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170 of 173 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Wait Is Over...., June 18, 2006
The NASB MacArthur Study Bible satisfies the desire of those who like the notes of The MacArthur Study Bible (NKJV) but wished they were available in the NASB translation. Thankfully, unlike his NKJV Bible, the NASB MacArthur has added a Concordance of both words and phrases, with brief synonyms also given. Also, for easier look-up, an Alphabetical Subject List of Charts and Maps has been added to the Index of Charts and Maps that still is ordered by Bible book. Introductory sections that make this Bible a great choice to give to new believers have been retained: Introduction to the Bible, How We Got the Bible, How to Study the Bible, and more. There are also visual changes (that some may prefer but I do not) between this NASB MacArthur and MacArthur's NKJV--(1) Faint block print for the previously bold book headings at the page tops and for subheadings throughout, (2) Ornamentation that I find distracting, and at times hard on the eye: The first page of each of the 66 Bible books has a 6" letter "M" shadowed over the text. Also, instead of previously clear, bold dots to itemize a list, faint, scroll-like flourishes are used in lists as well as on both the now more shapely and decorative charts and on both sides of page numbers (numbers that in the NKJV are an easy-to-see bold). Theologically, for discriminating readers who hoped MacArthur would modify his notes that touched on the eternal Sonship of Christ, he has not; while noting Christ's eternal deity, he still holds that Christ's Sonship is an office by divine appointment that had a beginning (Heb 5:5 note). Finally, realizing that for serious Bible students who prefer the NASB, the choice for a primary study Bible will come down to MacArthur's or Ryrie's (both excellent), here are some distinctives: (1) MacArthur's Bible text is indented by paragraph, Ryrie's indented for each verse, (2) MacArthur offers more in quantity of notes, (3) MacArthur's print is significantly fainter/harder on the eyes than Ryrie's, (4) MacArthur's cross-references are in the center-column, Ryrie's in side margins, and MacArthur's margins are narrower, (5) Only MacArthur's has a Harmony of the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, although both have a Harmony of the Gospels, (6) regarding the so-called "Lordship" (MacArthur)/"easy-believism" (Ryrie) controversy, MacArthur still includes in the back a page entitled "The Character of Genuine Saving Faith" that is an outline of verse citations supporting the Lordship position. As for construction, I purchased the hardback, and when opened it lies flat, no problem. The pages are not gilded (I don't know about the leather version.) Finally, for all the scholarship in this book, the price is a huge bargain--so much so, that even those who are attached to the beautiful KJV or another translation, might want to consider also owning this NASB MacArthur Bible as a reference book.
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149 of 155 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
New MacArthur Study Bible an Improvement, May 24, 2006
Like many students of the Bible, I have long been in a quest for the "Holy Grail" of the perfect study Bible. No such thing may ever exist, but this latest release of the MacArthur Study Bible, in the updated NASB, gets us a step closer. MacArthur's first study Bible, in the NKJV, was similarly an overall fine resource but unfortunately that version was tied to an NT text that most evangelical scholars feel is not the most accurate. While NKJV may have provided comfort for those traditionalists who wanted to retain the flavor and majesty of its Elizabethan/King James English, surely if this is the Word of God we must insist on accuracy over familiarity. After all, the King James, while an admirable effort and the standard for years, even centuries, is not the original Bible. The updated NASB text is a significant improvement in terms of accuracy, although some have criticized its English usage as "wooden." The general consensus, however, is that NASB does make for a great study Bible. Those looking for more gender neutral English usage won't find much here, but I personally find the more archaic usage of "brethren" that NASB employs preferable to the "brothers" that NIV, ESV, HCSB and other more modern versions use. NASB also uses capital letters for pronouns referring to deity, a practice that some find objectionable because it is not in the originals. But neither is red letter text for the words of Jesus, a feature found in many modern versions (but missing in this study Bible). These matters are certainly items of preference and should not form the basis for rejection of a given translation.
The MacArthur NASB Study Bible has all the standard wonderful features of a great study Bible, and in my view eclipses all the other study Bibles I have seen. It is a treasure trove for the serious student of the Bible who wants a deeper, more scholarly, theological and textual approach. Not all will agree with all of MacArthur's theological views--even I do not--but it is refreshing to see someone take a stand, instead of saying "Some Christians believe this and other Christians believe that" as one often sees in other study Bibles today. MacArthur is Baptistic, cessationist and combines elements of dispensational(pre-trib, pre-mill rapture) and Calvinistic theology; he may be at times a bit overly dogmatic on non-essential points (after all, this is his effort rather than a group effort, which may be one of the weaknesses of this study Bible). The Calvinist circles I have run in most of my life are a-millenial and definitely baptize infants, but who knows, perhaps a blended theology that MacArthur employs is closest to the truth and can help bridge the warring camps that one often finds in evangelical circles today.
The features of this study Bible are too lengthy to cover here, but it should be noted that a concordance, missing in the NKJV MacArthur Study Bible, has now been added. The font is clear and bold, easy for an older reader such as myself to benefit from. All the usual bells and whistles are there and then some (great book and section introductions, outlines, maps and charts, an index, terrific, detailed textual notes, an overview of theology, a Bible reading plan, the miracles and parables of Christ, a harmony of the gospels, an article on the inter-testamental period and other articles about the Bible, timelines, a table of monies, weights and measures, and much, much more). Another positive--unlike many other NASB editions, this one is in paragraph rather than verse format.
If you want to dig deep into the Word, this is the place to do it. I have been waiting for this study Bible for a long time.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Study Bible Should Be, August 31, 2006
MacArthur's Study Bible offers more verse by verse notes than most of the other mainstream study Bibles. MacArthur's long hours of devotion and study and reverence for God's Word truly shine in this Bible. Although MacArthur seems overly conservative and strictly literal for some in his interpretations, it is evident that he tries to rely on Scripture in his notes rather than just expressing personal opinions. But then again, it is up to the reader to agree or disagree with MacArthur's notes. What is definitely helpful is that the notes are generally thorough and tend to be written in the same paragraph instead of telling the reader to jump to another note on another page. You know how frustrating this can be as you are flipping through all those pages. The Bible itself is very attractive with its black and gold jacket and it holds up pretty well in terms of binding. The print is definitely lighter and harder to read than the NKJV edition but you would probably not notice it unless you compared the two prints side by side. The pages are also very thin and tend to wrinkle easily. These are, however, the few faults in this great piece of scholarship. This Bible is a great value for the wealth of information contained within and is one of the best study Bibles available. Now it's available in NASB!
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