ESV Study Bible, Ben-Has-A-Sample Edition
June 26, 2008 – 8:48 pm(see my first post on the ESV Study Bible here)
I got my copy of the ESV Study Bible Gospel of Luke today. Crossway sent a bunch over to DG, so we all got copies. BBC Bookstore also has a handful out on display.
This thing is really pretty amazing. I now understand why Driscoll couldn’t wait to talk about it once he got his hands on it. And why BBC has brochures for it EVERYWHERE. And churches all over the place are selling preorders.
Once you see it, you’ll want one.
There are very low-tech ways to do the Bible - just present the text, the verse numbers, the headings, and maybe some translational footnotes and/or crossreferences. Those have their place - they allow you to study the text on your own without footnotes forcing their interpretation on you.
And there are varying levels of non-low-tech Bibles, with different types of notes, maps, charts, etc. I’ve owned an NIV Life Application Study Bible, an NIV Study Bible, and the ESV Literary Study Bible… This blows them out of the water.
This is the Google of Bibles. (Can I say that?)
People did search before Google… then Google came and changed the way you thought of search. People did webmail before Google… then Gmail came and changed the way you thought of webmail. This will change the way you think of study Bibles.
The intros are long, helpful, and meaningful - you’ll want to read them. The diagrams are BEAUTIFUL - the inside of my sample copy has rendering of “Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus”, with markers detailing and explaining where all sorts of important features/locations are. There are supposedly over 200 little full-color maps inline with the footnotes - how often do you actually flip to the back of your Bible to look at the maps there? I never have. Hopefully this will teach me the importance of location location location. The footnotes are also full of charts with titles such as “Parallels in the Ministries of Jesus, Peter, and Paul in Luke-Acts”, “Predictions, Reminders, and Proofs of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke”, and “Jesus and Prayer in the Gospel of Luke.”
Crossway has the book’s introduction online here. You can check out one of the diagrams here. Learn about lots more features at the ESV Study Bible website.
Why is this all important and worth getting excited over?
God tells us about Himself in His Word by telling us Truth. Ultimately, what we want is more of God - seeing Him and knowing Him (not just knowing about Him) more clearly and more fully and more deeply. This will help that, I believe, for many people, as the notes and the articles and the maps and the diagrams explain things of God through the Word and the Holy Spirit opens eyes to understand and marvel at who God is and what He has done.
All the cool new features that this Bible has are worthless if they don’t teach you more about Jesus and cause you to treasure Him more. Treasure the Giver and be thankful for the gift that helps us treasure the Giver more!
-Ben
2 Responses to “ESV Study Bible, Ben-Has-A-Sample Edition”
they should pay you to advertise for them. maybe read out your blog post, complete with hand-in-hoodie hand actions, in a one-minute commercial
By paul on Jun 26, 2008
yeah, i checked out the samples on the website. it’s solid. this thing is rocking. but the key is that it means nothing with the Subject of the Book, and that as james says, we need to practice what we read. but seriously, this thing is an awesome gift all about the ultimate Gift.
By walt on Jun 27, 2008