Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (NIV)

Several years ago, two new study Bibles hit the market, both of them genetically related to the New Geneva Study Bible, which appeared in the mid-1990s and positioned itself as a successor to the original Geneva Bible. Rather idiosyncratically, the NGSB features the New King James Version, an update of the Authorized Version with textual notes reflecting variants from the Textus Receptus, the Critical Text, and the Majority Text of the New Testament. One of the newcomers, the Reformation Study Bible, replaced the NKJV text with the new English Standard Version, but otherwise it was very similar to its predecessor. The other, the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, used the older New International Version -- but its notes were greatly expanded, offering a better window into the state of Reformed theology today, and it also included an index of Reformed confessional standards and catechisms.

If you ask me, the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible is the better of the two.

WHAT MAKES THIS EDITION SO GOOD?
I have the impression, though, that a lot of Reformed readers lean toward the Reformation Study Bible instead, probably because the NIV has declined in popularity among Reformed Christians as the ESV has increased. Personally, I prefer the ESV, too, but I find that the tools offered in the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible are just too good to pass up. For several years, I made do with a hardback copy, which I used more as a reference, but recently I broke down and bought the genuine leather edition pictured here.

First, I think the notes are more thorough and give a better grasp of Reformed theology as I've encountered it on the academic level. Since one of the reasons for having such an edition is to be able to check "the Reformed view" of a biblical topic, that's important. After all, people enter the Reformed community from a variety of backgrounds, with many different levels of theological sophistication. A Reformed Study Bible is a great teaching tool. (It's also helpful to people outside the Reformed community who are seeking to understand where we're coming from.)

Second, it's hard to overestimate the value of the confessional standards published in the back of the book. The editors go a step further and offer notes in the text referring back to the confessions and catechisms, helping the reader make connections between biblical passages and doctrinal statements. I wish all of my Bibles had this feature!

WHAT ARE THE SHORTCOMINGS?
Let's set aside the translation question for a moment. I wish the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible was available with the ESV. I wish it were available with The Message, too, for that matter. People are loyal to translations -- for practical as well as polemical reasons -- but I hate to think that such loyalty would lead anyone to miss out on such a good Study Bible. I'm not going to say that using the NIV is a shortcoming of the translation. In some ways, it's probably a strength, since the NIV continues to be popular in a variety of traditions.

But I do have issues with the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible. Like so many of its peers, the "genuine leather" edition is anything but luxurious in the hand. The leather isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but looking at the close-up of the grain, you'll see the ubiquitous thin, plasticy cover. I haven't used it long enough to see whether it improves or declines with age -- if you have, I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.

The biblical text is single-column, while the notes are double. The design is quite elegant for a Study Bible, and I find the text perfectly readable. One of the questions I'm often asked concerns "bleed-through" -- does the ink on other pages bleed through the paper? -- and the answer here, as it is so often these days, is yes. You can see in the photographs that this is the case. I don't find it distracting, but if you do, be aware.

As a thorough introduction to the Reformed faith, you can't beat the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible. It includes the full text of the Westminster Confession and Longer Catechism, the Canons of the Synod of Dordtrect, the Belgic Confession, and the Heidelberg Catechism. As far as I know, there is no other Bible on the market that does. Without these documents, any explanation of the Reformed perspective is incomplete.

LINKS
The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible page at Zondervan | The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible on Amazon.com | The Reformation Study Bible on Amazon.com

Comments

[David N]

I own Ligonier's RSB, and my Mom owns Zondervan's SOTRSB, so I had a chance to compare them at length.

It looked as though all of the editors and contributors were exactly the same for both, with the exception that R. C. Sproul was the general editor of the RSB, and Richard Pratt was the general editor for the SOTRSB. As I flipped through and read the in-text notes, they also seemed to be identical. The only difference I saw was in the in-text topical essays, and even those seemed to only have slightly different wording.

I also noticed that Richard Pratt used to be one of the editors for the NGSB. So I was wondering if there was some sort of behind-the-scenes conflict between Sproul and Pratt over the direction to take the NGSB, and they ended up going two different ways. Any idea?

So, is there any big difference between the two beyond the inclusion of the confessions in the back?

[Steven]

Ran across this looking for info on the SRSB. I have the RSB but have heard that the SRSB is superior. Since the congregation where I serve uses the NIV, I have been leaning towards the SRSB.

This is a great review and has given me sufficient reason to purchase the SRSB. Now if only Zondervan could be convinced to produce this in an NASB version!

[f williams]

i am looking for a reformed study Bible in NASB or NRSB- the NIV is not a good translation and the EVS does not flow well for me. the SOTRSB SOUNDS GREAT BUT I WONT BUY A NIV.

[H Jim]

I was attending Knox Seminary when the SRSB was in the works (Sproul was teaching at KTS then) and the rumor then was that Sproul was not happy with Zondervan's decision to switch to the NIV, and had pulled his own endorsement and involvement from the project. I'm about 90% sure that it was the librarian, a long time friend of Sproul, who told me this--but my memory could be wrong on that point. I've heard that rumor repeated several times since then. I'd wager a good deal of money that it's correct, and that even a quick web-search could pull up something about why Sproul's name is on the other versions of this Bible, but not on the Zondervan SRSB version.
I found one link that says nothing of the controversy, but gives a thorough overview of the history of the various versions (four, I think?) of the NGSB/SRSB/RSB Bible. It also gives a quick but thorough comparison of the Zondervan version with the others, and explains why the versions differ. Here it is: http://en.allexperts.com/e/r/re/reformation_study_bible.htm
Hope this helps.

[Chris Poe]

Prior to the release of the ESV Study Bible last year, the NIV SRSB to my knowledge was about the only rival to the MacArthur Study Bible with regard to the thoroughness of the study notes.

I no longer consider myself Reformed (certainly not in the confessional sense) and for a number of reasons have had to thin out my library considerably over the past few years. However, I've held on to this study Bible for the reasons Mark noted above. You can take it off the shelf and get what is usually a mainstream Reformed view on any given passage, and the inclusion of the Westminster Standards and Three Forms of Unity and the indexing of them in the study notes is invaluable. Since I only use it for reference, the version isn't a factor for me. The notes in the New Geneva/Reformation Study Bible (whether NKJV or ESV) are rather thin by comparison.

Get this one while you can. It doesn't appear to be available on Amazon in any binding (stating "we don't know if or when this item will be available") and I'd imagine a reprinting would be unlikely unless the NIV 2011 really catches on.

[generic kamagra]

I no longer consider myself Reformed (certainly not in the confessional sense) and for a number of reasons have had to thin out my library considerably over the past few years. However, I've held on to this study Bible for the reasons Mark noted above. You can take it off the shelf and get what is usually a mainstream Reformed view on any given passage, and the inclusion of the Westminster Standards and Three Forms of Unity and the indexing of them in the study notes is invaluable. Since I only use it for reference, the version isn't a factor for me. The notes in the New Geneva/Reformation Study Bible (whether NKJV or ESV) are rather thin by comparison.

[Todd F.]

Monergism currently is offering a sale of 40% off all ESV Study Bibles.

http://www.monergismbooks.com/ESV-Study-Bibles-p-1-c-709.html

Here's a good link to some upcoming Cyber Monday (and this past Black Friday) Christian book sales:

http://www.challies.com/resources/black-friday-cyber-monday-2010-deals-for-christians

(Still waiting for the snowball in hell to form for Evangelicalbible.com to have a Cyber Monday sale.)

[Mark Edwards]

I have been looking for a SOTR study bible new for some time, and have finally given up hope. The secondary resellers want several hundreds of dollars for a "new in box" version. I finally broke down and ordered a used hardback version from a used books site. Does anyone know if the hardbacks were smythe sewn such that a rebinding might be in order without the pages sucking into the gutter if I have it rebound?

Many thanks!

[Martin B.]

I looked at Amazon today (June 7, 2011) and saw that they are accepting PRE-ORDERS for the upcoming Kindle version of the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible. The price was (I think) $19.99. So, if you have a Kindle, it looks like you are going to be able to get your hands on the NIV SOTR Bible for a lot less than they are going for from the resellers.

[Dan C]

Just came across a brand new leather bound version in Amazon. How much do these really go for?

[Dan C]

I saw a brand new leather bound version on Amazon today. The seller wanted over $700! How much do these really go for? What's more surprising is that some of the used ones are listed for over $4000!!!

[Alfred]

Anybody know when the Kindle version is coming?

[Cris D]

The iBooks (iPad) version of the SORB is now available.

Like the iBooks rendering of the ESV Study Bible, it lacks a function or feature that allows you to type a reference in order to get to that place in Scripture. In other words it is stuck in a sequential mode: go to table of contents, scroll to the desired "book", tap to go to a given book's sub-table of contents, then tap to get to a chapter, then perhaps a flip to get the the actual verse desired. So to get from Hebrews 5:6 to the OT source (Ps 110:4)it is at least seven (7) gestures (taps and swipes).

This is the nature and limitation of iBooks, not of either study Bible. Once you've learned the sequence of the Minor Prophets nothing beats the ability to physical open/divide the pages at a general section and then flip a few pages to get to your target. Next best is the passage entry function of BibleWorks, click into the search/command window, type Ps 110.4, press enter and there you are!

[bill]

Kinda' like being able to drop right into the desired groove of an LP phonograph record.