Construction and Layout
This is a hard cover edition that is glued. It comes with a removable book cover. Under the cover is a dark red with gold lettering. The paper is really nice. It’s very opaque with not much show-through at all. I haven’t tried, but I don’t think there would be any issues with highlighting. It does have a slight shine in certain lighting that can make it difficult to read.
The font is large at 11-point with around a 12-point leading. This is one of the darkest and best fonts I’ve seen in a study Bible. This is a red-letter edition. The red is also dark. This is a nice shade of red for red-letter. The print quality is among the best I’ve seen in a study Bible. There is some slight variation in the red lettering, but it’s not bad at all.
The fonts for the notes are smaller, but just as bold. I’m guessing them to be 7-point. Section headings are in a bolder print and in italics. Verse numbers are printed just as dark as the section headings. Chapter numbers are in a two-line drop-cap and are dark red. I love this.
I like the design of this Bible. The font is my favorite of any study Bible. I would love to have this as a reference Bible – without any of the study notes but with the section headings left in.
Study Features
References and Translation Notes
References and translators footnotes are placed in the center column. There are lots of references. Genesis 1:1 has 16. John 1:1 has 8. Matthew 17:20 contains 4, and they reference the topic rather than the word, making them much more useful in my opinion.
Book Introductions
The book introductions take 1-2 pages and include various detailed information about the book, author, historical setting, date of writing, occasion, purpose, recipients, theme, an outline, and more. Not every book has the same information. They discuss Hebrew and Greek words, the cultural setting, and some theological issues. There isn’t a lot of theological bias, but there is some.
Commentary (Annotations)
The commentary covers the major verses and points and includes Scripture references, Greek and Hebrew word studies, theological commentary, explanations about the literal meaning of text (for example, Very, verily means amen, amen), information about customs and cultures, etc. As expected there is a lot of theological bias.
Footnotes
There are footnote articles that appear on many pages. They include doctrinal information, personality profiles, and archaeological sites. The footnotes are very detailed an informative. The doctrinal notes (labeled with a drawing of a key) include the key passage, an illustration, and an application. The personality profiles (labeled with a drawing of a person) give a quick biography of the person, some interesting facts about them, and other references about them. The archaeological sites (labeled with a drawing of a shovel) discuss a place and interesting facts about it. It gives other names that it was known by, other references in the Bible, some key people to know about, etc. I found the personality profiles and archaeological site to be the most interesting and informative.
In-text Maps
Maps are placed throughout the commentary with labels and annotations. For example, Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem in John 3 shows a map that contains Galilee, Samaria, and Juda, and is annotated with where Jesus was, what the events were, and the Scriptures that correspond to it.
Back Material
- Topical Index to Christ and the Gospels
- Teachings and Illustrations of Christ
- Parables of Christ
- Miracles of Christ
- Prophecies of the Messiah Fulfilled in Christ
- Topical Index to Paul and His Letters
- Topical Index to End Times Prophecy
- Monies, Weights, and Measures
- The Jewish Calendar
- Prayers of the Bible
- Index to Annotations
- 196 page Concordance with Word Studies (Strong’s numbers and definitions)
- 8 pages of annotated color maps
There is a lot of good material in the back for study. Most of it is lists of Scripture references, so there isn’t a lot of theological commentary. I especially like the topical indexes and the concordance containing Strong’s numbers and definitions. There aren’t a ton of definitions, but every word has a Strong’s number.
In the front is a good article on how to study the Bible and a list of Scriptures about God’s answers to our concerns. With that article and the rest of the study material, there is a lot of information to help in personal and group study as well as sermon and class prep. Just keep in mind that all commentary in fallible and contains theological bias. I recommend that you do your own study.
Conclusion
I love the font and print quality of this Bible. I want it in a regular reference edition (with a calfskin cover). Like all study Bibles with commentary, do your own study and only use the commentary as a guideline. Keep in mind that commentary is fallible. I especially like the non-biased personality studies and archaeological information. These, combined with the references and translation notes, the concordance with Strong’s numbers, and the topical lists make it a good study Bible for personal and group studies, as well as sermon and classroom prep.
Thomas Nelson provided this Bible free for review. I was not required to give a positive review – only an honest review. My opinions are my own.