Bible Review - ESV Story of Redemption Bible: A Journey through the Unfolding Promises of God

I sometimes find it a difficult task reviewing a Bible. I'm not fond of niche Bibles such as a Women's Study Bible or a Men's Study Bible, etc. All of Scripture speaks to all people at all seasons of life. Still, there is a place for Bibles with notes and comments of men and the ESV Story of Redemption Bible: A Journey through the Unfolding Promises of God is one of those.

There are negatives and positives in every work of this kind. Allow me to point out a few on both sides:

-It is heavy. At 3 1/2 lbs. I don't think the average reader will want to carry it back and forth to church or Bible study. For some folks this is of no consideration. For others, like me, it is a decision factor to be weighed in the purchase. But it is not a deal breaker.

- My humble impression is that many of the notes are over-simplified - almost like a "Study Bible Lite." Information in the  notes is dead on but the language employed could be more refined. Again, this may not be a deal breaker based on other factors.

Positives, yes we have them.

-This is still the rich ESV text. Widely used in Christendom today, its easy to read and understand.

-It would be very useful as a personal study Bible. Though its weight may prohibit it from being an everyday carry Bible, it would be exceptional for home study. I'm thinking especially of a new Christian or one who is new to the Reformed faith. There are wide margins for personal notes, plenty of maps as we have come to expect and enjoy from Crossway, and a great fold out section that lays out the Redemption story.

Overall, the ESV Story of Redemption Bible: A Journey through the Unfolding Promises of God would be a well spent purchase for those inexperienced in the Redemption Story found in Scripture. RBC gives it a hearty four stars!

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page.

For more, check out these links, here and here.

Bible Review: The ESV Archaeology Study Bible published by Crossway

As an armchair Biblical archaeologist I was excited to see that Crossway has published The ESV

Archaeology Study Bible. I have numerous Bibles of all bindings, covers, translations, etc., but this Bible just may become my “go to” Bible.

Features? This Bible is full of them. It is a hardbound volume and at over 2000 pages, it’s no light weight. Features in this volume make it a valuable tool for pastors, teachers, layman, and armchair enthusiasts, like myself. Even if archaeology is not the reader’s main focus it would be an exceptional addition to any library.

Just some of the features in this volume are:

• Archaeology articles of interest
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Sidebars (with an index)
• Concordance
• Table of weights & measures
• Timelines
• Maps (with an index)
• Background of the OT
• Background of the NT
• Author Bio’s
• Copious notes
• Cross references
• Did I mention maps?

This study Bible will be well used in my library for study and lesson preparation. And, it has maps. Did I mention that? Maps always give me a helpful point of reference for the Biblical narrative and this Bible is packed with useful maps and an index.

For the non-teaching laymen, this volume would simply be enjoyable to slowly sift through gaining practical knowledge while bolstering spiritual understanding at the same time.

Drawbacks? The pages are extremely thin. But at 2,024 pages and nearly 2” thick, they need to be. On the other hand, to contain as much useful information as it does, those pages need to be thin.

This study Bible is well worth the purchase price and contains so much info you won’t be able to put it down. I have spent many enjoyable hours just paging through it, picking up info I didn’t have. It may very well become your "go to" Bible as well.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page. Thoughts and opinions are my own.