The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World (Hardcover)

by Thomas Nelson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The FIRST EVER Orthodox Study Bible presents the Bible of the early church and the church of the early Bible.

Orthodox Christianity is the face of ancient Christianity to the modern world and embraces the second largest body of Christians in the world. In this first-of-its-kind study Bible, the Bible is presented with commentary from the ancient Christian perspective that speaks to those Christians who seek a deeper experience of the roots of their faith.

Features Include:

• Old Testament newly translated from the Greek text of the Septuagint, including the Deuterocanon
• New Testament from the New King James Version
• Commentary drawn from the early Church Christians
• Easy-to-Locate liturgical readings
• Book Introductions and Outlines
• Subject Index
• Full-color Icons
• Full-color Maps

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1824 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; annotated edition edition (June 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718003594
• ISBN-13: 978-0718003593
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,972 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 149 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much needed Orthodox Bible., June 3, 2008

By	zonaras (Jimbo's House of Pie) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

The "Orthodox Study Bible" is a much needed resource for Orthodox Christians, and anybody who wishes to read the Orthodox perspective on scriptural interpretation. It has the complete Orthodox canon of the Old Testament found in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible that was cited in the New Testament and served as the original Bible of the Christian Church. Each book is accompanied with an introduction explaining who wrote the book and why the book was written, along with its spiritual significance.

The notes accompanying the New King James translation of the text are unlike notes found in other Bibles that I've come across. They emphasize the spiritual context of the passages in question, and relate the Old Testament narratives, prophecies, and prayers into a Christ-centered context. Events and people in the Old Testament foreshadow and prefigure Christ. This allegorical interpretation is not found in contemporary secular and "ecumenical" study Bibles, which focus on the bare historical meaning of the passages, devoid of any spiritual meaning they possess.

I have a few criticisms of this book, and they are about the format of the book, not the contents. First, the font in this book is too small. If the font was a point or two larger, it would be much easier to read. Second, margins are non-existent, which makes it frustrating writing notes while reading and reviewing the text. Third, the text runs nearly into the spine of the book, another aspect of this Bible which makes reading it a headache. And fourth, the pages are too thin. Most Bibles, granted, are printed on very thin paper--but the "Orthodox Study Bible" seems like it is printed on paper thinner than air. I wanted to read the "Orthodox Study Bible" cover to cover but couldn't get too far into Genesis because of the annoying format.

So basically, I absolutely recommend this Bible for any Orthodox Christian who wants to learn more about the Bible without resorting to non-Orthodox sources. There are no other single-volume Bibles containing the complete Orthodox canon of the Old Testament in addition to the New Testament. Hopefully future editions of this Bible will be printed that are more user-friendly.

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting study Bible, June 21, 2008

By	A Fan (VA) - See all my reviews

I have found this Study Bible to be an interesting introduction to Eastern Orthodox Church theology and interpretation of Scriptures. It is easy to read and seems to be more of an introduction of Orthodoxy for Protestants than an in-depth study of doctrine. There are not as many notes as most other study Bibles I have used, but I found it to still be an interesting read.

95 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is basically the KJV with some Orthodox footnotes, June 5, 2008

By	Seraphim - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World (Leather Bound)

With all the growing biblical scholarship out there, all the English translations out there, there STILL is not an ORTHODOX TRANSLATION of the Scripture. The Orthodox Study Bible was presented to me at Seminary by Fr. Gillquist, for which I'm very thankful. But, there's so much more that could have been done with this work. My biggest critique of this Bible is that it is NOT a translation of the LXX, rather, it is a warmed-over KJV with apocrypha and some blurbs from Orthodox thinkers on the topic. What the Orthodox Church in our country needs is a standard, Orthodox-translated Bible...a TRANSLATION of the LXX, a translation of the NT (Byzantine Lectionary), and then add notes and such from the Fathers. This is just my own humble opinion.