The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms [Paperback]

Peter E. Gillquist (Editor), Alan Wallerstedt (Editor), Joseph Allen (Editor), Michel Najim (Editor), J.N. Sparks (Editor), Theodore Stylianopoulos (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 22, 2001

For the first time, English-speaking Orthodox Christians have an edition of the New Testament and Psalms that offers Bible study aids written from the Orthodox perspective. Prepared under the direction of canonical Orthodox theologians and hierarchs, The Orthodox Study Bible presents a remarkable combination of historic theological insights and practical instruction in Christian living. Clergy and laity who want to learn more about the Orthodox Christian faith and liturgical and sacramental foundations in the Scriptures will gain a wealth of information for the preparation of sermons and lessons as Orthodox Christian doctrine is clearly explained.

If you are looking for authoritative guidance in interpreting Scripture, understanding the early church, and learning how to apply the Word of God to your spiritual life -- The Orthodox Study Bible will be a treasured resource for you.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1086 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers (June 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718000307
• ISBN-13: 978-0718000301
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best there is for now..., July 5, 2003

By 

zonaras (Jimbo's House of Pie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms (Paperback)

_The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms_ is the only Eastern Orthodox study Bible available. This edition only contains the New Testament and the Psalms of the New King James translation. The text is commentated upon by notes giving the Orthodox teaching on Scripture. Currently, scholars at St. Athanasius Seminary are at work translating the entire Bible from the Septuagint, and will include the entire canonical Old Testament, including the Deutero-Canonical books (or as known to Protestants, the "Apocrypha") that are in the Greek Septuagint but not the Hebrew Bible. This edition contains information on how the Bible is viewed in the Orthodox Church, an outline of Orthodox history, tips on how the Bible is to be studied, a glossary of Orthodox Terms, a list of the Seventy, the lectionary and Orthodox prayers. The Canon of Scripture was decided AFTER the Ecumenical Council of Nicea, in which the Nicean Creed was drawn up as the statement of Orthodoxy, thus the Scripture is given its authority by the Church, and Scripture forms the centerpiece of the Church's Tradition dating from Christ and His Apostles. As another reviewer noted, this edition is a "who's who" of Orthodoxy, including Peter E. Gilquist, Jack Norman Sparks, Archbishop JAKOVOS, Bishop KALLISTOS, Bishop MAXIMOS and Fr. Anthondy Coniaris.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A noble effort, February 16, 2003

By 

D. Golden (Savannah, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms (Paperback)

There are some people who feel that this translation is lacking in terms of it's strict adherence to Orthodox biblical tradition. The Holy Apostles Convent has published a two volume version of the New Testament that is heavily annotated with comments of major figures of Orthodoxy such as St. John Chrysostom, and is probably the more scholarly of the two versions. However, I still find the accessibility of the writing in the Orthodox Study Bible to be extremely helpful. and often read the versions together. The list of individuals who worked to create this Bible is a veritable who's who of contemporary Orthodoxy, and I certainly don't feel even remotely qualified to criticize their efforts. I believe that the Orthodox Study Bible is a very worthwhile investment and have purchased copies for my children and brother.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent study Bible - presenting the Orthodox viewpoint, October 15, 2006

By 

Gabriel E. Borlean (Odense, Denmark - birthtown of fairytale-writer H.C. Andersen) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms (Paperback)

This happens to be the first English study Bible that offers study aids written from the Orthodox perspective. This Orthodox Study Bible is published by Thomas Nelson, it uses the New King James Version (NKJV and KJV are the versions most often found and approved by the Orthodox churches in the US) and it includes the New Testament 27 books along with the Psalms.

Side Note: the Psalms are numbered according to the Masoretic text but after Psalm 9 (which is where the numerical divergence begins between the Septuagint-LXX and the Masoretic text) a footnote shows the Septuagint number for each subsequent psalm.

This study Bible project is the brainchild of Fr. Peter E. Gillquist, famous former Campus-Crusade-for-Christ leader and convert to Orthodoxy,(and author or "Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith," "Coming Home: Why Protestant Clergy Are Becoming Orthodox,") and is also edited and backed-up by various Orthodox Th.D.'s, Ph.D.'s, Priests, Bishops, and Metropolitans.

This is the most uniquely structured (and most treasured) study-Bible in my collection. As a Christian-unity minded Protestant I appreciate all the special features of this study-Bible that makes it so Orthodox.

The study Bible starts with a section on The Bible and the Orthodox Church: The Church Fathers Speak, The Bible and Orthodox Tradition, The Creed and, Some Orthodox Beliefs and Their Biblical Foundation (which deals with topics such as Communion, honoring Mary, place of tradition vs Scripture, icons, saints, and liturgy). The second section of the introduction is basically A Guide to the Spiritual Life: Beginning the Journey to the Kingdom, How to Remain in Communion With God, Spritual Helps in the Examination of Your Conscience, Where to turn in the Psalms, and Where to turn in the New Testament (general subject indexes). There is also a short introduction on How to Use The Orthodox Study Bible and notes on the style and text of the NKJV.

Each New Testament book is preceded by study notes on the Author, Date, Major Theme, Background Information, and an Outline. Gospel passages and sub-titles are shown with their equivalent texts in the other Gospels. Each text has carefully prepared study notes with easy to follow highlighted words. Keeping in line with Orthodox Christian living, this study Bible has a chart of Scripture reading to offer guidance for daily devotions, a guide for morning and evening prayers, and readings for feast days. Keeping in line with NKJV tradition, this study Bible has the words of Christ in red, and also center-columns cross references and translation notes. The end of this study Bible has lots of extras: a glossary of Orthodox Christian terminology, an index to annotations, a treatise on Interpreting the Scriptures, a harmony of the Gospels chart, Monies-Weighs-and-Mesures table, a Concordance, and Color Maps. A final addition that makes this study Bible distinctively eastern-Orthodox is the presence of various iconic images placed throughtout the text and related to a specific passage.

I would recommend this study-Bible to any cradle-Orthodox who has never read the Holy Scriptures and who wants to live more like Jesus Christ and follow the example of the Christians of the Early Church.

This study-Bible is also useful to anyone else (like Protestants, Catholics) who wants to learn more about the Eastern Orthodox Church and Christian traditions in this branch of Christianity.

As an evangelical Protestant, I am using this guide as a more comprehensive view of textual hermeneutics and ecclesiology, a correct view of Christology, and a deeper spritual devotional.

Interstingly enough, this paperback edition is 25% more than the hardcover edition.