# NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible - Genesis Sample



## Ask Mr. Religion (Aug 28, 2018)

The _NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible_ will be released on Sept. 4, 2018. It has an impressive set of contributors:
https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/about/#contributors

More about the bible here:
https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/

The entire book of Genesis is available for preview and download. That said, the download consumes in excess of 50MB.

I have optimized the download to a more manageable 3.2MB that may be obtained here:
http://ge.tt/2M10xGr2 [Click the _Download_ link on the left side of the page]

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## Jake (Aug 28, 2018)

This looks great so far. I started reading the Genesis notes. Thanks for making them more easily available!


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## Ryan&Amber2013 (Aug 28, 2018)

Ask Mr. Religion said:


> The _NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible_ will be released on Sept. 4, 2018. It has an impressive set of contributors:
> https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/about/#contributors
> 
> More about the bible here:
> ...


It looks really good. I just bought the ESV Archaeological Bible recently, so I don't know how well it would go over with my wife if I hinted at another one. Although, my birthday is in 3 weeks...

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## Jack K (Aug 28, 2018)

Let me suggest that anyone purchasing this study Bible should look at the week-long discount offer from WTS Books. I think it's telling that this bookseller, which doesn't normally sell the NIV, is not only selling but strongly promoting this study Bible.


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## Ryan&Amber2013 (Aug 28, 2018)

Jack K said:


> Let me suggest that anyone purchasing this study Bible should look at the week-long discount offer from WTS Books. I think it's telling that this bookseller, which doesn't normally sell the NIV, is not only selling but strongly promoting this study Bible.


And the temptation grows stronger...


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## Bill The Baptist (Aug 29, 2018)

Thank you for the link. I am going to begin preaching through Genesis this month and no doubt these notes will prove useful.


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## lynnie (Aug 30, 2018)

Just out of curiosity since you mention Genesis, do they favor the creationist view, or was Adam born to his hairy primate Momma after millions of years of evolution, until God breathed in a human soul? At the link, one of the people giving a good review is from biologos. I would of course expect them to mention all the various views like an ST would, but there are subtle ways to favor one or the other. Thanks.

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## Jake (Aug 30, 2018)

lynnie said:


> Just out of curiosity since you mention Genesis, do they favor the creationist view, or was Adam born to his hairy primate Momma after millions of years of evolution, until God breathed in a human soul? At the link, one of the people giving a good review is from biologos. I would of course expect them to mention all the various views like an ST would, but there are subtle ways to favor one or the other. Thanks.



In the course of the notes directly in the text, the notes point out some things that would support 24 hour days (e.g., "Remembering the Sabbath every week contributes to the idea that seven days, not months or years, describe the creation account.") and some that would support longer days. The main emphasis is on the theological points being made, and they assert that "The scientific information as to how this [the creation] came about is not in the text."

They seem to emphasize the historicity of Adam and Eve, but they do not take a stand against evolution.

Richard S. Hess was the editor of Genesis 1-11.

Here is a good high level overview from the intro to Genesis in a section called "Genesis and Science":

The contemporary reader of Genesis should strive to read the text as it was originally intended to be read by the ancient reader — not to presume that one can carry into this ancient writing all the assumptions and questions that we might have today. This requires care and knowledge of the purpose for which Moses wrote the text. We should exercise care to read the Bible in a manner that remains sensitive to the literary clues and nuances that the writer intended. This approach is possible but requires study and the guidance of the Spirit of God.

The question of the age of the earth is not automatically resolved with the use of the seven days in 1:1 — 2:3. In 2:4, Moses uses the same Hebrew word for “day” to summarize all the work of creation: “In the day when God created the heavens and the earth.” Of course, this does not mean that the term “day” cannot refer to a 24-hour day in the seven days of creation. But it may also serve other purposes. For one, the use of days builds up to the final climactic seventh day of Sabbath rest. This forms one of the major theological emphases of the creation account. The Sabbath rest is built into creation and forms the goal of world history from its beginning. Another reason for the seven days may be connected with “the account of” in 2:4. While this term often precedes the genealogical lines, it can also fall in the midst of longer accounts of individuals and their families. This is true in the
case of the last mention of this in Genesis, in the account of Jacob’s family line (37:2). Much of the story has already been told. The same may be true of 2:4. How do the heaven and earth have a “family line”? There are no parents or children, only the beginning of the human race. Using a metaphor in which the sun and moon bring forth the earth would only confuse the reader in a strictly monotheistic world where these created things have no personhood and should not be worshiped. Instead, the author may have used the sequence of days to parallel the sequences of generations in the later family lines. Each day prepares for and gives way to the next day just as each generation prepares for and gives way to the next generation. This emphasizes the logical development of God’s creation
more than it pinpoints the chronological development.

A second area concerns the expression “according to its/their kind(s).” This describes the plants (1:11 – 12), the fish of the sea (1:21), the land creatures (1:24 – 25), and all these as well as the birds (7:14). It is sometimes taken to mean that the text must describe exact reproduction and cannot allow for the gradual development of various forms of species. However, in Ezek 47:10 this same phrase refers to fish “of many kinds.” If that is the case in Genesis, then it does not emphasize limitation of each life form to it specific species but emphasizes the diversity of each general life form: fish of many kinds, land creatures of many kinds, etc.

The role of Adam and Eve as the first human couple appears in chs. 2 – 4. While some may argue that these figures represent a symbolic or metaphoric story that has no relation to the early history of humanity, they must address the explicit presentation of the Hebrew text. The syntax of the text resembles that of later books such as 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. All readers understand that the authors of these books intended readers to accept them as history. The same should be true of a text such as ch. 3. Indeed, this becomes the witness of the memories of Genesis in the later biblical text (see Introduction: Genesis and History; Genesis and the New Testament).

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## lynnie (Aug 30, 2018)

Thank you Jake for posting all that!

Glad to see this: 
_
The role of Adam and Eve as the first human couple appears in chs. 2 – 4. While some may argue that these figures represent a symbolic or metaphoric story that has no relation to the early history of humanity, they must address the explicit presentation of the Hebrew text. The syntax of the text resembles that of later books such as 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. All readers understand that the authors of these books intended readers to accept them as history. The same should be true of a text such as ch. 3._

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## C. M. Sheffield (Aug 30, 2018)

The apparatus may be excellent, but the translation is not. It may be cynical, but I think projects like this one are Zondervan's effort to woo the more theologically conservative Christians to their deficient translation.

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## Jack K (Aug 31, 2018)

C. M. Sheffield said:


> It may be cynical, but I think projects like this one are Zondervan's effort to woo the more theologically conservative Christians to their deficient translation.



You're probably right when you say that's the cynical take on the story. I would guess the motivation is more straightforward: New and scholarly study Bibles sell. So if you already have a proprietary translation, you want to take advantage of that and also produce a new, scholarly study Bible.

Some Christian publishers are more concerned than others about making sure their books are theologically solid and a help to the church. But in nearly every case, it is the authors and editors who matter most. A publisher that contracts with good writers will produce good books.

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## C. M. Sheffield (Aug 31, 2018)

You don't think Zondervan is aware that their translation is much cared for among conservative evangelicals? You think it's a stretch that they'd want to make inroads into that niche with a project like this one?

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## Jack K (Aug 31, 2018)

C. M. Sheffield said:


> You don't think Zondervan is aware that their translation is much cared for among conservative evangelicals? You think it's a stretch that they'd want to make inroads into that niche with a project like this one?



When a new product builds off an existing brand, a marketer will usually hope for some crossover benefit in both directions. So the new product (Study Bible) boosts the overall brand (NIV), and the established brand (NIV) helps launch the new product (Study Bible). There might also be some cannibalization (people don't buy an NIV because they bought the Study Bible instead).

Obviously, I was not in Zondervan's marketing meetings. I can only speculate. But my guess is that the strongest consideration was the fact that scholarly study Bibles are proven sellers among educated evangelical consumers. So, since the publisher's proprietary translation lets them introduce a new product that's proven to sell, they do it. The possibility that the new product will also boost the brand in that market niche is likely a secondary consideration, but efforts to build brand loyalty that way sometimes work and often don't. In contrast, introducing a proven type of product is a much surer bet.

Again, all of this is just an educated guess. But if I were a marketing manager arguing to the CEO that we should invest in this product, I'd expect "we can boost our brand presence in this niche" to earn me a maybe. But "this is sure to sell" would get me a green light.


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## bookslover (Sep 1, 2018)

But, guys, it's the. . .NIV.


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## psycheives (Sep 3, 2018)

bookslover said:


> But, guys, it's the. . .NIV.



Yes, it is the NIV, which is the Word of God. And a Bible that has been used to bring the gospel to millions. It is one of my favorite translations. Along with the Geneva, KJV, NKJV, ESV and NASB. Along with the KJV and ESV, it was/is one of the most popular Bibles among modern American Reformed churches. So while we might prefer a few English Bibles for church use and perhaps up to 5 English bibles when it comes to heavy bible study, let us respectfully recognize its place on the side of "preferred" translations.

As it is usually preferred over the CEB, CEV, GW, GNT, TLB, MSG, GW, MEV, NCV, NET, NLT, Voice and WEB bibles.


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## C. M. Sheffield (Sep 3, 2018)

psycheives said:


> Along with the KJV and ESV, it was/is one of the most popular Bibles among modern American Reformed churches.



I could care less how popular the NIV is. It isn't faithful to the Hebrew and Greek, and it isn't a good translation.

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## Edm (Sep 4, 2018)

psycheives said:


> As it is usually preferred over the CEB, CEV, GW, GNT, TLB, MSG, GW, MEV, NCV, NET, NLT, Voice and WEB bibles.



You counted the GW twice....


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## Jake (Sep 4, 2018)

I think there's a lot of FUD around the NIV. I find in some places the NIV is more literal than the ESV, KJV, or even the NASB. I also think there's not a large gulf between the ESV and NIV. Obviously this is not universally the case, but it's far from a paraphrase. The 1984 used to be the standard translation in a lot of Reformed churches. The 2011 update has made some steps backwards, but also some forward. I think this review by the WELS church (very conservative Lutheran) does a good job reviewing it: https://web.archive.org/web/2011101...pplemental_translationevaluationcommittee.pdf

For what it's worth, I use more literal translations ([N]KJV, NASB) for deeper study, but often prefer less literal translations like NIV and CSB for reading longer portions of narrative sections of the Bible.

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## Jake (Sep 4, 2018)

Also, I got a copy today. I've barely looked through it, but just a warning: there are 2CV. There are multiple historical paintings that contain God the Father and God the Son in the NT I found with about 2 minutes of flipping through, not expecting them.

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## Post Tenebras (Sep 7, 2018)

Forgive me if this has already been called out, but this edition is simply a re-titled, re-typeset re-release of the three-year-old _NIV Zondervan Study Bible. _

From the publisher's description:

Please Note: The _NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible_ was previously published as the _NIV Zondervan Study Bible_. Study notes and content are the same. Updates include: the new Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface; a new three-column layout; hundreds of pages thinner and more visually appealing.

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## Dachaser (Sep 8, 2018)

Ask Mr. Religion said:


> The _NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible_ will be released on Sept. 4, 2018. It has an impressive set of contributors:
> https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/about/#contributors
> 
> More about the bible here:
> ...


This appears to be the Zondervan Niv Study Bible redone in print type and reduced in size and number of pages. Would be nice for the study notes, but not fr the translation used for it. Wonder if one could just buy ebook the study notes themselves?


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