Bibles Bible Studies Books

I purchased this bible in 2004 and I love it. I use it every week during a scripture study and for personal reading. I had a friend who had the same version and I very much liked the look of his and all the features in the front of the bible so I bought it myself! I highly recommend it!

Im not much of a christian, and I do not really study the bible. This version is particularly usefull if you really do want to know the history and culture behind the writings. In the beginning of the book is a readers guide that is referenced from within the text of the bible itself. Anytime there is something that may be elaborated, weather it be a piece of culture, or an explanation of the passage, it is referenced to the readers guide. Not bad for around 25 dollars.

I gave this bible 2 stars because it is the "official" translation used at Mass in the USA. And that's the only reason. The notes definitely are mild historical/critical in nature with no "life application" (How does this verse, passage, book help me to live for God). It is typical of what we receive in our parish homilies - beige. No fire. Academic. After reading the notes one could wonder why the Bible is such a best seller.

I think it was an honest attempt to make the Bible accessible to more people in the parishes. I think the editors would have done far more good had they used the style of the "Life Application Bible" series and just 'tweaked' it for the Catholic audience.

If your studying the BIble academically this version may help you a bit. If you are approaching the Bible to have an encounter with God - and your new to Bible Study - perhaps The Life Application Bible would be of greater service.

Most church authorities in America recommend the New American for those wishing to study. As with most Catholic bibles it is translated from the Greek rather than the Hebrew, even in the Old Testament. It also contains five apocryphal books that were removed by Martin Luther when he instituted Protestant reform of the Catholic Church. For a practicing Catholic, or someone who is interested in the bible in general it is a good edition, and comes in different sizes and formats. However, it does not match the poetry of the King James Version, or the Jerusalem Bible. (The Jerusalem Bible is the Catholic poetic Bible from Vatican II.) This Bible is an excellent example of scholarship.

I am just merely responding to the person who wrote that the Douhay-Reims Bible is no longer available. It is available and in print and a very good bible to read. I cannot truly rate this book as I have not read it, but wanted to correct the information that the person before me erroneously stated. Thank you.

The Old Testament of the Bible is a major historical document from an era where not much history has been recorded. "Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets" is not a strictly Christian book looking to spread the gospel, but rather a text looking critically at the Bible within a historical context. Examining the roots of the prophets' books and their secular and theological contributions to the old world, "Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets" is highly recommended for community library theology collections.

I was pretty excited about getting this book, and expected it to be a pretty thorough resource. After all a book dedicated to BH charts should really be a pretty complete reference. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Frankly, I'm not sure what the authors really intended this book to be, but it lacks both focus and depth. The book is trying to cover paradigms for verbs, nouns, etc., but also explain basic grammatical principles. And in either case it's not doing a very thorough job. It looks like the authors ripped most of their charts and grammar principles from their Basics of Biblical Hebrew (BBH) book, I went to the library and did a brief comparison, and added very little beyond what's in that book. In fact their BBH textbook has additional summary tables of verbal paradigms that AREN'T in this book. For example in BBH, starting on p. 416 they have a nice summary of verbal paradigms, the kind that most folks are used to seeing in Weingreen, Ross, Seow, etc. (with a full inflection for all stems on a single page), which aren't included in this one. Not only would I have expected them to be included, but I also expected that the book would go well beyond it and have much more. For example, I would expect the book to include paradigms for some key doubly-weak verbs such as hyh, ytz), yr), r)h, etc.

There are quite a few "charts" in the book (over 100) and more on the CD (400+). Some of them are certainly useful and the content is certainly correct. The authors do have some interesting charts on verbs that you don't see in a typical grammar, but the fact that they have left out the standard charts just doesn't make sense. The book also covers basic syntactical rules which is nice, but it's pretty rudimentary and it certainly does not make up for other shortcomings. Many of the charts are also pretty rudimentary, many of them shouldn't really be called charts -- like a chart on syllabification, which covers only two rules and explains how do divide the word "davar" into syllables. And it takes the entire 8x10" page! The use of extremely large fonts (Hebrew letters of 1/2 inch size in some cases) is rather puzzling to me. There is a LOT of white and in my opinion wasted space on each page and for the most part, very little content. They could have used the space to print all the 400+ charts in the book, instead of including the CD. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this decision was, but it wasn't a good move. Basically, if I really want to browse all that the authors have put together, I have to either print the charts that aren't in the book from the CD or browse through the CD on my computer. Not very useful. If anything I would expect the CD to have charts for Biblical Aramaic or something extra that is beyond the scope of the book. Fat chance.

Because the book is printed on a large page format, I expected the pages to be packed with content. Instead it is missing much of what a reference book like this should undoubtedly contain. The print/font sizes are formatted for some seriously far-sided folks. Once again I am disappointed with the book and I would not recommend it to anyone serious enough or advanced enough who would be looking for and expecting it to be a complete and a comprehensive reference covering every imaginable verbal chart and beyond. Two stars are a stretch.

The charts are clear and in very large print, so in that way this is quite a nice book. However, this item seems to be more useful for the teaching of the material than for self-study outside of class.

Well laid out - promises to be an excellent aid in the study of Biblical Hebrew.

NIV Large Print Reference BibleRecieved this book in perfect condition much sooner than expected. More than satisfied with transaction Thank you AMAZON.COM.

I finally found a study Bible that has helped me so much in reading the Bible. I loved it so much i have sent out 3 books to family. Now we have an online Bible study group. I would Highly recommend this Bible to everyone.

I purchased A Niv Study Bible in Large Print, it came pretty fast. I liked the product so much, I purchased a second one as a gift.
Thank you

If anyone is serious about Bible study, get this Bible. I was worried because I anticipated a very large and unmanageable bible. It turns out, that the size is actually smaller than other full-size bibles. It is thick, but one gladly lives with that minor inconvenience in exchange for the wealth of information. If any of you out there is bilingual, I'd suggest the "Vida Plena" NIV Spanish Study Bible (also by Zondervan, unfortunately, this one has a very small print). One study Bible complements the other, for "Vida Plena" has around 80 articles that are priceless!, but its concordance is actually a reference in alphabetical order by theme/word, while the English version has a reference and a concordance by theme/word but no articles: the informaation contained in those articles has been spread out throughout the notes and sometimes you are referred from one "note" to another "note". I have two other English versions so called "study bibles"... They cannot compare to this one. I absolutely love it, and if I could, I'd give it a 10 stars rating.

I love this Bible! I have a number of other Bibles that are very nice, but this one is fast becoming my favorite. I enjoy have the wealth of study aids at my disposal and how they make the Bible come alive. Best of the Best!

As one who uses this great resource to teach, I was very happy with Nickle's Second Edition Revised and Expanded version of the Synoptic Gospels. I had been using this book for several years. In 1998, I was asked to teach a course entitled "The Intertestamental Period." While preparing for this course, I realized that this period of history was an important prelude to the time of Christ and the Synoptic Gospels. Following my exposure to this era, I added a brief summary of this material to my Syllabus, whenever I taught the Synoptic Gospels. Nickle's Second Edition contains much of the material and now my students can have the advantage of having this information all in one resource. So, I give this book five stars, without any reservation.

Here is a very intelligent sort of survey of the synoptic gospel literature, Matthew, Mark and Luke.

At close to 200 pages, this clearly written introduction explains the rise of the "gospel" literature/events, the nature of the gospel literature/formation, the historical/religious background to the gospel literature, as well as discussing each particular gospel account on it's own terms. also included is a chapter dealing with diversity in new testament christianity, the quest for the historical Jesus, extracanonical literature, the canon of the new testament and the authority of the gospels.

Being more of an introductory sort of work, it is not meant to be a final say on the subject or a complete coverage type of study, but it serves it's purposes well for getting one started on an intelligent, historically, realistically responsible study of gospel literature. Doesn't go too far to the left or right, takes what might be deemed a 'moderate' stance.

Some other very good works of like nature are:
Mitchell Reddish, An Introduction To the Gospels (Moderate)
Craig Blomberg, Jesus and The Gospels (Conservative)
Mark Strauss, Four Portraits One Jesus (Conservative)
David Aune, The New Testament In It's Literary Environment (Conser./Mod.)

These works will provide one with an even and wide pespective on the gospel literature.

This book presents an analysis of the 3 Synoptic Gospels: Mark, Matthew, and Luke through the use of "Form Criticism". The basic argument behind this literary criticism is that since these 3 gospels each follow the same basic narrative of the story of Christ, a careful study of the similarities and differences of each of them can lead to indications which community the author was addressing his gospel to, when the author was perhaps writing his gospel, and finally can provide indications on how his portrait of Christ addresses the various challenges of Christianity that the author and his community was facing at that time period.

Keith Nickle's presents his argument in a very logical manner which is both easy to follow, but gives a good introductory basis not only for the information he is trying to present, but also to allow the reader to delve into the New Testament themselves in order to gain a better understanding.

One important piece of information which any potential reader should take note of is the fact that Keith Nickle's does present this book on the theory that Mark was written first and that Matthew and Luke were both using a copy of Mark and another document/collection of oral traditions commonly called "Q" in each of their writings of the gospels. Nickle's belief is that the gospels originated as oral traditions/Jesus one-liners/written bits and pieces and that Mark first took these various elements and combined it into the basic story of Christ which was circulating among the various early Christian communities of the era. This anonymous author of Mark did this both to provide a secure story of Christ his community could use to learn more about Jesus, but also to address concerns his community had over various challenges they were faced with.

I found this book to be very enjoyable and a good introduction to modern Biblical scholorship. It did not get a 5 star rating because I have spoken with other Biblical scholars who provide just as good an argument that Matthew was written first or that Luke perhaps was. The point is no one will ever really know for sure, but Nickle's is able to present his argument for why he believes Mark was created first in a way that is both convincing and informative.

True to his title, Nickle provides a great introduction to the study of the Synoptic Gospels. He discusses the issues of authorship, date, purpose, recipients, literary dependence, and distinct characteristics of each of the three. These discussions are sandwiched between an opening chapter concerning the gospel tradition and a closing chapter of other considerations related to the Synoptic Gospels.

Although Nickle is a scholarly writer, he manages to write with a style that fits an audience much wider than New Testament specialists. In fact, I became acquainted with this work through a college-level introductory course on the teachings of Jesus. This book is ideal for that kind of situation, and it would probably fit well in seminary courses also.

One of the best things about Nickle's style is the emotion that seeps through in his writing. The reader encounters in _The Synoptic Gospels_ not a dry and detached academician, but a man with great reverence for the gospel tradition who shares in the faith about which he writes. Many times while reading, I could imagine Dr. Nickle's voice raising with excitement as he shared with me the fruits of his study. Such an excitement can have a tendency to rub off on the reader.

I have withheld a perfect score of 5 stars because of some of the presuppositions that are implicit in the author's methods and conclusions. In line with modern critical scholarship, Nickle does not hold to the traditional authorship of the synoptic gospels, gives them late dates, and believes that the early Church was in the habit of creating pericopes and sayings of Jesus that became authoritative gospel material. As a conservative, I had a problem with these implicit assumptions and felt that they were not defended well. However, those matters are minor in light of the book's overall value. It is a wonderful introduction to the subject that would be useful in any minister's library.

I read the first edition of this book some 20 years ago, just when I discovered Bultmann and fell in love with form criticism. At the time, Nickle's analysis impressed me to no end. But in the two decades between then and now, I've become increasingly suspicious of modern scriptural criticism (no, I'm neither a fundamentalist nor an evangelical!). So my reading of this updated edition has been a less powerful experience.

Nickle's survey of the three synoptics is better than many I've read. His text is fluid, user-friendly, and extremely organized. He gives what I still consider to be the best quick survey of the basics of form criticism available, probably because he keeps torturous teutonic jargon to a minimum.

But the book is relentlessly literary in its approach. Nickle deconstructs the three synoptics in a pretty predictable manner, making sure that he examines context, traces origins, classifies genres, and so on. But what he doesn't do, any more than most other scriptural scholars (hence my dissatisfaction with the approach) is to pretty much ignore the fact that the scriptures are meant to be read from a spiritual (as opposed to a metaphorical or similiac) perspective.

Three quick examples of the blindspots this approach breeds. In examining Matthew's Gospel, Nickle spends almost no time on the central image of the Kingdom, and utterly misses the possibility that the Kingdom is a codeword for present right relationships rather than an abstract eschatological possibility. (In this regard, he uncritically follows the 19th century conclusion that all the authors of scripture were positive the world was about to end.) In his examination of Mark, he gives the standard interpretation of the Messianic secret--Jesus' need to protect himself from the authorities--but doesn't in any way consider the possibility, suggested by Richard Rohr among others, that the messianic secret might also be a way of expressing the difficulty of recognizing the Lordship of Jesus--that most of us, including the original apostles, have a hard time getting what's going on. Finally, in his examination of Luke's gospel, Nickle concludes that Luke's concern for the poor and the abused is a "minor theme," thereby practically dismissing the not-at-all minor spiritual/social dimension to the gospel. How sad.

There's a time and a place for form criticism (as well as all the other critical methods that came out of Germany in the 19th century). But reading scripture in an exclusively textual manner is surely too limiting, and the problem with texts like Nickle's is that they give the impression that such a reading is the only game in town. Thus the heart of the Gospels--story, the spirit--runs the risk of being sidelined. Think of it this way. How weird would it be to read Tolstoy's *War and Peace* primarily to discover the different forms of literary expression it contains? After this rather tedious project is finished and neat classifications of the novel are formulated, the very important question still remains: yes, but what's the STORY?

This book is OK but not one of my favorites when it comes to eschatology. Perpaps I would have given this book five stars when it was released in the 1970s but many prophecy books have surpassed it since then. Some of Hal Lindsey's predictions in this book turned out to be incorrect although other events mentioned are quite timely. I recommend this book but then read some of the newer books out there and draw your own conclusion.

When this book first came out it stated that Jesus would return 40 years after the founding of the Jewish nation. We are now 20 years apast the date Lindsey gave for the return of Jesus. I guess that makes Mr.Lindsey the leading false prophet in the evangelical church today.

I wish I'd picked up this book on the amazing truth of biblical prophecy when it was first published. I might not have wasted 30+ years jousting with windmills. Even now, it's an exciting read.

I read The Late Great Planet Earth when it first came out so many years ago. I read and thought about all the prophecies pronounced throughout the ages and followed them through to the end - which talks about prophecies spoken by Old Testament Prophets that refer to our time now.

Those prophecies are warnings and are worth a second look and much prayer because these prophecies talk of the coming again of the Messiah.

I purchased this book again in early Dec. 2007 to re-read and pray about what I believe to be very accurate prophecies concerning the Middle East, Russia and the United States. . .what Mr.Lindsay wrote in 1970 seems to be describing the events of today - this book is well worth the read.

This book saved my life in 1973 and I have shared it with others by buying them a copy when the opportunity presented itself by a comment that they make regarding their faith or lack thereof. I would recommend any of Hal Lindsey's books.

This is a good book to have on hand, although you won't want it to be your ONLY theological dictionary/handbook. It's VERY portable, and the definitions are concise and readable. I used it a lot my first year of seminary, keeping it in my bag so that I could look things up on the sly in classes when I didn't know what the professor was talking about. It also helped immensely when I was studying for my systematics final exam.

This book, first published in 1964, is a handy little guide for theological terms. It is not the most complete available, nor is it the most authoritative, but in terms of ease of use (and of purchase) it is one of the better volumes. It is a little blue book (making it easy to spot on the shelf), small enough to be portable, and contains over 300 articles on the key terms in theology.

While it is true there has been a lot of theological development in the past 35 years, it is also true that theology has a centuries-old tradition and development, all of which underpins, in one way or another, the current context of theology. Thus, while one might not find the definition of 'womanist theology' contained herein, one will find the most standard terms for the greater portion of Christian history.

The choice of terminology is deliberately limited to systematic and philosophical theological language -- thus, terminology related to or specific to other disciplines (biblical studies, practical ministry, etc.) will not be found here. There are extended discussions on lengthier topics, such as the Trinity, Christology, doctrine of God, etc. There are many Latin and Greek terms, but not too many. There are also general discussions on major historical ideas (Arianism, Pelagianism, etc.) while leaving out other, larger systematic theological schools of thought (Thomism, Lutheranism, etc.).

This is a worthwhile book for Catholics or Protestants, and it is an very good, affordable option for a theological dictionary.

This book is a "must have" for all theology students (or the interested layperson). Harvey covers a lot of ground--from church history, to attributes of G-d, to issues in philosophy.

In short, this book is a good primer to topics you'll encounter in class. If a lecture was boring or the professor was unclear, turn to this little gem and get a good summary of what you missed (at times this book will be all you'll need to consult--that's how comprehensive it is).

I don't keep many books on my shelf; most go back to the used bookstore. But Harvey's book is a keeper. It's loaded with need-to-know information and the writing is divine.

Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie

Don't start seminary without this. Before you master Greek & Hebrew, you have the language of theology to conquer. Profs only have so much time, and if half the words they use are flying over your head, this book is your new best friend. Don't try to take an Early Church History or Theology class without it!

This is a book that has been around for a while, but it is not dated at all.

There are over 300 theological terms explained here, selected from systematic and philosophical theology. Each article gives attention to modern theology and to the historical differences between Protestant and Roman Catholics, and sometimes to the differences among Protestant groups.

Easily understood by seminary student and Sunday School student alike.

This book provides the student of the Torah, and bible in general, an easy to read and accurate translation.

The Tanach (Old Testament in both Hebrew and literal English translation), Stone Edition, makes the Jewish scriptures even more useable with the added feature of commentary from various scholars. Its compact size allows for conservation of space and ease of use. While visiting a worship service at a local synagogue shortly after this purchase, my assistant and I showed the rabbi a Tanach. Before we could ask his opinion, he said, "Oh, excellent! Superb!" I couldn't say it any better. For those interested in in-depth study, but who are not proficient in Hebrew, the Tanach will be a marvelous aid. Highly recommended.

Excellent for studying the Hebraic roots of Christianity. Beautiful book; lots of valuable information; excellent buy.

This is the exact same full size set you'll find in any of the Jewish bookstore, but for half the price. I love Amazon!

The most helpful Bible to use with any other translation...for a meaningful life here and now.

This book relates history to the Bible, giving readers a new perspective on world events at the time of events recorded in the Bible. It's certainly not a fast read, but it's interesting.

This book has proved more and more valuable over time. As a pastor and seminary student, it helps to place Biblical events in the proper context. As an aspiring Ancient historian, the clear, concise text and apt photos and illustrations make sense of some pretty dense reading in other texts. It's even a fun read for enjoyment!

I must admit that my expectation was for greater accuracy to proper verbage than was printed. Much of the time the authors used location names, like 'Palistine', when referencing 'BC' (BCE) rather than the true name 'Isreal.' Small verbal goofs like this was unexpected from an institution like the Oxford press. Most of the information, though, was excellent, and informative.

This truly is an excellent resource, as discussed by other reviewers. Unfortunately, though, the paperback version is not just a reprint of the hardback in floppy covers. Instead, many of the visual features that contribute so much to the appeal of the hardback edition have been removed. Admittedly several remain, including a section of color plates in the middle of the book, but one who is familiar with the hardback likely will be disappointed by the paperback.

Buyer beware. The chapter on the time of Jesus reads like an op-ed piece, not a history book. The author of it is Amy-Jill Levine, who describes herself on her website as a "Yankee Jewish feminist . . . with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies." If you are a Christian looking for a neutral, scholarly source of information, keep looking.