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

If you want only one Study Bible to aid and inform your reading of the Bible, or want to have a real alternate to your currently favorite Study Bible, "The Orthodox Study Bible" is the one you need to buy -- not "want", you "need" it. Period. In my thirty years of preaching and teaching the Christian Bible, this is without condition the best, most useful and enlightening Study Bible I have ever used. I say this with such enthusiasm even though I am a life-long Lutheran, and at the same time because I am a committed Confessional, orthodox Lutheran. "The Orthodox Study Bible," though aimed at a target audience in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the most thoroughly ecumenical Study Bible I know of. The reason for that is in the very nature of Eastern Orthodox theology and biblical interpretation. The Orthodox -- unlike Western Protestantism -- have not jettisoned from theology the wisdom and authority of the Fathers of the ancient church and the liturgical tradition of early Christianity, but rather turn to and look to them as the foundation of all Christian dogma and doctrine, and thus the foundation of the one source of dogma and doctrine, the Bible. In many ways the Orthodox Church is more biblical in its teaching and life than any Western Protestants, and a large part of the reason for this is that the Orthodox Church has an unbroken tradition of reading the Bible together with, in living dialogue with, those closest to its origins: the ancient Fathers of the Church and the ancient worship of the Church. THAT IS WHAT FORMS THE FOUNDATION AND METHOD OF "THE ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE," and thus makes it THE MOST "BIBLICAL" Study Bible in terms of its notes, commentaries, and invaluable longer articles on points of doctrine. What you will NOT encounter is the prejudice of "modern" Western "historical-critical method" exegesis, with its rules of implicit skepticism and methodological doubt regarding the text of the Bible, which in two centuries have reduced Western biblical exegesis to a tangle of subjective and politically-correct "readings" of the Bible with no unity to them and no authority to support them except the opinion of the individual authors and their pet agendas. "THE ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE" OFFERS FREEDOM FROM THE DEAD-END OF HISTORICAL-CRITICAL EXEGESIS, and restores how the Church in its first millennium unanimously interpreted and applied the Bible. The "OSB" is not a flat or rote reitteration of the Church Fathers, however. It is how Orthodox exegetes and theologians read the Bible in dialogue with the Fathers as the living voice of the Church throughout the ages, in conversation with the living voice of Scripture. The result cuts right to what the Bible means, how the Bible interprets itself as divine revelation, and the unity of Old Testament and New Testament as the one revelation of salvation in Jesus Christ. This brings with it striking parallels, allusions, typology and allegory -- the meat of Patristic exegesis -- that is far more fruitful for preaching and teaching the Bible than the obsession with socio-historical theories and minutiae that fill most Protestant Study Bibles. The proof is in the using of the OSB with an open mind to a whole new way of reading the Bible than Western Protestants have been trained (brainwashed?) to practice. If you have a long-time favorite Study Bible like the NIV Study Bible, the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible, or any of the many others on the market, certainly keep it and use it if it aids and helps you. But do not use it alone anymore; get The Orthodox Study Bible to compare with your favorite, and so expand deeper and further your reading and meditating on the Bible. The OSB is a "must have" not only for Eastern Orthodox Christians, but for all Christians. One oddity for Western readers that may require some adjustment is the text of the Old Testament used. The Eastern Orthodox Church has always used that version of the Old Testament called the "Septuagint" (abbreviated by the Roman numeral LXX). This is the ancient, pre-Christian (ca 200 BC) translation of the Jewish Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek, during the process of which a number of books written originally in Greek were judged to be inspired Scripture in unity with the witness of the Hewbrew/Israelite books. This is the version of the OT used in the OSB, as it is the official text of the OT in the Orthodox Church. Thus, it is translated from the Greek text of the LXX, not directly from the Hebrew texts, and contains sevral writings not found in Protestant versions of the OT. LXX names and order are retained in the canon as well. So there are the 4 Books of Kingdoms (= 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Kings); a book of 2nd Ezra (or Esdras); the books of Tobit, Judith, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, the book of Baruch, and the Epistle of Jeremiah. There are 151 Psalms; and the books of Esther and Daniel are considerably longer than in modern Protestant Bibles. These are books of the OT and integrated into the canon of the OT. For a Protestant, that takes some getting used to. ON THE PLUS SIDE: all the writers of the NT read, used and quoted from the Septuagint (LXX), the OT version in the OSB, so it in fact provides an English translation of the "Scriptures" presupposed throughout the NT. "The Orthodox Study Bible" is written for interested laity, not specialized clergy; it is clear, easily understood, and full of helps. A final commendation: LUTHERANS IN PARTICULAR should get and used this as their main Study Bible -- laity and clergy alike. Classical Lutheran theology -- from Luther and Melanchthon to Chmenitz and Gerhard -- is founded on "Scripture Alone," but Scripture in living dialogue with the Fathers of the Church (whom the Lutheran writers often quote at great length to prove the point of their biblical exegesis). "The Orthodox Study Bible" -- as the so-called "Finnish School" of Luther research is increasingly demonstrating -- is equally as much the best "Lutheran Study Bible."

I own many Bibles, but this is my absolute favorite. Like several other reviewers, I am a Roman Catholic, and so I take the introductory section on the 'Great Schism" with a grain of salt. There is more than one perspective to that history, and it seems to me that a sacred book meant for prayer and meditation could have left out the political analysis. But the book is so beautiful and filled with wonderful commentary that one forgets all about anything else while reading it. It contains many beautiful full-color plates of icons. There is a truly inspired chapter on How to Read the Bible, in which the author uses the example of a childhood dream of going back to a familiar house and discovering many rooms he had not known existed to illustrate the point that Scripture, no matter how often we read it, always has new "rooms" to explore. There is a lectionary, more appropriate for Orthodox readers than others perhaps, and yet it could serve as a guide for daily Scripture reading. Each book of the Bible is prefaced by a description of the author, theme, background, and an outline. There are a large number of study articles interspersed throughout the text; topic include "Jesus Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King," "God's Covenants with His People Israel," "Theophanies of Christ," "Types of Mary in the Old Testament," and many, many more. The commentary on each page of the text is just what I want in a Bible that I will use for prayer and meditation: spiritual commentary. It is scholarly, yes, but not the kind of dry commentary that interrupts and changes one's focus rather than enhancing the flow of reading. This commentary, based on the Fathers, enriches and enhances one's spiritual engagement with the text. The typeface is pleasing, and about as large as one could wish for without going to a "large print" Bible. The paper is thin, yes, but it seems sturdy and I have not had any trouble with it. The bonded leather cover is flexible, no stiff, which I like. It makes it easy to hold in any position and the thin pages also contribute to its flexibility, and therefore, readability. Lastly, this Bible has something that I wish all Bibles had: prayers. There is a section of beautiful Morning and Evening prayers which inspires me to go to the Bible when I rise and when I go to bed. This Bible really draws you in in so many ways. In my free moments, I find myself wanting to pick it up again and again. All in all, a truly lovely, devotional, beautifully produced Bible. I have others that I use for study and write in (I'd never write in this one)or for word comparisons, but this is the Bible I will use for prayer.

This is a great Bible with exposition from Saints in the Orthodox tradition. A Bible to read with understanding the correct meaning of each passage, and with daily readings and morning and evening prayers.

I am so happy with my purchase this bible has everything you need in it like icons maps etc 90000% reccomend if you are orthodox

I am not Orthodox, but I like collecting Bibles to be able to compare differences. This is already a favorite, even though I just received it. I cannot speak about the dust jacket because I bought a previously owned version with the dust jacket missing. I am very slightly disappointed about not having such a beautiful dust jacket, but that in no way detracts from the Bible itself. The words are printed in a very readable larger font. New Testament is NKJV, Old Testament is St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (SAAS). Fascinating. The whole physical book easily lies flat when opened, which is a huge plus. Each biblical book includes an introduction that gives background information about who wrote it, when, why, and the theme of the book. Most pages include (sometimes lengthy) commentary that helps clarify/explain difficult passages. "Hidden" in the book are several beautiful illustrations. Also, different study articles that help to explain/clarify things from an orthodox point of view. For instance, The Holy Trinity, The Eucharist, John the Baptist, Apocalyptic Literature, and more. If you don't find them while reading or want to read them later, all articles are listed in an index at the back, just before the maps. The maps are color. A bit simplified and not as "pretty" as some biblical maps, but the information is quite presentable and easy to understand. The morning and evening prayers are quite a bit more simple than I expected. I don't know if this represents authentic Orthodox practice or if this is just in case the reader has misplaced their separate prayer book (or doesn't have one). There are NO RIBBON BOOKMARKS. This is extremely inconvenient for a study Bible. Of course, I can use my own paper bookmarks, but I'm used to a study Bible having at least one ribbon, if not two or three. Not a big enough issue for me to deduct a star, but I am still disappointed. Overall, I am quite pleased with this purchase. I would absolutely buy it again, if the need ever arose.

As a Roman Catholic this is a lovely Bible. So firstly I have to say there is an obvious bias towards Catholicism in the Introduction. But the general information on the early Church, Introduction to the books of the Bible and Additional notes is really good. Seeing that we were one Church pre-schism, I can honestly say that this Bible benefits any Christian.

A bíblia é muito bela e de fácil entendimento. Como já mencionaram outras avaliações, você pode facilmente usar um tradutor como suporte para palavras desconhecidas para ajudar em suas leituras, com um inglês bem básico. A ideia da edição é justamente esta, está em uma linguagem acessível, como explica nas primeiras folhas de apresentação. É um convite a busca espiritual e uma boa forma de aprender novas palavras !