The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha [Paperback]

M. Jack Suggs (Editor), Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Editor), James R. Mueller (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195290003 | ISBN-13: 978-0195290004 | Publication Date: March 12, 1992 | Edition: annotated edition

This volume combines a cultural guide to the biblical world and an annotated Bible. Its notes feature the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish scholars.

* Twenty-three insightful articles on aspects of the history, literary background, and culture of the biblical era.
* A special index of people, places, and themes of the Bible.
* 36 pages of full-color New Oxford Bible Maps, with index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well-written and up-to-date articles on the historical, cultural, and religious background of the Bible. The publication of this resource marks a new level of ecumenical cooperation."--David E. Aune, Loyola University --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

M. Jack Suggs is at Brite Divinity School, Texas. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld is at Princeton Theological Seminary. James R. Mueller is at the University of Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1860 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; annotated edition edition (March 12, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195290003
• ISBN-13: 978-0195290004
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and Beautiful, July 9, 2000

By 

Joshua Villines (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (Paperback)

I carried a Revised English Bible with me through all three years of seminary; and constantly compared it to the Greek and Hebrew texts. Although it is not the most precise, literal translation (here I would lean towards the New Revised Standard because of my personal dislike for the scholarship behind the New American Standard), the sense of language and poetry in the REB is far superior to any reliable translation. For this reason, the REB is the translation that I read from the pulpit.

The scholarly articles and footnotes in the Oxford edition are top-notch; although they have a decidedly Anglican flavor in places they are generally ecumenical and quite informative. If you were to only have one study Bible, this is the one I would recommend.

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent study bible and a wonderful translation, January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (Hardcover)

I have read and compared three translations of the Bible in English: the New International Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and the Revised English Bible. My favorite is the REB. The NRSV is the most literal (except for the gender neutral changes), and it is also the most difficult to read. The NIV is often too informal for my tastes. Although the REB is a scholarly translation, it is the least literal of the three in its phrasings, but less gender-neutral than the NRSV. Because the REB is so well-written, I find that I get more out of reading it than either of the other two, and I tend to use the others primarily for comparison of specific passages.

Reading a study bible with its commentary, study aids, and maps is essential for most of us, especially the beginner. This study bible is one of the best for the layman. It strikes a good balance between what I consider to be too much information (Harper NRSV Study Bible) and too little (Oxford Annotated NRSV Bible).

My only complaint is that this study bible does not come in a nice leather edition. The only leather REB is the superb edition published by Cambridge, but it contains only text with no study aids or maps.

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, March 9, 2000

By 

A Lover of the Word (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (Hardcover)

The 200 pages of prefatory articles form a really good introduction to contemporary Biblical scholarship. Twenty scholars offer such titles as "The Social World of the New Testament," "Torah and Covenant," "The Contributions of Archaeology," "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Jewish Literature." Each book from Genesis to Revelation has a compact introduction and the chapters are usefully annotated. The translation is perhaps the clearest rendering of the Bible into English ever accomplished. There are 14 wonderful maps (based on the Oxford Bible Atlas) with an index to all place names in the Bible. There is a condensed concordance of people, places and themes. This is a marvelous rendering of faith into words that deserves a place in every library. I notice many of the reviews refer to its "liberal bias" which misrepresents the triumph that is this work. To denounce "liberalism" in this way defends ignorance. To read the Oxford Study Bible is like studying the Bible at a great seminary with brilliant professors offering great lectures employing state-of-the-art scholarship.