study bible question

[Medievalarmy]

I want some suggestions on which study bible to get. What I am looking for in a study bible: professional/scholarly commentary notes, lots of biblical references, hebrew and greek tools, good number maps and anything else you can think of. Does not matter as long as it is not KJV. I dont mind a study bible that includes everything that I mentioned. I am willing to get more bible study tools like getting a dictionary.

 

[Bluerose31]

I want some suggestions on which study bible to get. What I am looking for in a study bible: professional/scholarly commentary notes, lots of biblical references, hebrew and greek tools, good number maps and anything else you can think of. Does not matter as long as it is not KJV. I dont mind a study bible that includes everything that I mentioned. I am willing to get more bible study tools like getting a dictionary.

I was considering getting a new Bible today too. They have nice ones on Amazon.

 

[Korean-American Christian]

I want some suggestions on which study bible to get. What I am looking for in a study bible: professional/scholarly commentary notes, lots of biblical references, hebrew and greek tools, good number maps and anything else you can think of. Does not matter as long as it is not KJV. I dont mind a study bible that includes everything that I mentioned. I am willing to get more bible study tools like getting a dictionary.

Fire Bible: Global Study Edition: New International Version - my first choice

The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible

ESV Study Bible

Reformation Study Bible - ESV

MACARTHUR STUDY BIBLE

CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS STUDY BIBLE (NIV)

LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE

 

[ByTheSpirit]

The Fire Bible is good if you like a Pentecostal slant on the notes.

I have the NIV Study Bible and it is outstanding with plenty of notes, illustrations, maps and even a topical guide plus mini concordance in the back for help.

I have heard the ESV Study Bible is near the same on materials as the NIV one is.

Another you may consider would be a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I has probably the most complete scripture referencing system of any Bible. It does not have any "extras" such as study notes, but does come with several illustrations to aid. I have one in NIV84

 

[AACJ]

I want some suggestions on which study bible to get. What I am looking for in a study bible: professional/scholarly commentary notes, lots of biblical references, hebrew and greek tools, good number maps and anything else you can think of. Does not matter as long as it is not KJV. I dont mind a study bible that includes everything that I mentioned. I am willing to get more bible study tools like getting a dictionary.

Mmmm, I don't think I have ever seen a study Bible including all those bells and whistles

I myself rely mostly on good Bible software with plenty of modules.

There are plenty of free modules out there (that are in the public domain) for any E-Sword users.

 

[St_Worm2]

I think the most comprehensive commentary can be found in either MacArthur Study Bible (NASB, NIV, ESV, NKJV, KJV) or the ESV Study Bible (which is in the ESV only). I own them both and refer to both of them regularly.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I think the most comprehensive commentary can be found in either MacArthur Study Bible (NASB, NIV, ESV, NKJV, KJV) or the ESV Study Bible (which is in the ESV only).

MacArthur's though is just as slanted towards one particular set of theology as the Fire Bible is. In fact the two are probably on opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

[St_Worm2]

Hi BTS, I don't have the Fire Study Bible (sounds interesting though), but it's hard to believe that the vast majority of its commentary is "slanted" anymore than the vast majority of MacArthur's is. No question that you are correct about some of it being slanted however

I guess the ESV Study Bible would be less "slanted" than either the Fire or the MacArthur, and perhaps the best choice therefore (if you're only going to own 1 study Bible)?

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Hi BTS, I don't have the Fire Study Bible (sounds interesting though), but it's hard to believe that the vast majority of its commentary is "slanted" anymore than the vast majority of MacArthur's is. No question that you are correct about some of it being slanted however

I guess the ESV Study Bible would be less "slanted" than either the Fire or the MacArthur, and perhaps the best choice therefore (if you're only going to own 1 study Bible)?

The Fire Bible is the modern name for the "Life in the Spirit" Bible that was done back in the 90's. It's main/sole contributor was Donald Stamps, who actually passed just months after the Bible was completed. It is heavy on pentecostal teachings... heavy! I own one, a KJV Life in the Spirit Bible, and I do use it from time to time, although I am much less Pentecostal now than I was when I bought it.

Of course any John MacArthur work will undoubtedly be as anti-Pentecostal as he is. The organizers of the "Strange Fire" conference has nothing good to say about Pentecostals or Charismatics, those demon worshippers as he calls them.

I own a NIV Study Bible and it is superb. I have found no instance of a specific denominational slant in any of its notes. The NLT Study Bible I have I said quite good in that arena as well. Thus I just assumed from what I know about the ESV Study Bible that it too is a good work.

 

[HereIStand]

A friend gave me the The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. I've found it to be helpful. I've also heard good things about the Anchor Bible Dictionary, but do not own it.

 

[St_Worm2]

The Fire Bible is the modern name for the "Life in the Spirit" Bible that was done back in the 90's. It's main/sole contributor was Donald Stamps, who actually passed just months after the Bible was completed. It is heavy on pentecostal teachings... heavy! I own one, a KJV Life in the Spirit Bible, and I do use it from time to time, although I am much less Pentecostal now than I was when I bought it.

Of course any John MacArthur work will undoubtedly be as anti-Pentecostal as he is. The organizers of the "Strange Fire" conference has nothing good to say about Pentecostals or Charismatics, those demon worshippers as he calls them.

I own a NIV Study Bible and it is superb. I have found no instance of a specific denominational slant in any of its notes. The NLT Study Bible I have I said quite good in that arena as well. Thus I just assumed from what I know about the ESV Study Bible that it too is a good work.

MacArthur is a cessationist, but the study notes/commentary in his Study Bible were written long before he began pursuing the "Strange Fire" stuff. His study Bible commentary is from 1997 and from his study notes prior to that date, and his position on what he has termed "Strange Fire" didn't begin until well after the modern Word of Faith movement began teaching what it does today in 2002. Before that, he didn't seem to take much of an interest in things Charismatic.

I forgot one of my true favorites BTW, the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. If you don't have one, it's excellent, because instead of simply giving you the answers to your questions in the form of notes/commentary, it takes you all over the Bible using reference links so you can come up with the answers to your questions yourself (of course, that doesn't include things like word study results and histories that study Bible commentary normally includes, but it is amazing to watch the answers to your questions (that can be answered by the Bible alone) unfold before your eyes by simply using the Bible to find them (and to realize by studying in this way that they could not be answered correctly any other way ).

It's also amazing what else you end up learning along the way (as you go through the chain references in search of the answer to your original question, you end up getting answers to questions you didn't even know to ask). It is truly a remarkable way to study the Bible.

And for me, I love the original NASB translation, and you can still get the Thompson Chain in that translation.

What an amazing blessing to have such a plenitude of study tools available to us these days, yes

 

[ByTheSpirit]

MacArthur is a cessationist, but the study notes/commentary in his Study Bible were written long before he began pursuing the "Strange Fire" stuff. His study Bible commentary is from 1997 and from his study notes prior to that date, and his position on what he has termed "Strange Fire" didn't begin until well after the modern Word of Faith movement began teaching what it does today in 2002. Before that, he didn't seem to take much of an interest in things Charismatic.

I forgot one of my true favorites BTW, the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. If you don't have one, it's excellent, because instead of simply giving you the answers to your questions in the form of notes/commentary, it takes you all over the Bible using reference links so you can come up with the answers to your questions yourself (of course, that doesn't include things like word study results and histories that study Bible commentary normally includes, but it is amazing to watch the answers to your questions (that can be answered by the Bible alone) unfold before your eyes by simply using the Bible to find them (and to realize by studying in this way that they could not be answered correctly any other way ).

It's also amazing what else you end up learning along the way (as you go through the chain references in search of the answer to your original question, you end up getting answers to questions you didn't even know to ask). It is truly a remarkable way to study the Bible.

And for me, I love the original NASB translation, and you can still get the Thompson Chain in that translation.

What an amazing blessing to have such a plenitude of study tools available to us these days, yes

I love my NIV84 Thompson!

 

[St_Worm2]