Featured Baptist Study Bible

It'll speak to him. So will his wife when she finds out it cost $672.00 and he was reading it while eating Cheetos. :laugh:

 

I have in my collection a pristine copy of the Believers Study Bible in hard cover (with dust jacket and the paper book marker) NKJV. This is basically the Baptist/Crisswell Study Bible. It is by the way a very good study Bible. I searched high and low for it and finally found my copy on alibris a few years ago.

One of these day's i'm going to have it rebound in leather.

 

Just curious as to why this particular study bible is so important? Why not purchase a NKJV study bible or MacArthur, ect.?

 

I don't think I've seen anyone mention ebay. That's where I got my hardcover edition of the Believer's Study Bible a few years ago. Some high volume sellers will start the bidding low no matter what the perceived value is. That was the case with mine, although it wasn't in quite as good a condition as advertised. But not bad for Study Bible that was presumably almost 20 years old at the time.

Another option is independent Christian bookstores, especially ones in more rural areas. Some of them may still have a few copies laying around. It might be worth it to phone or visit ones within a certain radius from you if you haven't already. There is one about an hour from me where I have seen a few copies of the "Baptist Study Edition" (the last edition) including a bonded leather one. The last time I went however, it looked like the leather was gone. (It was not in a box and was stood up vertically and obviously had been for years as the bottom of the cover was bent at practically a 90 degree angle.) I think they might still have some hardcover copies. They were selling them for the suggested retail price, which is a steal compared to what people are trying to sell them for online.

My understanding is that the Criswell Study Bible was the 1st edition and was published in the KJV ca. 1979. The Believer's Study Bible was published in 1991 in the NKJV. The Baptist Study Edition was published in the NKJV ca. 2000. I think the notes are the same in all three. The Believer's Study Bible I have has a sewn binding, whereas all of the copies of the Baptist Study Edition (the 2000 rebranding) that I have seen are glued. That's something to keep in mind, even if the plan is to eventually have it rebound. The Believer's Study Bible hardcover has a dust jacket, is a blue hardcover and has a bookmark. The Baptist Study Edn. hardcover has a green cover and no dust jacket.

I think this is a good Study Bible, but IMO it's not worth what many are trying to sell it for, even though it is out of print. An Amazon review states that the notes are more thorough than the MacArthur Study Bible. That's not the case at all, although a few verses here and there may have a longer note. I suppose some want it because they are looking for a favorite study Bible in the NKJV. As far as Baptist Study Bibles go, I give Nelson's King James Study Bible (a production of Liberty from the late 80's) a slight edge over the one edited by Criswell. (I like the notes a little better and the print of the Bible text itself is about 11 pt compared to about 8 pt in the Criswell. It also has modern equivalents for archaic KJV words and phrases in the margin, with many being what you find in the NKJV.) Some will prefer the Believer's/Baptist Study Bible over the MacArthur or the NKJV Study Bible because it is in the familiar verse by line format rather than a paragraphed format. Some will prefer it for theological reasons, with it being more distinctively Baptist than the NKJV Study Bible (a production of Dallas Seminary men) and less Calvinistic than the MacArthur.

My guess is that it went out of print because of low demand. Also, over the course of roughly 20 years it was published 3 times under 3 different names, indicating an issue with branding. Given the current market I'd be shocked to ever see it in print again, despite the fact that it still holds up well, IMO. By the 3rd edition in 2000, the name Criswell wasn't as well known among the general public. He was a very popular preacher and pivotal denominational leader but was not a popular author compared to Ryrie or MacArthur. Many prospective buyers aren't specifically looking for a Baptist study Bible to begin with, although this one probably isn't much more Baptist than some others that could be named. Also, there have been many more Study Bibles issued over the past 30 years. So it was competing with Scofield, Ryrie, MacArthur (who actually has an article in it) Life Application, NKJV Study Bible, Thompson Chain Reference, etc. with all the above except Ryrie being available in the NKJV. Even among Southern Baptists my guess is that the Ryrie always outsold this one edited by Criswell, which was essentially the work of the Criswell College faculty of that time.

 

A thoughtful post pilgrim_99. Everything you wrote I agree with and my thoughts are the same. It's a good study Bible among many good study Bibles.

One comment though, I also have the Nelson KJ Study Bible in leather. The notes are good though few in number however the printed pages are much lower quality, almost like a photocopy. The actual paper is thicker than the Believers SB though. Also my KJ SB has a glued binding and stiff covers.

Having said all that, when I want to consult a study Bible, my first grab is the MacArthur, second is the NIV and third is Ryrie. After that I go to the commentaries.

 

Thanks. I don't have the Ryrie SB, and after missing a chance to get one at a bargain basement price on ebay last year (a woman was selling "brand new" copies, sans CD, for $9.99) I probably won't end up getting one. It's an old standby but given all of the other ones I have, I figure I can probably get by without it. It's probably more of a must have for those who prefer the NASB and prefer Ryrie to MacArthur. It doesn't look to have any more notes than the Believer's SB or Nelson KJV SB or several others that could be named, and I figure the 1967 New Scofield or the Scofield III is probably better if one specifically wants to study that era of dispensationalism, because it appears to focus more heavily on that. The NIV Study Bible was one of my first, but I hardly ever look at it anymore. I have a NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible that I consult from time to time. That's another out of print title that is highly sought after by some because the notes are more thorough than those in the Reformation Study Bible.

I don't know what the paper quality was in the 90's for the Nelson KJV Study Bible. But I agree that the paper quality in the ones being produced now is not the best. It's generally quite readable but due to the paper quality the red letters in the Gospels have excessive ghosting, necessitating having to lift the page at times. A common problem with Nelson Bibles is that the brightness of the red letters varies almost from page to page, and the paper quality only makes this problem worse. I only bought it because I wanted to read the KJV for the 400th Anniversary and I thought it would be helpful toward that end. I found the quality of the notes to be a pleasant surprise. I've found the historical and archaeological notes to be helpful and the others are usually good too. The notes are formatted in single column and often cover paragraphs instead of single verses, so the number of notes is probably approximately the same as the Believer's SB. (The quality of the little topical articles is hit or miss IMO and at times appear to contradict the study notes.) Another feature is that OT quotes in the NT are set off in all caps like they are in the NASB. As far as the binding goes, I picked up the one that appeared to have the most glue. :thumbs: Unlike some glued bindings, this one does have a little give to it, so hopefully it will hold up for a little while. With regard to the paper quality in the Believer's SB, it has less ghosting than my KJV SB but in certain lighting conditions I find that it gives off a lot of glare.

Now, for those who like this KJV SB, Nelson issued a 400th Anniversary edition in brown genuine leather, a sewn binding and paper that looks to be of better quality than you find in their regular editions.

Another advantage of the Believers/Baptist Study Bible is that it has the full set of NKJV cross references, as does the MacArthur SB, the NKJV SB (I'm assuming since I don't have one) and maybe a few others. I have a reference edition of the NKJV that I like, (one that has basically the same text block as the Believer's SB) but it doesn't have as many cross references. The Cambridge editions have the fuller set. I don't know why most of them don't have the more complete x-refs even though there is room for them. But that's not the first mind boggling thing Nelson has done.

The Believer's SB also has a nice concordance, has some helpful charts and has a subject index to the study notes. It has a nice glossary of theological terms too. The original MacArthur SB didn't have a concordance at all and unfortunately has no index to the study notes either, even though the notes are as exhaustive as any SB on the market and were the most exhaustive by far when it was first published. (If they included one, maybe it would balloon to ESV SB proportions? Maybe that was a consideration.) I've joked that I guess MacArthur wanted you to read every word! The 2nd edition does have a concordance, but they are of much lower quality WRT the binding and cover compared to the quality of the ones produced in the late 90's.

 

That's all he will be able to afford after giving that many greenbacks, huh? :laugh:

People will think the orange marks are highlights, but find out it's "cheetos dust".

 

You know that's not a bad idea. I may try that. It would be a great excuse to eat cheetos! :tongue3:

 

Or Tapatio flavored Doritos!!!

http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/doritos-tapatio.html

I looked on ebay. There were 3 Baptist Study Bibles. All were hardbacks, and from 200.00+ and under. I'll pass.

Someone said the demand must not have been there, so they don't print them any longer. I'd say that should be an accurate assessment.

People should consider getting an R.L. Allan Bible, they're the best made. Local Church Bible Publishers also make a decent KJV (they're KJVOnly) and they sell them at cost (around 50.00 + for a nicely made and bound Bible). They're smythe sewn and have good leather, although from looking at the pictures of them, the center binding is so tight it seems to interfere with the text and margins, even on the wide margin there is not much margin in the center for notes. In fact there is none from the pictures I've looked at.

http://www.localchurchbiblepublishers.com/

I'm just not into 'Study Bibles'. I like mine plain, nothing but the Word and referenced.

If you want a good high quality Bible, check out R.L. Allan Bibles at www.evangelicalbible.com.

The NASB I got from there is an awesome Bible, very high quality, should last for years with constant use.

 

Just don't start licking the pages when the Cheetos run out....the pages will stick together....:tongue3:

 

I have a couple of Ryries and Scofields. I use the Ryrie more than Scofield but that's not saying much. I know what you mean about having enough study Bibles that you don't think you will need another. The NKJ SB is quite good actually, I got one off ebay in leather new condition for $10.00

As a general rule Nelson has in my opinion the worse bindings followed close by Crossways. Zondervan overall is good. I have a Cambridge and of course an Oxford Scofield, they are nice, the ESV SB is an exception to my critical stance on Crossways but I never use my ESV SB or my NLT SB for that matter. I'm basically dispensational so I tend to perfer MacArthur these days.

Of all of the modern study Bibles that I have, the one that is the worse in my opinion, from a quality perspective is the Tim LaHay Prophecy SB, published by AMG. I can go on for hours with quality complaints on this unit. At the other extreame, while not marketed as a study Bible, the bound edition NET Bible is awsome for $50.00 a great binding!

 

For those interested in the Believers/Baptist Study Bible, (ed. Criswell) it would be a good idea to check Ebay frequently i.e. maybe a couple of times per week. Setting up an email alert or two makes it easier.

I've seen a number of copies of the Believer's Study Bible (1991) posted recently and it's also not uncommon to see copies of the Baptist Study Edition (ca. 2000.) (Most often, these will be the hardcover, however.) From what I've seen, these two are the same except for the name and it seems, the quality. The Believer's Study Bible should have better quality since it was published back when Nelson was still producing quality Bibles. The binding of my hardcover Believer's Study Bible is sewn whereas the copies of the later Baptist Study edn. I've seen all had glued bindings. You never know, but I would expect the binding of the leather versions of the Believer's SB to be sewn too unless the quality started declining during the time in which it was in print.

A few weeks ago I saw a nice blue leather edition of the Believer's Study Bible on ebay. It ended up going for about $75, which was a pretty good price if it was in as good a condition as it looked and was described. That was the only leather edition I've seen on ebay, but I haven't been looking regularly either. I love blue Bibles but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on it since I already have it in hardcover. Often the bidding will start out very low but will tend to go up rapidly toward the end of the auction due to the demand for the out of print item. But if the bidding starts under $10 it's quite possible to get one for under $100.

 

You may try www.fetchbook.info it lets you search for books and compare prices. I have found out of print books at antique book stores this way.

 

I just had my Believer's Study Bible rebound not long ago. It was originally bonded leather, smyth sewn and was in bad shape with black duct tape holding it together. I sent it to Leonard's for a new berkshire cover, imprinting, map repair and restitching along with three markers and some extra pages.

You couldn't offer me enough money to part with it.

I think the McArthur NKJV Study Bible would be the way to go today if one were still wanting a NKJV.

 

The MacArthur is the way to go for me because it's one of the few that is not a Red Letter edition. The NKJV Study Bible is "black letter" too. I've gotten to the point that I can't read red letter editions comfortably. That limits the choices in some versions, and it's very slim pickings in the NKJV and HCSB. I'm also fortunate in that I got my MacArthur in 1999, which was when they were still built to last.

 

Personally, I don't care for Bibles that are preceded by someone's name like the MacArthur Study Bible, or the Charles Stanley Study Bible, etc. God wrote the Bible, not some pastor. I believe when you buy a study Bible like the MacArthur Study Bible you get MacArthurs' beliefs more than Scripture (and since he's a Calvinist, I don't care for his beliefs anyway). I know, I know.......all study Bibles slant beliefs in their commentary, which is why I'm leaning to just a regular Bible nowadays. JMHO.

 

WHAT! No Highland Goatskin Cover?!? :laugh:

 

I tend to agree WRT Study Bibles, although I seldom read the notes at this point unless I'm studying in depth and also consulting other resources and commentaries. Regardless, if I ever did use the MacArthur as my main Bible, it wasn't later than 2002. But we do often use it in family worship.

What I meant by it being the one for me is that I preferred it to the others, including the Believers'/Bapist Study Bible because it isn't a red letter edition. (I'd give it a slight nod regardless.) For most of the past decade the NKJV has been my primary version. With the exception of cheap outreach editions with miniscule print (or maybe a pew edition which also tends to have small print) the only NKJV's that aren't "red letter" that I know of are Study Bibles. Because of this, I will probably have to switch to another version. Since I lean toward the TR/MT being closer to the originals, it will probably be the KJV since I can't see myself switching to the NASB or ESV. But at least the publishers of the ESV and NASB have realized that not everyone wants a red letter edition.

I think red letter editions are a late 19th or early 20th century innovation. I know some people like them. To each his own. But I don't think that they have been particularly helpful overall. Too many use it to pit Jesus against Paul, etc. "Well if Jesus didn't speak against it, it's ok" etc. Is that really any better than confusing Scofield's notes with Holy Writ? But I could live with it except that over the past two years it has gotten very uncomfortable for me to read red letters beyond a handful of verses.

Most recently I've been using a text edition KJV (The Trinitarian Bible Society's Windsor Text Edition) that has no cross references or marginal notes. My preference would be for a good "black letter" reference edition but I'll have to order one from TBS or some other non-mainstream publisher. With the exception of Allan and LCBP I don't know of any. Even Cambridge appears to exclusively sell red letter editions now, even in the KJV.

 

Just came out of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Fort Worth, and in the exhibit bookstore was a Believer's Study Bible NKJV. It was hardcover, but then had olive wood covers on the front/back covers. They stated that it was out of print. It was $59.99.