Reading the Bible with the Experts

Of the many rare Bibles owned by our library one of my favorites is a copy of the Geneva Bible, printed in London in 1609. This Bible version, originally published in 1560 by Reformed Christians living in Geneva, was the most popular English-language Bible for decades, even after the King James Version of 1611 was published. It was the Bible of William Shakespeare's day, and was also the favored version of the early Plymouth and Virginia settlers in the United States.

In our library's copy, the first two chapters of Genesis are missing, the final pages are in tatters, the original leather binding has given out on the spine, and there's a crude leather strip glued across its back—a repair which looks like it was done two or three hundred years ago. The Bible is inscribed with the names Samuel and Mary Harley. It's obviously seen a lot of use by the Harley family, and as I show it to others I imagine with them how the Harleys might have used it hundreds of years ago. One of the most important features of this Bible for its readers 400 years ago was its numerous study notes. The editors of the Geneva Bible included them to help readers understand more clearly what they were reading. In their introduction addressed to fellow believers ("our beloved in the Lord") they write:

And considering how hard a thing it is to understand the holy Scriptures . . . we have also endeavored both by the diligent reading of the best commentaries, and also by the conference with the godly and learned brethren, to gather brief annotations upon all the hard places . . .

Their desire was to put the Bible in the hands of common men and women, who would be instructed and encouraged and become "wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ" (2 Tim. 3:15) as they read the clear teaching of Scripture. But they also knew that the Bible contained many "hard places," and those who read it would benefit from the advice of godly readers who had been well-trained in reading the Scriptures. So they added instructive notes to many verses, suggested alternative readings when the text was unclear, listed cross-references to other passages, and included some helpful maps and drawings.

This tradition of the "study Bible" continues, and with good I reason. We know the I thrill of reading the Bible and discovering new things about God and ourselves. But we also know the feeling of being puzzled as we read the Bible for ourselves or study it with others. Alongside the clear words of Scripture there are "hard places." Jonathan, a young friend of mine who is a new believer, recently mentioned to me that he enjoyed his small group Bible study. "But what do you do," he asked, "when you get to one of those passages where it seems like everyone is just sharing their ignorance and confusion?" I gave him a copy of the Zondervan NIV Study Bible, and suggested that he take it along to his weekly Bible study. Like Samuel and Mary Harley years ago, he can benefit from the knowledge of expert godly reading of the Scripture found on the pages of a good study Bible.

At your local bookstore you will find a retail feast of study Bibles in print and digital formats, many of them very commendable, and I do not intend to review or compare their merits here. But I do want to recommend the most recent version of the Zondervan NIV Study Bible (Zondervan, 2002) as a worthwhile acquisition for anyone who intends to study the Bible seriously. This study Bible was originally published in 1985, with a 1995 update. The 2002 edition has significant revisions, with 20,000 study notes, a cross-reference system with 100,000 entries, 61 maps, and 40 charts and diagrams. The study notes and introductions to each book of the Bible, originally written by an outstanding team of evangelical scholars, have also been significantly augmented and revised. Calvin Theological Seminary's emeritus Professor of Old Testament, John Stek, contributed significantly to the revision of the notes on the Psalms and a number of the Old Testament wisdom and prophetic books. Emeritus Professor of New Testament Andrew Bandstra contributed to the newly revised notes on Revelation. With its ease of use and even-handed, well-written explication of the Scriptures, the NIV Study Bible provides a good one-volume portable library at the bargain price of S39.99(US).

Related Books

CCEL's Study Page
Helps to the Study of the Bible published by Oxford University Press