The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha (Paperback 9872A) [Paperback]

Gail R. O'Day (Editor), David Petersen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 1999

Modern readers of the Bible are time travelers visiting a society and culture very different from their own. Strange customs, unfamiliar words and novel concepts encountered in the Bible's pages can make understanding the Word of God a real challenge.
The Access Bible is friendly to people who've never studied the Bible before. It's been carefully written and edited so that those new to the world of Bible study can just pick it up - and start reading.
A unique feature of the Access Bible is the running commentary which is interspersed with the Bible text. Difficult concepts are clearly explained in terms which everyday readers can easily understand. There's no need to have a dictionary by your side when you're using The Access Bible. When a technical explanation is required, all of the terms are defined right on the page, as well as in a glossary at the back. History, social contexts, religious practices, the beliefs of ancient peoples - all are explained when the Bible text requires it.
In addition, this Bible was designed to contain all the background information needed by believers from a wide spectrum of churches. The Access Bible sets a new standard for ease of understanding.

* Running commentary interspersed throughout the text provides on-the-spot explanatory and interpretative information. Different type and horizontal lines clearly differentiate between the Scriptures and the scholarly notes.
* A Star Symbol following key technical terms points the reader to a helpful 16-page Glossary, which defines such terms.
* Introductions to each book of the Bible set the scene by explaining the cultural context in which they were written.
* 58 sidebar essays broaden the reader's understanding of biblical themes.
* In-text maps establish the geographical context of events described in the text.
* In-text charts display information in an easy-to-understand format.
* A select NRSV Concordance tells you where to find a word in the Bible.
* 36 pages of authoritative, full color New Oxford Bible Maps pinpoint cities and place names encountered in the biblical text.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Access Bible does what no other Bible in print has done: it marries impeccable, ideologically balanced scholarship with helpful annotations, sidebars, maps, and other study aids that first-time Bible readers need to understand what's going on. With apologies to the author of Ecclesiastes, this really is something new under the sun--a Bible that anyone, regardless of religious education, can pick up and read. It will neither talk down to you or make you feel you've gotten in over your head. The translation, the New Revised Standard Version, is the only contemporary translation that preserves the bones of the King James style and renders that style in straightforward language. The annotations, which appear in helpful places on the book's well-designed pages, also include a glossary and concordance to help readers understand and locate key terms in the Bible. The Access Bible makes reading the Bible as easy as it can be. Deciding what to do with all this knowledge, that's the hard part. (The Access Bible comes in several bindings, and is published in two different versions--one with the Apocrypha, a collection of writings endorsed by some denominations but not others--and one without.) --Michael Joseph Gross

Product Details

• Paperback: 2176 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195282175
• ISBN-13: 978-0195282177
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Bible for worship and study., September 29, 2000

By 

Kerry Sullivan (Taylor, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha (Paperback 9872A) (Paperback)

This is a terrific resource for readers who really desire to grow in their understanding of the Bible and Biblical times. The notes are very good, providing pertinent historical and cultural information and insightful analysis. They're straight forward and really help to illuminate the entire Bible, especially the more difficult passages. They're also user- friendly, providing the information right there rather than sending the reader off on a hunt through a maze of cross references.

My comparisons are with the NIV Study Bible (which I found too conservative and rigid)and the Harper-Collins Study Bible (which I found too technical and almost secular in their approach). This Bible strikes a happy medium--real,user friendly scholarship, presented in an uplifting way. For me it really helps in sorting out the time bound, cultural aspects of the Bible from the eternal truths we should cling to forever.

If I have one complaint, it's that there are no headings within the text to help the reader locate specific passages (e.g., "The Transfiguration" or "Feeding the 5,000.") But that's pretty picky--it's a wonderful book!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great 'Access' to the Bible!!, September 20, 2003

By 

Terry (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha (Bonded Leather Black 9871A) (Leather Bound)

Another evangelical christian who loves this Bible! Although the introductions and notes have a liberal leaning, the amount of objective historical and cultural information is amazing. In my opinion this is not a Bible for beginners although it is much more accessible than the New Oxford Annotated or the HarperCollins. This Bible offers a unique format with commentary interspersed throughout the text rather than at the bottom of the page which helps with continuous reading. The sidebar essays are helpful and thought provoking. This Bible gives you a lot of background information but lets you think for yourself! Used alongside an evangelical study Bible such as the NIV Study Bible any reader has the best scholarship available from various perspectives. The bold, clear print that Oxford uses in this (and their other study Bibles) is easy to read and I would love it if evangelical study Bibles would follow Oxford's lead in this regard. If you want to gain better understanding of the Bible in its historical context, choose this Bible as one of your main study editions!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful study Bible, October 12, 2006

By 

L.E.S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha (Paperback 9872A) (Paperback)

The Access Bible is the best study Bible I have found. The notes are basic enough that you don't feel like the notes should have notes, but they are scholarly enough that you feel like you have a good sense of the passage you just read. The focus is on things that are central and relevant, not esoteric and only interesting to specialists.

I particularly like the way the notes and text alternate, rather than using footnotes. I find it very difficult to read back and forth between text and footnotes, so have the Bible broken down into a portion of Biblical text and then a portion of notes works very well for me.

While the frankness with which current scholarship is presented might offend some very conservative readers (the Bible, for example, makes no attempt to pretend that Genesis 1-2 presents a literal account of creation and instead points out the differences between the two creation accounts), I think that there is something in here for most Christians of any denomination or theological persuasion, as well as for non-Christians seeking to understand what mainline Christian biblical scholarship and interpretation looks like.