The Hampton Text Bible is a new typesetting from TBS, intended primarily as an evangelistic tool, with archaic words or words that have changed in meaning marked and defined in the footnotes. Currently, it’s available in a softcover edition and three hardcover editions, plus a special limited edition commemorating William Tyndale. I’m reviewing the softcover, the blue hardcover, and the Will Tyndale Commemorative Edition.
TBS provided these Bibles in exchange for an honest review.
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This Bible is available at TBS
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Table of Contents
Cover and Binding
Here are the covers I’m reviewing. It’s only available in softcover and hardcover. The other hardcover colors are black and burgundy. Only the Tyndale edition has ribbons. All have white page edges. The softcover is currently $9, and all the hardcovers are $11. They’re excellent for the money, and I could see them costing more. Their overall size is around 4 x 5.75 x 1 inches, and they weigh around 11 oz.
William Tyndale Comemorative Edition
The William Tyndale Commemorative Edition is the most elegant, and it’s my favorite of the three. It features a photo of the William Tyndale statue on the front, with the image wrapping around the spine to part of the back. The rest of the back is yellow and features John 20:31, the dates of Tyndale’s life, and a note indicating that this is a commemorative edition. This one includes two extra-long ribbons: one in blue and one in gold. It has several thick end sheets in the front that include a presentation page and information about William Tyndale and his New Testament. The ribbons make this one better for reading, since they keep your place.
Hardcover
The blue hardcover is a dark blue and has silver printing on the front and spine. The texture feels like cloth. It has several thick end sheets in the front. The first is a presentation page. A few are blank, and the last three include Scriptures. It stays open in the hand with no trouble.
Softcover
The softcover is light blue with a pebbly texture. Printing on the front and spine is in silver. The spine is flexible, allowing more whitespace in the inner margin. It has several thick end sheets with Scriptures printed on three of them. This one is easy to carry and hold open to read.
Paper
This isn’t a premium paper, but it is a good paper. I’d guess it to be around the mid-30s in GSM. It has a slightly rough texture that makes it easy to grab and turn. It’s offwhite in color, and the show-through is minimal, making it great for reading. This is a good choice of paper for this kind of Bible.
Typography
The 1769 KJV text is presented in a double-column, verse-by-verse layout with no other formatting. The header shows the book name and chapters in the outer margin and a page summary in the inner margin. The footer shows definitions separated from the text with a line, and the page number in the outer margin. Paragraphs are marked with pilcrows. Words that are defined at the bottom of the page include an asterisk. It doesn’t include the translator’s footnotes or chapter summaries.
The font is 6.3. It includes enough whitespace to make it comfortable to read. The text is black letter, which is dark and consistent. I’m not sure if it was line-matched on purpose, but most lines do match. The text does go into the gutter a little further than I’d like, but it’s still readable. Although the text is small for my 57-year-old eyes, I had no trouble reading it with my glasses. It does become a challenge after a while, though. It’s excellent for reading if you don’t need a large print text. I’d love to see a large print version of the Hampton Text Edition.
Definitions
The Hampton Text Bible includes over 5000 on-page word definitions and explanations that appear at the bottom of the page. They’re marked with an asterisk for regular words and a squigly symbol for measurements. The main word is bold, followed by a word or two that are modern equivalents in regular print. It would help if the definitions were in alphabetical order, but they are easy to use.
Preface
In the front is a preface that provides information about the Bible, including the number of books, that it’s inspired, some information about the KJV, information about the Hampton Edition, etc. It highlights the value of the KJV without promoting King James onlyism.
Tables of Weights and Measures
The Tables of Weights and Measures is 5.5 pages. The tables show the type of measure, equivalent Old Testament measure, equivalent New Testament measure, Hebrew and Greek words, approximate equivalent Imperial measure, approximate equivalent metric measure, biblical references, and the time that’s covered. The definitions throughout the Bible include a symbol to tie the text to these tables.
Tables include:
- Old Testament Weights
- Old Testament Lengths
- Old Testament Liquid Measures
- Old Testament Dry Measures
- Old Testament Money
- Old Testament Time
- New Testament Weights
- New Testament Lengths
- New Testament Liquid Measures
- New Testament Dry Measures
- New Testament Money
- New Testament Time
Bible Reading Plan
The Bible reading plan is the same plan used in other TBS Bibles. It includes a morning and evening reading from different locations in the Bible. It’s a two-year plan that takes you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. I’ve used this plan before for a one-year reading with my family, and it worked great. I like the idea of a two-year plan to slow down a little.
Maps
In the back are 8 maps on thick, non-glossy pages. This is my favorite paper for maps. They are well-drawn and printed in bold colors. The topography of hills and mountains is especially detailed. Maps include distance, routes, cities, seas, rivers, mountains, wildernesses, cities of refuge, kingdoms, expansions, arrows for trade, annotations, locations of idols, dates, Scripture references, fortress cities, borders, color-coding for territories, and more. I like these maps a lot. I would prefer to have an index, but the locations are printed large enough to be found easily. Even at this size, they’re easy to read.
- Time of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- Undivided Kingdom
- Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
- The Persian Empire
- Holy Land in the Time of Christ
- Paul’s Missionary Journeys
Video Review
Conclusion
The Hampton Text Edition Bibles from TBS are nice little Bibles at an amazing price of $9.00-11.00. The low cost and updated words on the page make them excellent Bibles for carrying and evangelism. They’re currently only available in hardcover and softcover, but a version in leather could be made available if there is enough interest. I like softcover and hardcover Bibles, and I can see these being great for carrying around and giving away. The Hampton Text Edition is easy to recommend.
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This Bible is available at TBS
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TBS provided these Bibles in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
