Over the recent years, many study Bibles have been released to help individuals understand and apply biblical principles to their life. These are great tools to have on hand.
The Evangelical Study Bible was released in 2023 overseen by a group of biblical scholars from Liberty University. It is said in the foreword that the goal of this study Bible is “to produce faith-affirming study notes that represent the finest conservative Christian scholarship and to provide clear explanations of biblical passages for today’s readers.” Therefore, this shows where the theological positions of the study notes lie. For example, when talking about tongues, the notes refer to the spiritual gift in the past tense; meaning it is really not active today.
The Evangelical Study Bible is a conservative study Bible with notes constructed to help the Christian believer in 2023 and beyond.
Let’s take a closer look…
Texts and layout
This study Bible uses the New King James translation (NKJV). It is a solid translation choice. I enjoy using the NKJV from time to time. The font size is very readable, and the study notes font size is great (as many study Bibles can make the notes too small).
Each page features the biblical texts, Scripture reference guide in the center, notes for study at the bottom of the page, and articles and pictures throughout (more on those later). I like the shaded box for the Scripture reference guide in the center. It is easy to follow and catches my eye as I read. The notes at the bottom of the page start with a blue font of the verse or phrase the notes work through. The notes are well thought out and clear, but the blue font does not stick out enough to catch my eye. I would have done either a different color or font to make sure it catches the eye better.
Each book of the Bible starts off with a short introduction ending with a great simple outline of the book. Throughout there are great pictures of archaeological finds, maps, and images to help understand the passage, historical context, and “realness” of the Scriptures (which is quite helpful). You will also find articles throughout ranging from character studies, to historical/archaeological issues, apologetic issues, and doctrinal issues. These are well marked and can take a complicated issue and make it simple to understand. These are short, sweet, and to the point which is very beneficial to the reader.
Does it complete its goal?
Remember the goal of making the Bible clear for today’s reader? I feel like this study Bible lends more biblical theological study more than modern day application. While there are portions of notes that have applications, the question of how can this be applied today or how does Scripture handle certain issues in clarity are missing here and there. It is a great study Bible for digging deep into verses, contexts, and other matters. But, I believe it does not provide a good source of application as other sources have done.
cONCLUSION
The Evangelical Study Bible is a good study Bible stemming from the conservative theological position as taught at Liberty University. Notes and articles are thorough and clear. This resource is great for understanding passages, language, historical context, and other such things. However, it lacks in the wrestling with issues that many Christians face today in application of the Bible (there is some, but not as much as it leads the reader to believe it has as stated in the foreword) . This Bible is comparable to the NIV Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible.
One thing that I like about the Evangelical Study Bible is that is makes commentary work easier and more accessible rather than having loads of commentaries.
In the end, this is a great tool to have with lots of interactive articles and notes. However, it did not stick out to me as doing something different that other study Bible in the past have failed to do. The Evangelical Study Bible follows in a long line of great resources to have, but tends to have similar look and feel as the ones before.
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(This study Bible was given to me free by biblegateway.com for an honest review as I am a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid)
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