The Holman Handcrafted CSB Giant Print Bible is a hand-made CSB that’s excellent for reading and preaching. It’s available in two colors of calfskin covers. I’m reviewing the marbled olive calfskin leather, ISBN 9798384518228. It was printed in China.

Features:

  • CSB text
  • Calfskin leather cover
  • Wide margins
  • Smyth-sewn
  • Edge-lined binding
  • High-quality Bible paper
  • Two-column text format
  • 12-point type size
  • Red-letter text
  • Art gilt page edges
  • Three ribbon markers
  • Concordance
  • Full-color maps

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This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)

Amazon

Christianbook

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Table of Contents

  1. Cover and Binding
  2. Paper
  3. Typography
  4. Where to Turn
  5. Table of Weights and Measures
  6. Topical Concordance
  7. Maps
  8. Video Review
  9. Conclusion

Cover and Binding

The cover is marbled olive calfskin leather. It’s an olive green with lots of color variation. It has a smooth texture, a touch of grain, perimeter stitching, and no printing on the front or back. The spine has five raised hubs and text stamped in gold.

It’s edge-lined with leather (possibly calfskin) with a gold line that traces the outer edge. The edge-lined tab is slightly stiff, but it has no trouble staying open in the middle of Genesis. The block is sewn. It includes three double-sided gold satin ribbons. The overall size is 6.75 x 10 x 1.75 inches, and it weighs 2 lbs, 15.2 oz.

Paper

The paper seems to be around 36GSM, but that’s just a guess. It’s white and highly opaque. There is a slightly rough texture that’s great for writing and makes the pages easy to grab and turn. There is no glare under direct light. The page edges are art-gilt.

I’m using a Pigma Micron for notes. There is some noticeable show-through, but it’s not bad. The inner margin is difficult to write in, but the outer margin is great for small notes.

Typography

The CSB text is presented in a double-column, paragraph layout with formatting for letters, lists, and poetry. The header includes the book name and chapters in the outer margin, and the page number in the center. The header, chapter, and verse numbers are in red. Footnotes are placed in the footer and are easy to use. Section headings and OT quotes are bold.

It’s typeset in a 12-point black-letter MCM typeface designed by 2K/Denmark. The print is dark and consistent. There is enough space between the letters, words, and lines to make it comfortable to read and mark. It looks to be line-matched, making it easier to read without distractions. I find this font to be great for reading and preaching.

Poetry is divided into good places. You can tell they took extra care with the poetic layout. The verse numbers are red and are large, so they’re easy to find. They’re slightly thinner than the text, which helps make them easy to ignore when reading.

Wide Margins

It has a 1-inch margin on the outside, and a half-inch margin on the top, bottom, and inside. They are great for references, definitions, or small notes. It’s hard to get a giant print text and a wide margin. This margin space feels like a good compromise between print size and writing room.

Where to Turn

After the text is a two-page list of Scriptures that shows a list of topics with verses and page numbers when you are in need. It’s simple, with one verse per need, but it is a good list for personal devotions, counseling, studying, and teaching. Although it only provides one verse for each need, it’s a good starting point, and it might be all you need.

Table of Weights and Measures

The Table of Weights and Measures is two pages and provides weights, length, dry measures, and liquid measures. It includes the biblical unit, language, biblical measure, U.S. equivalent, metric equivalent, and various translations. I especially like the translations because something can be known by more than one name, but that’s not always known when reading.

Topical Concordance

The topical concordance is 13 pages. It works more like a topical index. It provides a topic with subtopics and a list of Scripture references. For example, there are 15 subtopics for God with 56 references. This is good for basic study and teaching. It does include some theology. As always, use it for reference and do your own study.

Maps

In the back are 8 full-color maps on thick non-glossy paper. They’re printed in dark and bold colors, and are clean and easy to read. It doesn’t include a map index, but they are clean and annotated well, making them easy to use. The maps include distance, topography, mountain peaks, routes, cities, major roads, Scripture references, locations on the globe, kingdoms, locations of events, dates, etc.

Maps include:

  1. The Migration of Abraham
  2. The Route of the Exodus
  3. The Tribal Allotments of Israel
  4. The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
  5. Israel in the Time of Jesus
  6. The Ministry of Jesus Around the Sea of Galilee
  7. The Passion Week in Jerusalem
  8. Paul’s Missionary Journeys

Video Review

Conclusion

The Holman Handcrafted CSB Giant Print Bible is an excellent giant print edition with enough margin space for some small notes, short thoughts, definitions, references, etc. It’s made well and is highly readable. The red highlights look great and add to the elegance. There aren’t a lot of tools included, so you’ll need external tools for serious study and sermon prep. If you’re looking for a high-quality giant print CSB, the Holman Handcrafted CSB Giant Print is a great choice. It’s ideal for preaching, reading, and taking short notes without sacrificing print size.

_________________________________________________________

This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)

Amazon

Christianbook

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Lifeway provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.