# Best AV Study Bible



## JM (Mar 18, 2011)

What is the best AV study Bible on the market today? I see a lot of praise for the Thomas Nelson, how is the Zondervan compare?


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## Jesus is my friend (Mar 18, 2011)

Brother,I've been searching too,it's a good question,there doesnt seem to be any reformed AV study Bibles out there except the Matthew Henry Study Bible,which is great for what it is,I think my only alternative is to have a straight Bible with a good reformed Bible commentary,maybe MacArthur but it would be crazy to lug around both,however,folks that use the other versions have no problem whatsoever finding a good study Bible for their version but we are stuck,O if only John MacArthur or Sproul would come out with one


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## Gord (Mar 18, 2011)

Software will let you work that combination of AV 1611 with MacArthur commentary or any other combination. WordSearch, QuickVerse, or Logos give you that option.


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## JM (Mar 18, 2011)

Any thoughts on the Zondervan or Nelson? 

I'm still waiting for the John Gill Study Bible. [ ; - ) ]


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Mar 20, 2011)

JM said:


> Any thoughts on the Zondervan or Nelson?


Zondervan. The Zondervan also includes updated notes from its other translation versions study notes.

AMR


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## DMcFadden (Mar 20, 2011)

Scofield? 

Have you compared the Nelson KJV Study Bible? How does it compare to the Zondervan?


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Mar 20, 2011)

JM said:


> What is the best AV study Bible on the market today? I see a lot of praise for the Thomas Nelson, how is the Zondervan compare?


For my money the KJV Master's Study Bible is the best KJV study bible. No study notes appear on the same page as the text, but does include center column references, and a comprehensive topical index in the front and an Encyclopedia in the back. I have some issues with what I perceive as a libertarian free-will tone in a few of the Encyclopedia entries, but one can sift these out easily. All in all, this version excels for those wanting just the text and the other content separated from the text in one volume.

AMR


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## JM (Mar 22, 2011)

The Master's Bible looks good.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 22, 2011)

Compared to many Study Bibles on the market, Nelson's KJV Study Bible In my humble opinion is quite good and more Calvinistic than one would have right to expect given its origin. If it's not the best non-Reformed Study Bible in print, it's at the least a very strong contender. The study notes in some sections to me seem to be more Calvinistic than the summary notes that it has on major doctrines. (They appear to me to be more Calvinistic than many semi-Pelagian laymen and maybe even some pastors would be comfortable with. Some of that bent might call them Calvinist and the MacArthur or Reformation notes hyper-Calvinist.) From what I've seen they also present a more of a "lordship" view of sanctification when compared to the old Dallas Seminary teaching, for example. 

The best features to me in the Nelson KJV Study Bible are the many in-text maps, the large readable font and the marginal notes that give modern equivalents for archaic terms. I find it has good historical type notes as well and good book introductions. I believe the text used is Nelson's slightly modernized KJV that was first seen in the original Open Bible from the 1970's. The spelling of names like Isaiah are standardized throughout, and occasionally you will see Americanized spelling when comparing the text with a Cambridge or similar text. It also sets off OT quotes in the NT in bold type the way that the NASB does. No doubt some will find this helpful while others will think it is an abomination! 

Zondervan's no doubt has some good helps but as the KJV version of the NIV Study Bible, it represents lowest common denominator evangelicalism, often taking no position on contentious issues, such as women in ministry, etc. (I don't have the Zondervan, but my understanding is that like their NASB Study Bible, it is an adaptation of the NIV notes for the KJV.) My understanding is that the Zondervan KJV Study Bible uses Scrivener's Cambridge Paragraph Bible as its text, so it may be of interest to some for that fact alone. 

Matthew Henry is always good. I see that it has been reissued this year. But I was underwhelmed by it after glancing at it in the store and figure you're better off with the whole commentary.

---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:03 PM ----------

I too was intrigued by the Master's Study Bible. It's not too expensive, and like most if not all Holman Bibles, I believe it is smyth sewn. However, the box and maybe even the presentation page (if memory serves) have pictures of Christ. 

Maybe it's just my prematurely aging eyes, but the font in the Master's Study Bible seems a little small to me and probably less readable than TBS Windsor Text Edition, which is probably about a pt. smaller but has a nice amount of white space between the lines, making it more readable. There is no spacing between chapters either, so some may not find it suited for prolonged use, which would seem to me to be what it is designed for. It has the appearance of having the text crammed together so they would have more room to put in their hundreds of pages of helps in the back without making it too big.

I was leaning toward getting the Master's but due to the above considerations got Nelson's KJV Study Bible instead.

---------- Post added at 04:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------




DMcFadden said:


> Scofield?
> 
> Have you compared the Nelson KJV Study Bible? How does it compare to the Zondervan?


 
Scofield to me is probably more useful than the Zondervan, with the exception of the Zondervan book introductions that rebut liberal views of scripture. For my purposes, at least the Scofield presents a definite point of view and is of historical significance. If one wants a quick guide to dispensational thought, whether of the classic (Old Scofield) or "revised" (New Scofield or Scofield III) then it is a good resource. The theology of the revised one, sold now as the Scofield III, probably isn't that different from MacArthur's with the exception of explicit Calvinism and the carnal Christian teaching. (MacArthur and many other contemporary teachers don't emphasize 7 dispensations, but the revised Scofield teaching on the covenants seems to me to be not that different than more progressive Dispensational variants.) Despite whatever theological problems may be there, I do think the subject chain references are a nice feature. My guess is that feature probably played a large role in the popularity of the Scofield since there was really nothing else like that available at the time other than the Thompson Chain Reference.


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