the NASB 1977 version but with Strong's dictionary. On the other hand, you have the thought-for-thought NIV Bible that is harder to do word studies in because of the way it is translated, but you have the Kohlenberger dictionaries, which are much more valuable for word study. This makes it very difficult to choose.
Overall, this is an outstanding tool for study and I would recommend adding it to your library of Christian study aids.
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53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Word Studies, Not So Good Notes, November 26, 2005
I am not too high on "study" Bibles. As John MacArthur writes, "Study Bibles tend to be built to fit lives rather than change them." I would concur. Here in the United States we have simply too many study Bibles that are written for particular lifestyles (or theology) rather than to transform the reader. We have the Spirit-Filled (charismatic), the Reformation (Reformed), the Baptist (Calvinist), the Ryrie (Dispensational, Non-Lordship, Calvinist), the MacArthur (Dispensational, Lordship, Calvinist), Wesley (Arminian), Life in the Spirit (Pentecostal), and every subject in-between from the prayer Bible, the worship Bible, the couples devotional Bible, the recovery Bible, the Orthodox Study Bible, the Catholic Study Bible, to even liberal study Bibles such as Harper Study Bible or Oxford Study Bible.
Thankfully this Bible doesn't necessarily fall into those "study" Bible catagories. This study Bible is designed to help the reader see the Bible in its original languages without having any prior knowledge of the languages. Key words are underlined with a number to help the reader easily flip to the back and see either the Strong's word study or see Zodhiates more in-depth study of the word. While not every word is covered, many of the key theological words are discussed in the back.
The only negative I can offer for this study Bible is two-fold. First, I prefer the words of Christ to not be in red. That however is my own preference. Secondly, the notes are Calvinistic. Zodhiates defends Calvinistic Evangelical doctrines such as eternal security or his arguments against tongues in 1 Corinthians 14. While I didn't totally disagree with his notes in all places I do believe this study Bible would be stronger without them. However this is a good study Bible and a good resource to have on hand while digging into the original languages or simply while performing exegesis on a text.
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