NIV, Archaeological Study Bible

This has been my main study Bible for the last year. The text is the standard NIV. What makes this Bible special are the footnotes, charts and write-ups about the archaeological and historical discoveries concerning biblical times. These extras provide the reader with a fairly good grasp of the basics of this area of biblical scholarship in short, concise chunks. There is no fluff--only information. What's more, you don't have to be an expert to understand; it's written at a layman's level. The book even pulls source information straight from extra-biblical material to show the similarities and dissimilarities of the text of Scripture with other documents from the time.

If you're looking for a study Bible that will provide "devotional" show more material or lots of application help, this isn't for you. But if you are interested in the historical context of the Bible and would like to learn about archaeology and the role it plays in biblical criticism, then I would highly encourage you to check this Bible out.

Note: This Bible does come with a supplemental CD containing many of the book's charts in PDF form, as well as many pictures of biblical areas today. I personally did not find it very helpful or useful. show less

I've read the Bible through several times, but I found reading this one interesting. The historical connections and discussions of archaeological finds enlightened my reading. I took 2 years to read this time so I could read all the notes and articles. I read the New Testament last year and the Old Testament this year.

The text of the New International Version with many articles and explanations of history, archaeology, geography, etc.

The NIV text is thought-for-thought and generally makes defensible interpretive decisions. Genesis 8:21 comes out of nowhere with its original sin/total depravity focus that is not warranted from the text; "sinful nature" for sarx, the flesh, in the NT, is also a bit jaundiced.

I greatly appreciated the many articles; they do a very good job of teaching about what is known about the historical context, archaeological discoveries, geographic information, and cultural customs. There were many times, particularly in the OT, in which I felt the articles were straining for apologetic purposes, and found it disappointing; show more there's a sublimity about the way prophecies, etc. get fulfilled, and focusing just on "see, here's evidence for belief" seemed like it set the bar a bit low.

This is a great study Bible because its focus does not lend itself well to denominational peculiarities; the articles and notes just help to color in the cultural and historical details, and they do it well.

Recommended for consideration. show less

An excellent edition of the NIV text. The interests and notes provide great cultural and historical context that greatly helped me understand the text and message of the Bible

I have read several different versions of the Bible in the past few years and have found this one to be very helpful and interesting. Though I am sure there are other sources of information that would provide an even broader perspective on the historical and cultural context of Bible times I doubt that they would be as easy to use.

The information provided in the Archeological Study Bible is limited, but insightful. There is just enough information to provide historical background and support for the selected reading, but not so much as to make it feel as if you are trying to read two books at once. I have other supplemental materials but often have difficulty using them because the book I want is not nearby while I'm doing my Bible show more reading or I can't find the exact reference I need. I have encountered the same limitations when using online research to supplement my reading.

I actually use the Archeological Study Bible as my Bible for family reading time with my spouse and children and thus appreciate that the information supplied is helpful and educational. The historical and cultural notes help my family place Biblical times into the context of general world history.

As mention in my review title, I have the hardcover edition of this Bible and it is a thick book. The binding is well constructed, but is designed to allow the book to lie flat. This feature makes the binding feel a bit loose, though it is not. Presumably to limit the thickness of the book, the pages are very thin. While I appreciate the fact that the book isn't made thicker by this choice, it does annoy me quite a bit that the corners of the pages curl up if my arm brushes the page when I'm reading the book. The text is not overly small but the opaqueness of the pages effects readability for me as well. Since I am reading only short portions of the book at a time this is not a major issue, but I don't know that I would choose this paper weight and format for my major "reading" Bible.

I cannot recommend against purchasing the Archeological Study Bible though because despite the aforementioned concerns, I really do like the book and am glad to have it in my collection. I had been reading from a different version of the Bible for our family readings before this one arrived in the mail and made a switch to the Archeological Study Bible right away.

If you are looking for only one Bible to use for all purposes, I wouldn't recommend this one due to its size. But for a learning Bible that can really add to your reading experience, I can highly recommend this version. show less

Great bible, for understanding the culture and ways of the bible, with side notes and intro's to each book. NIV version.

The extra articles and pictures in this are really fascinating and very useful for an understanding of the culture and world in which these events occurred and were written about.