NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture

by Craig S. Keener, John H. Walton (Editor)

Discover new dimensions of insight with a behind-the-scenes tour of the ancient world You’ve heard many Bible stories hundreds of times, but how many details are you missing? Sometimes a little context is all you need to discover the rich meaning behind even the most familiar stories of Scripture. That’s what the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible provides. Every page of this NRSV Bible is packed with expert insight into the customs, culture, and literature of biblical times. These fascinating explanations will serve to clarify your study of the Scriptures, reinforcing your confidence and bringing difficult passages of Scripture into sharp focus. The Bible was originally written to an ancient people removed from us by thousands of years and thousands of miles. The Scriptures include subtle culturally based nuances, undertones, and references to ancient events, literature and customs that were intuitively understood by those who first heard the texts read. For us to truly understand the Scriptures as they did, we need a window into their world and language. The NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible , with notes from Dr. John H. Walton (Wheaton College) in the Old Testament and Dr. Craig S. Keener (Asbury Theological Seminary) in the New Testament, brings the ancient world of Scripture to life for modern readers. Expertly designed for the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) text, Zondervan's exclusive Comfort Print® delivers a smooth reading experience that complements the foremost Bible translation vetted by Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Jewish scholars. Renowned for its beautiful balance of scholarship and readability, the NRSV faithfully serves the church in personal spiritual formation, in the liturgy, and in the academy.

Genres: Christian, Reference, Nonfiction, History, Faith, Religion, Biblical Studies

2464 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2019

About the author

Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of many books, including Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, the bestseller The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Gift and Giver, and commentaries on Matthew, John, Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and Revelation.

Reviews

[Bible Gateway]

Currently available in the New International Version (NIV) and New King James Version (NKJV) Bible translations, the award-winning Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible is now also available in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) (Protestant canon edition), the translation renowned for its beautiful balance of mainline scholarship and readability. The NRSV is the popular and widely ecumenical translation vetted by Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Jewish scholars.

The NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible features study notes by Bible scholars Dr. John H. Walton and Dr. Craig S. Keener, offering readers a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the ancient world and providing deeper insights into even the most familiar passages. Read more here: https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/201...

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

So helpful in seminary prep, but also just for understanding the cultural contexts of the Bible

[Denise Cormaney]

No way I'm giving a star rating to the Bible! But I did read the whole thing. THE WHOLE THING. Whether you consider this collection of ancient books sacred scripture or merely a collection of scrolls from ancient history, it is arguably the most influential book of all time. I've always wanted to read it in it's entirety, and this year I finally did. I met with a friend each week to discuss our weekly readings, which was key. There's some tough stuff to grapple with in these pages.

If you have ever considered embarking on this, I highly recommend this translation and commentary. It provides vital cultural context for when the books were written. I also highly recommend reading with a friend, and having that friend use a different translation/commentary. Adds to the whole experience.

[Nate Bringhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year my church has been focusing on the Old Testament. I've been taking more of a deep dive this year than usual and have been doing my reading (most of it, anyway) with a few different versions rather than my usual King James version. My man, Dan McClellan, who is the scripture translation supervisor for the LDS Church, recommended most of these. The other one Jeffrey R. Holland is reading this year (The New Oxford Annotated Bible), so I decided to grab a copy of that as well. My ratings are more on the commentary/translation rather than the bible itself. We all know that is 5 stars. They're ordered from favorite to least favorite.

NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture : 5 stars. Straight cash, homies. Not only great commentary but really gives you the context of the scriptures by setting up historical settings, customs, etc. And pictures, charts, maps, etc. Not just at the beginning of the book. But has sections on certain topics as you read. Really liked that.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version : 5 stars. Enjoyed the commentary and also the historical context here as well. The best structure and really liked that they included the Apocrypha.

The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary : 4 stars. This one was too academic for my taste and over my head at times. I felt like understanding at least some basic Hebrew might have given me more of an appreciation of his commentary. And it did get pretty nit-picky at times.

The Jewish Study Bible: Featuring the Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation : 4 stars. Pretty good commentary. Some of it left me confused. And a lot of it was more of a summary rather than commentary. But some good stuff here.

[tm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alongside the Harper Collins NRSV Study Bible, this is one of my go-to references for both scholarly research and casual reading. It's unfortunate that it's so difficult to find in print for under $200, but that's just a testament (pun intended, sure why not) to the quality of its content beyond the scriptures. So why, you might ask, am I rating it under 5 stars? Only because some of its commentary is simply factually inaccurate, in my view too driven by ideology rather than data. The most glaring example of this is the downplaying of scholarly views on the Deutero-Pauline letters. In the introduction to 1 Timothy states that "some scholars suggest different authors" before moving on to quickly justify the common arguments against pseudepigraphy. Ephesians' introduction breezes past scholarly doubt of authorship, providing none of these perspectives, offering instead a blitz of unsubstantiated apologies, such as "the style is consistent with Paul's undisputed letters". This flatly contradicts objective comparative evidence. It is one thing to assert that Paul wrote these disputed books, but it is willful misinformation to omit scholarly positions, including only meager defenses without any supporting data.

Yet despite these failings, the overall content is generally a great jumping off point from which to seek deeper scholarly insight. As the majority of New Testament scholars demonstrate, a strong faith is not antithetical to honest historical and textual criticism.

[Adam Spikes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Bible was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. The Bible, of course, is the greatest book ever written, but it has many translations, commentaries, etc. The Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, though incredibly lengthy (nearly 2,300 pages) and taking over 200 hours to read (it took me 215 hours, 52 minutes, and 8 seconds), has some of the best archaeological, cultural, and historical information available for those interested in those types of studies and research. NOTE: Theology, for the most part, was left out, which was nice considering varying views across Christendom. I got 250% (maybe even more!) than I had expected from this Bible. I read the NRSV (I liked that it had the Colosseum on the cover, lol), but it’s available in other translations. Anyone interested in this type of deep dive into the historically accurate views of the ancient Jew and Christian should certainly consider this Bible.

[Randy Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Study Bible available!

If you want to improve your ability to read, understand, and apply the Bible, you must make an effort to understand the social world in which it was written. This study Bible will help you do just that. I’ve been teaching Bible study principles for almost 30 years, and I consider the cultural backgrounds of these wonderful books to be critically important to one’s accurate understanding of the context, and also it will help you distinguish the different genres so that you’ll be able to recognize the impact of each style. The amount of care and focus in this work is extraordinary, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

[P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful

I have found this to be a very useful addition to my collection of study materials. The NRSV translation is my preferred one and to have it allows with such a comprehensive body of historical, cultural and interpretive material is wonderful. There are many good essays that add so much depth to the work.

I use this study Bible in the Kindle form and I find the ease of moving around the text to be very easy. The kindle using reader has been considered well

[Edi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Resource

After doing Bible studies by Kristi McCleland want more information on the actual culture and meaning if words during Jesus lifetime. This book contains all that and more. It is also written in KJV but I bought this version just to try a different translation. It's mainly some updated wording of the KJ Bible but I open both for cross reference. Maps and charts are interesting and give a better idea of locations during those years. Peruse and enjoy!

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a deeper dive into Biblical context, this is it.

[David Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic aside from some clear evangelical bias

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't dare rate God's word, so my review is just for the articles, notes, charts, and cross references. There are so many and they are so helpful! Incredible depth of scholarship! The photographs are beautiful, too. I read it with the _One Year Bible_ four strand schedule of OT, NT, Psalms, and Proverbs every day. From childhood, I felt like writing in my Bible was kind of desecration: I would mess it up. But this is a study Bible, so I took my trusty mechanical pencil to it every day. It was very liberating! Focusing on the cultural background of times in the Bible helped me to more objectively filter my own cultural slants, too!