What is Reddit's opinion of
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
By popularity on Reddit, this product is:
26 reviews of this product found across Reddit:
Well the problem is that we really have to have annotations instead of commentary...
There are so many self-referential elements to the text that to not explain them is to do a disservice to the audience.
It's just that we're 200 years ahead of our time... If you get an annotated Bible now the annotations are all you know college level discussions of language and time and place and person and you get a massive amount of scholarship crammed in there.
we just don't have people who are willing to do that for Zen texts in the academic world... What we get is religious people trying to put their spin on what it means to practice mu.
That doesn't mean that the information isn't out there and that putting it in one place wouldn't be useful.
If you've never seen the Oxford... https://www.amazon.com/dp/0190276088/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_sAqaGbY9HG5WQ
The issue there is of course that this text is aggressively secular to the point of being almost insulting to lots of different religions.
As a layperson, I find the Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) to be an excellent resource.
What are your goals? You might want to decide what's interesting to you.
But, without even worrying about that yet, I would probably start with Mark. But there's any number of suggestions equally reasonable.
One thing I would do, if you don't already have one, get an annotated bible. I recommend the Oxford Annotated version, like this: https://www.amazon.com/New-Oxford-Annotated-Bible-Apocrypha/dp/0190276088/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19EOT0J1PDU5W&keywords=oxford+annotated+bible&qid=1648082170&s=books&sprefix=oxford+an%2Cstripbooks%2C82&sr=1-1
For the same reasons, I ordered the New Oxford Annotated and have already learned more about the Book of Genesis than I ever did in any Sunday School/BYU religion class.
To your first point: Do you ask the same questions with Norse or Greco-Roman mythologies? The OT is exactly that, just with Canaanite culture and mythology.
As per your second point about Revelation: that perspective is called preterism, or the belief that prophecies in the Bible such as Daniel or Revelation have been historically fulfilled within the author(s)’s lifetime. My Oxford study bible is notated this way 😇
In my (Catholic) high school, most of the junior theology classes used an older edition of this Bible: https://www.amazon.com/New-Oxford-Annotated-Bible-Apocrypha/dp/0190276088/ Take note that this Bible includes a lot of Apocryphal books that are not in the Catholic canon but would still make for interesting reading.
At the end of the day, I have to go with the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
It was completed by a large committee that had a wide range of persons on it, of various Christian denominations along with some Jews, and these people had a variety of theological perspectives.
This translation usually strikes the right balance between being literal enough to convey the original meaning of the text but idiomatic enough to sound like English.
And it does not go out of its way (most of the time) to cover over problems with the text (for example, discrepancies) by translating them out of existence (as the NIV does on occasion).
Specifically, I would go with the Oxford Annotated Edition.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible seems to be the gold standard for study purposes and has a lot of good academic commentary. It doesn't specifically have Christian commentary, per se, but does go into the theology that the different books are attempting to lay out...so it's not purely historical-critical, but it doesn't have apologetics, if that's what you're looking for.
I have the fourth edition and it's quite good. Apparently the fifth edition is the latest, though.
Note that this is the entire Bible, both Hebrew and New Testament and is rather thick because of all the annotations and a number of essays at the end.
Sure. I'd also recommend if you're going to buy a Bible to study with to get a study Bible like the NRSV Oxford edition, it has many helpful notes and essays in it that will assist you in comprehending the complete context of the Bible and the individual books in it. Moreover it is in modern English and so will be much better understood by you.
I'm using the NRSV. Supposedly it's the best mix of what the oldest records actually said and being readable. I'm using this book specifically because I wanted the apocrypha and I like the minimalist scholarly commentary that allows a deep analysis of the text without leading you into any specific theological conclusions.
It looks and reads a lot more like a textbook than a pretty, leatherback, gold-plated Bible, but hey, in the end, all I care about is the text.
I recommend getting the The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV
It will provide a lot of that contextual and historical info you're looking for, and it's also a good translation that's relatively easy to read.
Start with Luke, the Gospel that shows Jesus' life with an emphasis on his mercy and love. Then read Acts, which is what the apostles did after Christ ascended. This will give you most of the story of Christ in context. Then read Romans, which is Paul's articulation of Christian theology. With those three you'll have a good basis to go forward or not.
Also, even if you have doubts, pray for understanding before you read each time.
I wish you joy in your new journey.
>Why didn't God give job his original children back?
Scholars generally believe that the opening chapters of Job--the part where God and Satan make a bet that Job will crack in his piety if he loses enough, and his children are killed--are part of an arbitrary framing device for the theological meat of the book. The substance of Job is found in the theodicial discourse between Job and his three friends (four if you count the blowhard theologian who interjects himself), which ruminates on the nature and logic of suffering and loss.
Readers who struggle with the injustice of Job's loss, and ask questions like the one posed above, are expressing the same kind of confusion Job and his friends express in the book, wondering why a just God would allow unjust suffering. The book of Job does not answer the question, but rather rejects the notion that human beings are capable of processing the answer. In short, you are asking the same kind of question that God rejects as improper in the book of Job. There is no clear or theologically satisfying answer as to why people suffer and die. It does and should feel arbitrary, and rather than rejecting God or assuming guilt, we just have to learn to live with the paradox. That is the essential point of the book of Job. I imagine that if God neatly tied up all the loose ends and gave Job his original family back from the dead, that would undercut the essential point of God's climactic speech.
>What does he mean by gave the cock wisdom
Speaking from the broad perspective of global folklore, the rooster is considered wise because it was used in divination practices and rituals (hence, wisdom), which at least partially derives from the way it seems to know the immediate future: when the sun is going to rise. Of course this is folklore and mythology, not science.
>or opened the womb of the waters?
It's a poetic way of celebrating God as being responsible for the regulation of the tide.
There is an ancient association between the stars and the angels that runs throughout the Bible; the passage I think you're citing seems to be a poetic celebration of God's initial act of creation, with lots of anthropomorphic qualities. In this case the stars are either actually or symbolically conceived as witnesses to the creation of the earth and are so impressed they burst into song.
As theological poetry, the book of Job's difficulty is compounded in many instances by the poor translatory quality of the King James Version--often the KJV is fine, but its translation of Job is subpar. I know that when I was first branching out I was relieved to find the NKJV rendition of Job, because a lot of the inaccurate translation has been fixed while the poetic quality of the book has been enhanced. I also really came to appreciate the footnotes in The New Oxford Annotated Bible, because it provides a window into the scholarly conversations still going on around Job.
[edited to fix a typo]
[edit 2: Thanks for the silver!]
This is the link to buy the NOAB on Amazon:
It’s offered in a variety of formats, but I think the hardcover (which is akin to a textbook binding) is the best value.
The paperback binding makes the physical book too flimsy in my opinion. I have a similar Bible, the HarperCollins Study Bible (edited by scholars of the Society of Biblical Literature), in paperback and its “floppiness” drives me batty.
NOAB is in its fifth edition, but it is not substantially different from the fourth edition, so you can buy a used copy of the latter for under $20 USD. The third edition is also a good buy—it still incorporates the NRSV as the base text and can be had for $11 USD used. There were substantial changes between the third and fourth editions, including formatting and layout. (Some folks actually like the font used for the biblical text in the third edition over the one used in subsequent editions.)
As for reading strategies, you might like the brisk pacing of Mark (usually considered the first Gospel to be written and used as a literary source for Matthew and Luke, both of which include other material such as the birth narratives not covered by Mark). The Gospel of John, thought to be composed much later, is structured quite differently for various theological and rhetorical purposes.
The NOAB study notes will prove helpful as you read the biblical text, as well as the book introductions and a number of essays that are found in the appendices. Keep in mind that the individual biblical scholars who were engaged to write the notes are working against space limitations (lest a 2400-page book become a 4800-page book), so some of their annotations will be brief as a result. If you have more questions concerning the text there are other specialized resources available (e.g., individual commentaries) in which scholars have more space to address various questions one may pose of the text.
AcademicBiblical subreddit consensus is the New Oxford Annotated Bible, which uses the NRSV as its base translation. NIV is popular, but not as impartial as its promotors would like you to think.
Here is what I was given when my parents thought I was going to end up a priest. Has notes for old and new testament. Used it for RCIA and it was extremely helpful. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0190276088/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_GTVSPRJEYRQKXVAMW0QV
I have the Oxford Annotated when I’m studying the Bible and I got a fancy King James Version for just reading. Ive alway been a Shakespeare nerd so the language really appeals to me.
Whichever you read, sit down with biblehub's interlinear text on your laptop. You don't need to know the languages to parse this out, but they have the hebrew and greek text and you can click on each word. The links take you to the lexicon and let you see the wide range of meaning that the word can have.
It also has noun gender etc. Even simple things like knowing when a "you" is plural versus singular can really help and doesn't come through in any of the texts. It's an invaluable resource.
There are wooden translations like the ASV that just try to translate word for word. NRSV is what most academics use and the latest version comes out of Harvard (The New Oxford Bible). But that has its own issues. I actually like the KJV in a bunch of places. For example Isaiah 45:7 in KJV says "I create peace and evil." NRSV says "I create weal and woe" because they are spineless and pearl clutch when it says God creates evil, so they use some fancy word to cover it up. But the word is simply "evil."
Another one that I like is the CEB (Common English Bible). Recommend biblegateway. You can set up an account there for free and switch between all the versions of the text listed here. It also lets you drop in notes and highlight in like six different colors.
Also, I find it almost impossible to just read the bible without the aid of commentaries. I'm a fan of the anchor bible series. Having historical and archaeological contexts for the book is extremely important for understanding. But I know enough Hebrew and Greek grammar to explore the original languages directly. I would recommend that plus auditing or otherwise finding exegesis classes online or at a local liberal/academic seminary.
I'd personally recommend Raymond Brown's classic An Introduction to the New Testament. A wonderful abridged edition was recently published by Yale University Press. As for a good secular commentary, I'd second the earlier recommendation of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, published by Oxford University Press
The New Oxford Ecumenical Study Bible sounds like what you're looking for brief commentary.
For a basic historical introduction to the New Testament, I still believe Ray Brown'sis without equal.
| Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: Ne… | - | - | 4.6/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
| Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: Ne… | - | - | 4.6/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
I have the New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha. It was recommended to me by the exmo spirituality sub. It's got a lot of essays and footnotes to put things in their historical, religious, and political context.
It's based on the NRSV. Here's a summary from Wikipedia of what you're getting with this bible:
>The notes and the study material feature in-depth academic research from nondenominational perspectives, specifically secular perspectives for "Bible-as-literature" with a focus on the most recent advances in historical criticism and related disciplines, with contributors from mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and nonreligious interpretative traditions.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0190276088/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_6P0MS9JH84JVWFCS6N35
That's the one I have.
Popular alternatives to The New Oxford Annotated Bi...
The Orthodox Study Bible, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version
