These academic-secular-iconoclastic approaches can give surprising clues to the biblical text. Every denomination is trying to hijack the Bible so that there will be many attempts to bend the text in the notes toward a certain theological point of view. Even for a believer, it is a good exercise to move away sometimes from preconceived theological assumptions. and, who knows, after all this stretching, one can get a black belt in Bible studies after watching enough videos.

People miss the point of a telescopic analysis of ancient textual scripture, you want to own different study Bibles or handbooks that see the text from different distances. The Harper Collins is similar to the evangelical product called Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible by Zondervan in that you get comparative religious data on the Hebrew and Greek discourse analysis. It helps to know that a certain psalm is lifted directly out of the Baal cycle discovered recently at Ugarit, or that 2 Esdras shows Trinity in a Jewish source after 70 CE. This is not a devotional product meant to affirm your feels, it’s a steak dinner to give you facts and figures before you preach a text without knowing it’s history. If it makes you uncomfortable then don’t bother going to college either because this is what Bible college is meant to teach.

I just got this Bible and find it very refreshing. So many study Bibles are trying to push some theological point of view and pass it off as the only legit way to read Scripture.

This is going to be replaced later this year with the new SBL Study Bible which is a complete revision of the Harper Collins Study Bible. Both were produced under the auspices of the Society of Biblical Literature, of which SBL is the acronym, Time doesn’t stand still in biblical scholarship so a brand new work was a desideratum. If one wants to know what scholars think of of the Bible, the SBL Study Bible offers a look at the current state of the fiield of Bible studies. Next to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, it will probably be the standard textbook in university Bible courses.

Thank you for scholarly introduction of the book with your comments and recommendations.

The Bible I chose to be presented with at my Ordination. I delve into it week by week when I wrestle with my Sunday sermon.

This was very helpful. I've been using it for years but have been feeling lately like I need to move away from it. Thank you.

Well done! This was the required Study Bible while I was at Candler (several of my professors were contributors)...I'll just leave it at that🤦‍♂️

A well done informative review, thank you!

Wow! Thank you so much for your detailed review. You pinpointed many important questions. Could you, pls, tell me In what Harper Collins Study Bible differs from Oxford Annotated Study Bible? And in your opinion, wich one is the best? Lastly, if someone is trying to pick a more robust resource from archeology and bible background, wich study bible would you recommend? Thanks in advance

I have protestant Bibles but got this one so I can read books of Esdras

No study Bible can ever replace a good commentary set or scholarly books on Biblical textual criticism (sorry, but it's true). With that said, study Bibles are cheaper than the ideal, so just think about what kind of experience you are looking for from your daily Bible studies. If you really want your daily Bible study to be more academic, this would work, but I feel that the Archaeological Study Bible or the Cultures and Background Study Bible do a MUCH better job.

For some reason, this study Bible has never sat right with me. I love the NOAB, and I like the New Interpreter's Study Bible, but this one always stuck out in a bad way, and I can't quite articulate what the difference is.

It sounds like my catholic study bible with notes that try to take away your faith.

This was the Study Bible that I had to use in a college Bible course that studied scripture as literature. This is NOT a good Bible for believing Christians. Not saying it is something to be feared but Christians who decide to use this as a contrasting resource against more faithful resources need to first be strong in their faith. This work does not honor Christ.

Ah I see. This is the “liberal scholarship edition”

This is an awful study bible. There is no late dating in both testaments. All writing from old testament starts with torah and mososes. All new testament documents are written before 70ad.

Sounds usless

John 3:16 John19:30

LOL!!! I can't stop laughing! "If anyONE come after me, let THEM take up THEIR cross and follow me." Since when did anyONE person become a plural THEM and the possessive beome THEIR? This is just more of the horse hockey that is being taught to our young people. You can plainly see why the US, having been number 2 in the world for education over the years (Germany being number 1 during that time) ia now number 33 in the world. The US now ranks number 33 in the WORLD for education. I hope you know what that means. And this particular English grammar mistake is just one of the reasons why we stink at education. A correct way of saying or writing the sentence above would be: "If anyone come after me, let him or her take up the cross and follow me."