Review of the Orthodox Study Bible

I recently received as a gift a copy of the new complete, Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) in a nice leather edition. There is now a complete English Bible in a readable version translated from the Septuagint of the Old Testament, and the Byzantine Text for the New Testament, an appropriate and reliable version for Byzantine Christians.

The Original OSB came out in 1993, but featured only the New Testament and Psalms. This new, complete edition of the OSB just came out in February 2008, only a few weeks ago.

The New Testament originally used in the OSB is the New King James Version (NKJV), an edition translated by evangelical Christians from the Byzantine Text, and released by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The Psalms were also from the NKJV. The NKJV has become somewhat of a favorite version for Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians.

For this new, complete edition, there was no need to replace the NKJV New Testament, as it is a faithful translation of the Byzantine Text. To make the Old Testament suitable for Byzantine Christians, however, the Old Testament needed to be translated from the Septuagint. In the same way that the Latin Vulgate is normative for the Latin Church, the Septuagint of the Old Testament and The Byzantine New Testament Text are normative for the Byzantine Church.

This new version of the Old Testament is called The St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (SAAS), and was translated directly from the Septuagint, using the NKJV in places where the Septuagint and Masoretic text agree. The Deuterocanonical books, which do not appear in the NKJV, are completely fresh translations.

The SAAS is not the only English Septuagint available on the market. Other versions available are the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) and the Greek Septuagint with Apocrypha, by Sir Lancelot Brenton. The NETS version used the NRSV as a starting point, and many people on the blogs appear to prefer this version. I will have to examine it myself, I have not looked at a copy yet. The Brenton translation is venerable but older with archaic language. It has the advantage, though, of having the English translation and Greek original in parallel columns. The Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version are available in several editions that contain all of the books of the Septuagint; but most of the books of are translated from the Masoretic text, not the Septuagint itself.

The Deuterocanonical books are interspersed throughout the Old Testament in the traditional order of the Septuagint. For those not familiar with the Eastern Orthodox or Septuagint traditions, it may be interesting to know that the books of the Hebrew Canon are in slightly different order, too. Job follows Psalms instead of preceding them; the first prophetic book is Hosea, not Isaiah; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel are all inserted at the very end of the Old Testament. I am mildly disappointed that the books of Chronicles are not labeled Paralipomenon, as is traditional in the Greek and Latin Bibles used by Catholics and Orthodox.

The reading I have done so far indicates to me that the SAAS version has much lovelier renderings than the NKJV. For example, in the SAAS version, I love Psalm 84 [85]: 9- “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me, for He will speak peace to His people and to His holy ones, and to those who turn their heart to Him.”

In the NKJV, the passage reads, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.”

The SAAS is prettier to me; not because it does not contain the warning, but because it is more spiritual, and poetic to my ears. I like the concept of the Lord “speaking in me.”

It is important for Christians and others to know that the vast majority of Old Testament quotes in the New Testament are from the Septuagint. This is not simply because both were written in Greek, but because the Septuagint was the preferred version of the Apostles and the Early Christian Church, and even among the Jewish Diaspora. Ancient Christians and modern day Byzantine Christians consider the Septuagint inspired in its own right. Many of the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament only make sense fully in the Septuagint. Critical passages quoted in the New Testament that highlight the divinity of Christ and his mission are quoted in the New Testament from the Septuagint, not the Hebrew (see for example: Matthew 1.23 & Isaiah 7.14; Hebrews 2.6-8 & Psalm 8.5-8; Hebrews 10.5 & Psalm 40.8).

I am disappointed that therefore that there is not a more in depth article in the OSB explaining why we in the Byzantine Church use the Septuagint for our Old Testament and the Byzantine Text for our New Testament. I think that would have been helpful, so I have provided a link to Bishop Isaiah’s excellent article, Which English Translation of the Bible Should I Use?

The OSB is a beautiful edition of the Sacred Scriptures. It features nice big print. I appreciate that the lay out is plain and easy to read, and that it does not feature bizarre colors and starbursts like so many other study bibles on the market. It does have several pages of beautiful and colorful Byzantine Icons. One of the constant criticisms I have encountered elsewhere on the web about the OSB is that some of the Icons are not very good. Perhaps, but some are very beautiful to my eye. Perhaps in future editions if the publishers want to improve in this area, they should only use famous examples of Icons that have stood the test of time.

The OSB contains an index to the annotations, the Byzantine Lectionary, Morning and Evening prayers, a glossary, and several articles, including ones on the Orthodox Church and How to Read the Bible. Many of the notations and articles highlight passages read on major feast days of the Church, and key theological concepts in the Byzantine Church, such as Christology, faith & works, divinization, the sacraments, and many others.

I enjoy the commentary, which is from the perspective of Byzantine theology, with ample quotes from the Church Fathers. This makes the Orthodox Study Bible also attractive for Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants, Evangelicals, and other Christians interested in understanding the Bible from the perspective Eastern Theology, the Fathers, and the Ancient Church.

My leather edition seems to be sturdy and well made.

The Orthodox Study Bible may have flaws, but so do all versions and study editions. You will encounter some criticisms of the OSB on the net, some justified, some nit-picky, in my opinion. I think that the Orthodox Study Bible serves well its purpose, providing and excellent and reliable Study Bible and translation for the use of Byzantine Christians and others as well.

Other versions of the Bible I recommend:

1) The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, with the Apocrypha, New Oxford Annotated edition- The classic Revised Standard Version (RSV), is still the preferred version of many, being very literal and literary. The New Oxford Annotated edition has been staple in many Orthodox, Catholc, and Protestant seminaries for decades. This is the only edition of the Holy Bible in English that contains 4th Maccabees. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version, published in 1901, which was a revision of the King James Version, published in 1611 (RSV Preface). It is perhaps the most reliable version of the Bible in English.

2) The Orthodox New Testament (ONT), not be confused with the Orthodox Study Bible being discussed here. The ONT is published by Holy Apostles Convent in Colorado. The ONT is revised from the King James, and translated from the 1912 version of the Byzantine Text authorized by the Great Church of Constantinople. It is very literal, conveying the Greek tenses in English. It is an excellent Bible, though only available for the time being in the New Testament. It comes in a 2-volume study edition of the New Testament, or a single volume New Testament without notes. It is not quite as an accessible translation to English readers as is the NKJV, though arguably a better translation. I enjoy the ONT quite a bit, and read it often.

Read the New King James Version here, at Coptic Orthodox Church Net.

Order the Orthodox Study Bible here.

On the Old Testament Canon: Who Decides? Unraveling the Mystery of the Old Testament Canon. This article was originally written before the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint was completed. It provides briefly an explanation why the Church uses the Greek Septuagint with its longer canon.