Coming Soon from B&H Publishing

It's coming!  The newest study Bible will be coming this August from B&H Publishing.  It is the HCSB Study Bible. 

My B&H rep showed me a sampler of some of Genesis and it looks like an impressive project.  As I get more information and spend a little time with the sampler I'll let you know more.  For now you can visit their website and find out much more.  You can find it here.  You'll find a list of contributors and a couple of videos. 

Top Selling Study Bible Brands in 2009

One of my reps gave me a list of the top selling study Bible brands for 2009*.  Here are the top 20

1 - Life Application Study Bible
2 - NIV Study Bible
3 - ESV Study Bible
4 - Chronological Study Bible
5 - NLT Study Bible

6 - MacArthur Study Bible
7 - NKJV Study Bible
8 - Archaeological Study Bible
9 - Thompson Chain Reference
10 - Scofield (Old and New)

11 - Ryrie Study Bible
12 - New Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible
13 - Charles Stanley Life Principles Study Bible
14 - Key Word Study Bible
15 - American Patriot's Study Bible

16 - Wesley Study Bible
17 - Dake Annotated Study Bible
18 - Apologetics Study Bible
19 - New Believer's Study Bible
20 - New Inductive Study Bible

Where did your favorite end up? 

The top four didn't surprise me.  The Chronological Study Bible has made an impressive showing.  It is a beautiful Bible and the notes are very helpful.  But it has also been on sale for 50% off for a good part of the year which made it a great buy as well.  I had a pastor buy a couple of cases.  He gives them away to members in his congregation to encourage them to read through the Bible chronologically. 

If I had to have guessed I would have switched numbers 8 and 5 based on my own store sales. I was surprised to see the Ryrie Study Bible and the MacArthur Study Bible as high as they were.  I would have put them in the bottom five.  The MacArthur Study will probably jump up a couple spots since it is coming out in the ESV.  Coming in at number 17 was the Dake Annotated Study Bible.  This was a surprise but I won't be shocked if it goes up a couple of notches in the 2010 list.  My own sales have spiked ever since Benny Hinn started raving about it at the end of his shows.  I would normally order them about three times a year.  I've made about four orders already this year.   I did notice the top eight are dominated by four publishers: Zondervan, Tyndale, Crossway and Thomas Nelson.   

What stunned me the most?  The complete absence of the Quest Study Bible?  My list covers the top 27 and the Quest didn't even make an appearance. Something is fishy about that.   Either something is wrong in the tabulations or my own store sales are a really poor gage of national sales which could certainly be the case as we've seen already (or the list I have simply omitted it by mistake).  But not to place at all seems rather odd. 

*These are ranked by unit sales through Christian retail, based on Bowker PubTrack POS statistics. 

ESV Study Bible Review by Andy Naselli

Andy Naselli's review of the ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) is available online. Naselli is currently a student in a PhD program at my alma mater Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and he is a research assistant to D. A. Carson. If you have been following my posts on Study Bibles Compared (under "Blog Categories" as "Study Bibles") you will know that I like a study Bible that offers a variety of views on controversial passages. This is a very important feature for me when it comes to a study Bible. Naselli lists some passages where the ESV Study Bible offers a variety of views without favoring one particular interpretation. Among those are: "Ezekiel 40-48; Dan 9:24-27; 1 Cor 11:24; 13:8; 2 Thess 2:5-7; 1 Tim 2:4; Heb 6:4-8; 1 Pet 3:19; and the book of Revelation." He then gives a "sampling of how the ESVSB handles some controversial issues (including when it does favor a particular view)." Here's just a few:

• Genesis 1-2 neither requires nor precludes an ordinary day interpretation.
• Both the early and late dates for the exodus are viable options.
• Pharaoh is responsible for his hardened heart, but the Lord's sovereign hand ultimately governs the hardening (Exod 4:21; etc.).
• Both the single and double fulfillment views of Isa 7:14 are viable options.
• Peter is "the rock" in Matt 16:18.
• In Matthew 24-25, Jesus "apparently intertwines prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and his second coming."
• John 6:40 "implies that no true believer will ever lose his or her salvation."
• The miracle of tongues fulfills Joel 2:28-32, "though not all of it was yet fulfilled"
(Acts 2:14-21).
• "In the early church, baptism was probably by immersion, at least as a general rule, though Christians dispute whether such a practice must always be followed literally today" (Rom 6:4).
• Salvation "is not ultimately based on human free will or effort but depends entirely on God's merciful will" (Rom 9:16).
• Rom 11:26 refers to "the salvation of the end-time generation of the Jewish people in the future."
• Paul teaches that men are women are equal in dignity and essence but distinct in their roles (e.g. 1 Cor 11:7-9, 14; 14:34-35; Gal 3:28; Eph 5:22-33; 1 Tim 2:12-13).
• NT prophecy "can have mistakes and must be tested or evaluated" (1 Cor 12:10).
• Regeneration logically precedes faith (Eph 2:5; 1 John 5:1).
• The verb "to meet" in 1 Thess 4:17 "may indicate that the subsequent movement of the saints after meeting Christ 'in the air' conforms to Christ's direction, thus in a downward motion toward the earth." This suggests a posttribulational view, but the notes do not explain the major rapture views (though the introduction to Revelation does).
• Good works are the necessary result of justification (Jas 2:14-26).
• "Jesus' sacrifice is offered and made available to everyone in 'the whole world,' not just to John and his current readers" (1 John 2:2).
• Genuine Christians "have been so transformed that they cannot live in a pattern of continual sin-though this does not mean that Christians are ever completely free from sin in this life" (1 John 3:9-10).

Naselli concludes, "No other study Bible matches the ESVSB in quantity or quality." I'm not sure I would go that far. The NIV Study Bible is still an impressive study Bible and now that it is available from Cambridge in a goatskin leather you can have a premium binding that is Smyth-sewn with high quality paper to match the ESVSB. Having said that I have enjoyed using my own ESV Study Bible and would recommend it.

Does "born of water" in John 3:5 refer to baptism? Study Bibles Compared

I’m continuing to make my way slowly through Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church. I just finished his discussion of John 3:5 and was surprised to read that he believes the expression “born of water” does refer to baptism. He says, “John 3:5 became the most cited baptismal text in the second century and continued to be important afterward. Despite the overwhelming historical and majority contemporary consensus, there have been insistent efforts to remove John 3:5 from the dossier of baptismal texts.” (143) He engages D. A. Carson as “one of the better attempts” to defend the position of a non-baptismal understanding of the phrase. Carson’s treatment is in his commentary on John in the Pillar series. Given the importance of this phrase I was a bit disappointed in the brevity it received from Ferguson—a mere 3 ½ pages. (You can hear a sermon on John 3:1-21 entitled "A Night of Questions" by Carson here.)

This discussion prompted me to look at how the major study Bibles treated this phrase. Let’s take a look. Some notes are shortened for the sake of brevity.

ESV Study Bible – The phrase born of water and the Spirit in 3:5 refers to spiritual birth, which cleanses from sin and brings spiritual transformation and renewal. Water here does not refer to the water of physical birth, nor is it likely to refer to baptism. The background is probably Ezek. 36:25-27, where God promises, ‘I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. . .

NLT Study Bible – water and the Spirit (or and spirit; the Greek word Spirit can also be translated wind; see note on 3:8): John the Baptist baptized with water; Jesus baptized with the Spirit (1:33)

NIV Study Bible – born of water and the Spirit. A phrase understood in various ways: 1. It means much the same as “born of the Spirit” (v. 8; cf. Tit 3:5 and note). 2. Water here refers to purification. 3. Water refers to baptism—that of John (1:31) or that of Jesus and his disciples (see v. 22; 4:2 and notes). 4. Water refers to physical birth, specifically to the water of the amniotic sac (cf. v. 6).

MacArthur Study Bible – born of water and the Spirit. Jesus referred not to literal water here but to the need for ‘cleansing’ (e.g., Ezek. 36:24-27). When water is used figuratively in the OT, it habitually refers to renewal or spiritual cleansing, especially when used in conjunction with ‘spirit’. Thus, Jesus made reference to the spiritual washing or purification of the soul, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God at the moment of salvation, required for belonging to His kingdom. (I’ve omitted a number of cross references provided in this note.)

Ryrie Study Bible – born of water and the Spirit. Various interpretations have been suggested for the meaning of ‘water’: (1) it refers to baptism as a requirement for salvation. However, this would contradict many other NT passages (Eph 2:8-9); (2) it stands for the act of repentance that John the Baptizer’s baptism signified; (3) it refers to natural birth . . . (4) it means the Word of God, as in John 15:3; (5) it is a synonym for the Holy Spirit and may be translated, ‘by water, even the Spirit.” One truth is clear: the new birth is from God through the Spirit.

Orthodox Study Bible – This birth of water and the Spirit is a direct reference to Christian baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit given at chrismation.

Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible – born of water and the Spirit. This enigmatic phrase has elicited much discussion and a number of proposed solutions. (1) The ‘water’ in view is the release of the amniotic fluid that accompanies physical birth. But nowhere else in Scripture does the word ‘water’ refer to amniotic fluid. (2) The ‘water’ here refers to the water of Christian baptism. But such a reference, which would have preceded the institution of that rite, would have been meaningless to Nicodemus. (3) The ‘water’ is an allusion to the Old Testament passages in which the terms ‘water’ and ‘Spirit’ are linked to express the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the latter days, or end times. . . (4) The ‘water’ here refers to John’s baptism. Like Christian baptism, John’s baptism signified cleansing from sin. . .This view offers the most parallels to the old Testament and makes sense in light of the mention of John the Baptist in chapters 1 and 3.

By now you know what I like in a study Bible on a passage like this. I like the various interpretations to be enumerated. I don’t mind if it advocates for one position over another but I want to know what the options are. The NIV Study Bible spells out the options in short order. The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible did an especially nice job with comments noting potential problems with some of the views. The NLT Study Bible was a disappointment. I wasn’t all that happy with the ESV Study Bible either. In the case of the Orthodox Study Bible I’m not looking for interpretive options as much as the Orthodox understanding and that’s what you get. You should know many in the Orthodox community are not at all happy with this Bible. See here for example. For a good paper on this verse as it relates to baptismal regeneration see the discussion by Paul Adams here.

As for Ferguson he sees a lot more water than I do in many passages. He would likely say that my studies have dehydrated me. He may be right. I am enjoying the book and will keep you updated from time to time on my progress.

Who Wrote the Book of Joshua?

This post on the authorship of the book of Joshua (part 1) by Robert Hubbard was an absolute delight to read. If commentaries were written like this they would be a whole lot more fun. Zondervan has just released one of the last remaining commentaries in the popular series The NIV Application Commentary. This is the entry on Joshua and is authored by Robert Hubbard who is professor of Biblical Literature at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. The question prompted me to return to a series that I’ve neglected for some time now—the comparison of notes in the major study Bibles.

If you had asked me when I first became a Christian "Who wrote the book of Joshua?" I would have gladly told you. “I know exactly who wrote it. Joshua did. And I know because C. I. Scofield told me he wrote it.” You’ll find no discussion on the authorship of Joshua in the Scofield Study Bible. Simply stated: "Author: Joshua." How do the newer study Bibles compare?

I started with what I knew would be the two most conservative—the Ryrie Study Bible and the MacArthur Study Bible. Ryrie said that while “some portions were not written by Joshua (15:13-17; 24:29-31)” he is “clearly the author” based on 24:1-26. MacArthur says the “author is not named” but that “the most probable candidate is Joshua.” He also notes that an assistant “could have finished the book by attaching circumstances as those concerning Joshua’s death.”

The Life Application Study Bible could be placed in this category. It notes “Author: Joshua, except for the ending which may have been written by the high priest Phinehas, an eyewitness to the events recounted there.”

The remaining study Bibles were more cautious in their conclusions (listed here in no particular order).

ESV Study Bible: The book is “named for its leading character” but the “book’s author, however, is not explicitly mentioned.” It continues, “While the book depicts Joshua writing (Josh 8:32; 24:26), it does not claim he wrote the book.”

TNIV Study Bible: It is “safe to conclude that the book draws on early sources. It may date from the beginning of the monarchy.” We are “unsure who the final author or editor was.”

NLT Study Bible: “No where does the book of Joshua claim that Joshua was its author. The author or authors remain anonymous.”

Spirit of the Reformation Bible: “Author: unknown.” “It is likely that its final form resulted from a compiler or compilers working with an earlier version of the book.”

The Apologetics Study Bible: The book is “anonymous in its final form.” It is “clear from Josh. 24:26 that Joshua wrote certain portions of it.” “Precisely when the book of Joshua came to exist in its present form is unknown.”

NKJV Study Bible: "The Book of Joshua does not state who wrote it. Joshua himself undoubtedly wrote portions of the book, since 24:26 states, 'Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God."

Archaeological Study Bible: “No one knows for certain who wrote/compiled the book of Joshua or when or where it was written. Scholars have proposed dates ranging from immediately after Joshua’s lifetime to the time of Samuel to the early monarchy and even to the postexilic period.”

It was interesting to note how various Bibles interpreted the role of Josh. 24:26 in the debate. Some like Ryrie said it "clearly" showed Joshua was the author. Others, like the ESV Study Bible said it could not be pressed that far. Most noted that the Jewish tradition attributes the book to Joshua. Of those listed I liked the layout and discussion of the Archaeological Study Bible best (I gave only a small portion of their actual entry.). Though brief (they were all brief) it did a nice job of encapsulating the issues and giving the various options of interpretation.

World Magazine Crowns ESV Study Bible 2009 Book of the Year

Congratulations to Crossway publishers on the selection of the ESV Study Bible (hereafter ESVSB) as the recipient on World Magazine's 2009 Book of the Year. Marvin Olasky, editor in chief of World Magazine, says the ESVSB is "informative throughout and spectacular in parts." He cites the many articles which have been praised for their clarity and thoroughness. He also says he took it for a "road test" as he went through the book of Leviticus. He enjoys the various charts and illustrations and the occasional note acknowledging that "we just don't know." He concludes, "The Bible is the book for all years; this study Bible is a particular winner in the Year of Our Lord 2009."

In March of this year the ESVSB was selected as the Book of the Year and also won in the Bible category by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Study Bible Notes Compared 5: John 1:16

This time I’m going to do something a little different. All my previous posts have focused only on the notes of particular study Bibles. This week I will look at the translations also. The NLT reads “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” (Note how different the first part differs from the first edition of the NLT “We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—one gracious blessing after another.”) The ESV reads “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” The NIV reads “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” The NET Bible reads “For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.” The TNIV reads “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” The phrase in question is the last part which reads literally “grace instead of grace.” The NET Bible note shows three different interpretations: “1) love (grace) under the New Covenant in place of love (grace) under the Sinai Covenant, thus replacement; 2) grace ‘on top of’ grace, thus accumulation; 3) grace corresponding to grace, thus correspondence” (en loc). They note that the second interpretation is the most popular and it is also the one they favor. The NLT Study Bible gives this note: “Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; a literal translation is received grace upon grace.” The ESV Study Bible combines the note to cover vv. 16&17. The note favors the first interpretation as given in the NET Bible. I like the coverage in the NET Bible though I favor the first interpretation myself. None of the other study Bibles noted the difference. But here is a curiosity I found in the TNIV Study Bible. You can see that the TNIV is the only translation that adopts the first interpretation in its translation which is a change from the NIV. But the notes in the NIV Study Bible and the TNIV Study Bible are exactly the same. So the note reads in the TNIV Study Bible: “grace in place of grace already given. To the blessing that came through Moses has been added the greater blessing that has come through Jesus (see v. 17; see also Heb 1:1-4 and notes).” This note suits the NIV translation well but does not quite go along with the text of the TNIV. I have found this in one other place. Notice the difference between the TNIV and the NIV in Mark 1:41 (NIV = Jesus is compassionate; TNIV = Jesus is indignant, but the note is the same which comments on Jesus’ compassion). To be sure, these are not major problems but it does show the difficulty in just transferring a set on notes designed for one translation to a different translation.

Study Bible Notes Compared 4: Gen. 6:4

This time I'm looking at Genesis 6:4 which reads "The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterwards, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men" (HCSB). The controversy surrounds, among other things, who/what are the "sons of God?" Basically there are three views: 1) fallen angels, 2) male descendants of Seth or 3) tyrannical kings. All of the study Bibles excelled here. MacArthur mentions all three but argues for the fallen angels view. The NLT Study Bible, NIV Study Bible, ESV Study Bible and the NET Bible mention all three views but most do not argue for one view over another. The Life Application Study Bible only mentioned two views but that is understandable given its emphasis on application. I would like to note that the NET Bible was the most through and also offered what no other study Bible does: it references a commentary in the note for further study. In this case it cites G. J. Wenham's contribution in the Word Biblical commentary and even gives the page number. The NLT Study Bible does include a section for "Further Reading" at the end of their book introduction and this commentary is noted as well along with several others. But only the NET Bible includes bibliographic references in the actual notes. I like this feature in both the NLT Study Bible and the NET Bible and would welcome this feature in future editions of study Bibles. My first choice on this is the NET Bible.

Study Bible Notes Compared 3: Ezekiel 40-43

Ezekiel describes a temple in chapters 40 - 43. The debate over this passage is whether or not this is a literal temple or is it intended to be understood figuratively. First let me say how I decide what passages I comment on. Generally speaking it has to do with something I'm already reading. In this case the topic came up because of a chapter in a new book from Baker Academic, The Case for Historic Premilliennialism, which touched on this issue and prompted me to pull out my study Bibles. What did I find? I looked at six study Bibles. The NLT Study Bible provided a small note but then offers three extended articles on the topic: "Temple Architecture as Theology", "Temple Legislation as Theology", and "Israel's Geography as Theology". It clearly states that this is "not a blueprint for future construction." The articles are very well done but it is all from one viewpoint. The Life Application Study Bible offers four views as does the ESV Study Bible. The latter does add that this is "one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible." The MacArthur Study Bible only offers one view. I've come to expect this from the single-author study Bibles. The NIV Study Bible only offers one view as an "idealized picture of a new order to be put in place." My first choice this time goes to the Life Application Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible for interpretive options and the NLT Study Bible for the most extensive explanation from one particular viewpoint. I was disappointed in the NIV Study Bible this time around. I did look at the NET Bible but they had no comment. Next time I'll look at Genesis 6 and "Who are the Sons of God?"

Study Bible Notes Compared 2: 1 Tim 2:12

I lapsed in this series but am excited to get back to it. This time I'm looking at the very controversial verse of 1 Tim 2:12. The NLT says "I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly." The NLT Study Bible offers a small note but then offers an article on the opposite page listing the three major views on "Women's Roles in the NT Church." The ESV Study Bible offers only one interpretation and that is that women may not teach men. While I happen to agree with this interpretation I'm disappointed that the ESV Study Bible does not note that other interpretations are possible. This is what I like about a good study Bible: it shows interpretative options. This is precisely what the NIV Study Bible does. It offers two interpretations. The MacArthur Study Bible offers only the one view that women may not teach men. The NKJV Study Bible offers two views. From this small survey I have to give this one to the NLT Study Bible as my first choice and the NIV Study Bible as my second. When I'm talking to customers about study Bibles one thing I always mention is that the notes will frequently (obviously not always) offer interpretative options. This is especially important with those unfamiliar with the Bible. Next time we'll venture into some Old Testament passages.

Two New Study Bibles Coming in 2009

Two new study Bibles are coming out this year. Last year we saw the birth of the NLT Study Bible , The Discipleship Study Bible (NRSV), and the ESV Study Bible. First in order of publication is the Wesley Study Bible from Abingdon Press. It is an NRSV and is edited by Joel B. Green and William H. Willimon. You can see more about it here. This will be a real welcome to the study Bible market since there is virtually nothing of study Bibles from a Wesleyan/Arminian tradition. I encourage you to take a look at the sampler. We should see it in bookstores in February or March. Later in the year we will have The Lutheran Study Bible from Concordia. The target date for its release is Reformation Day 2009 (October 31). This is not a new edition of the Concordia Self-Study Bible which was just a NIV Study Bible with modifications for Lutherans. It will be in the English Standard Version but is not a revision or modification in any way of the ESV Study Bible. I look forward to seeing both these study Bibles and already have people in mind I know will enjoy them. Finally, many of you will remember Zondervan's The Spiritual Formation Bible. It has been re-published by Upper Room Books and is called The Meeting God Bible. It has the same content and the same layout as its predecessor. Those interested in spiritual formation will enjoy this Bible.

Study Bible Notes Compared 2 - Heb 6:4-6

Today we'll look at a very difficult and controversial passage: Hebrews 6:4-6. As a reminder this blog series is not intended to contribute anything new to the discussion but rather is a survey of the various study Bibles and the notes that are made on those passages. In particular we want to look at passages which allow for more than one interpretation. Hebrews 6 certainly qualifies. The central issue in the debate over this passage is can a genuinely saved person lose their salvation. Five major views have been offered. 1) These are genuinely saved people who do in fact lose their salvation through an act of apostasy. 2) These are genuinely saved people who are not pressing on to maturity and therefore are risking the loss of rewards but not their salvation. 3) The passage is only making a hypothetical warning. No real loss is experienced. 4) The passage is talking about the community as a whole and not individuals. 5) These are not genuinely saved people but rather those who have gone through the motions and have experienced a superficial taste of what it really means to be a Christian. There is no loss of salvation because the people were never saved to begin with. So, how do the study Bibles compare?

For this text I compared the following Bibles: ESV Study Bible, TNIV Study Bible (the notes in this Bible are the same as the NIV Study Bible), NLT Study Bible, NKJV Study Bible, The Life Application Study Bible, The MacArthur Study Bible and The Ryrie Study Bible. The first to note is all these study Bibles come from varying degrees of a Calvinist perspective which leads one to ask don't the Arminians have a study Bible? Well, they certainly don't have the choices that the Calvinists do. A couple that have gone out of print are The Reflecting God Study Bible (which was an adaption of the NIV Study Bible and the old The Wesley Study Bible. There is a new Wesley Study Bible due to come out next year from Cokesbury. Otherwise some have pointed to the Life in the Spirit Study Bible which is Arminian but also Pentecostal. The Society of Evangelical Arminians has a small write up on this Bible and its treatment of election which some will find useful. With that aside let's look at the "Calvinist" study Bibles.

The ESV Study Bible offered the most view points (4). It certainly has the longest note and dedicated a couple of different notes for the passage. It argues heavily for the view that these are not genuine Christians and salvation may not be lost. The TNIV Study and the Ryrie Study Bible name three different views. The former leans in the direction of these being "professing Christians" and the latter, while a bit vague, seems to lean in the direction of the hypothetical view. (This is, in fact, his viewpoint if you check his Basic Theology, p 385-86.) MacArthur presents only one view at the verse itself but offers more discussion in a section called "Interpretive Challenges." In typical MacArthur fashion he states, "There is no possibility of these verses referring to losing salvation." The NLT Study Bible and the Life Application Study Bible offer an interpretation but do not indicate there are other options. The former does say it is "one of the most difficult" passages.

Overall I think the ESV study Bible has the best coverage (from a Calvinistic perspective). The TNIV Study Bible would be my second choice. Let's remember notes are just that--notes, not dissertations. While it is nice when a study Bible offers a little lengthier note (as in this case with the ESV) that is not always possible. If a note at least alerts the reader of interpretive options then they can pursue further study if so desired. Those that offered only one interpretation (NLT Study Bible and Life Application) would be last on my list. What about Ryrie and MacArthur? I understand that in these notes I'm getting the author's unique perspective. I don't expect them to give alternate views although I think it is nice when they do.
Next week we'll look at I Tim 2:12 and the issue of women in the church.

Study Bible Notes Compared 1

One of the questions I get a lot is "What is the difference between the NIV Study Bible and the Life Application Study Bible?" Realizing I don't have much time to describe all the various features, I often describe the difference like this: The NIV Study Bible is like reading the Bible with a teacher over your shoulder. The Life Application Study Bible (LASB) is like reading the Bible with a pastor over your shoulder. I've found this helpful as have my customers. As is true with any general description there are exceptions. The LASB does provide some academic notes and the NIV Study Bible does provide some application notes. But, in general the description seems to fit. Over the next few weeks I will be comparing the notes between various study Bibles. I'll be looking at not only the two I've already mentioned but also the two newest study Bibles: the NLT Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible. In particular, I will look at passages which allow for more than one interpretation (although I'll look at other passages as well). How many viewpoints does each study Bible present and does it show a bias or argue for the validity of one over another. I will note other study Bibles on occasion such as the NET Bible or one of the single-author study Bibles like the MacArthur Study Bible or the Ryrie Study Bible. But for the most part I will confine my comments to the major study Bibles that have the majority of the market. Just as it is true that it is good for people to own more than one translation I think we will see that it is also beneficial to own more than one study Bible. Also, for the most part I will not be looking at specialty Bibles like The Archaeological Study Bible or The Apologetics Study Bible . There may be a time to examine these and, where applicable, I certainly will. Check back to see how your favorite study Bible compares.

Next week we will start with the very controversial passage of Hebrews 6:4-6.