The Orthodox Study Bible, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World

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For a very long time there were only two English translations of the Septuagint, neither of them from Orthodox sources. The first was by Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the U.S. Continental Congress, and one of America’s Founding Fathers, who produced his translation in 1808, which he made from J Field’s printed Greek text of 1665. Thomson omitted the deuterocanonical texts. Then in 1851 Sir Lancelot C L Brenton published his translation of the Septuagint. This is generally available and fairly widely known today in bilingual editions in book form or on the Internet. Both Thomson and Brenton’s are ‘diplomatic’ texts, i.e. they are based on one text – in the case of Brenton it is Codex Vaticanus -, which does not altogether agree with the Greek text of the Orthodox Church. However there are now several other English translations, and more are in progress. Significant recent publications are the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) and The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB). Others include the Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB). This latter includes the Septuagint text in a modern English revision of Brenton’s translation, noting also variant texts from the Syriac translation, the Peshitta, the Masoretic and other ancient versions. And the present author has completed a traditional English version based on the Apostoliki Diakonia text, using the King James Bible as its English template and amending it where it differs from the Greek. Septuaginta. Id est Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX Interpretes. Stuttgart: Wurttembergische Bibelanstalt, 1935 This is my "go to" translation of the New Testament. I think that it is a great resource for English speaking Orthodox Christians. It was the Septuagint, and not the Hebrew Bible, which explicitly shaped some early Christian theology. For example, the Septuagint version of Isaiah shaped Paul’s Letter to the Romans, the most theologically profound book in the history of Christianity. A few very important examples of this – there are many – are cited by Timothy Michael Law in his book, ‘When God spoke Greek’. In Romans 2 Paul condemns the Jews, calling them sinners and judging them for having but not obeying the law. In the final verse of this passage Paul quotes Isaiah 52:5 from the Septuagint. We find here a great variation from the Hebrew. The Hebrew says: ‘Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, My name is despised’. The Septuagint says, ‘Because of you, My name is continually despised among the nations’. And Paul follows the Septuagint, saying: ‘For as it is written (i.e. in Isaiah 52) The name of God is continually despised among the gentiles because of you’.Law goes on to say: ‘The Septuagint had intensified the original condemnation into a pointed accusation against Israel: it was their fault they remained in exile. Paul’s use of this verse here in 2:24, placed before his exposition of his gospel, reveals how he intended to place himself in the prophetic tradition of Israel. After this verse in Isaiah, the prophet declares how the return from Israel may happen. Paul does as well, but for the apostle the people of Israel will remain in exile as long as they continue to reject the Christ.’ We know now that some books in the Septuagint were translated from Hebrew texts that were radically different from those in modern editions of the Hebrew Bible and in English Bible translations. This has been brought to light through recent study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is now clear that the Septuagint sometimes reveals a version of the Old Testament books older than those that exist in the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint gives us glimpses into earlier stages in the Bible’s development before the completion of the Hebrew Bible that is now the basis of modern translations. This fact is problematic for those western Christians who put their entire faith in the pursuit of what they call the “original, i.e Masoretic, text”.

The New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included Under that Title (NETS), published in 2007 (with corrections and emendations issued in 2009 and 2014), is a major scholarly translation based on the critical texts available at the time from Gottingen and Rahlfs semi-critical Septuaginta. But this Bible is not just for Orthodox Christians. Countless others will find the Orthodox Study Bible an invaluable roadmap for their spiritual journey. Those exploring Christianity for the first time and those Christians waiting to discover their own spiritual roots will see this Bible as a source of inspiration and challenge. The Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible are part of God’s revelation to mankind. The Orthodox Church claims that the author of the Old Testament is truly God Himself, but it recognises that it is equally the work of men in different times and places. It also believes that God can and does reveal Himself, and that men and women come to know Him in His self-revelation only through a deep personal experience found within the Church.

the best Bible out there - as simple as that, if there would been a six stars option I would've used it to rate the OSB. Just love all the conditional notes, included iconografy is outstanding, and added prayers are very helpful. Your best companion for a fruitful, spiritually loaded and knowledgeable walk through life as a practising Orthodox Christian. This is the Bible English translation used by the Orthodox Church. As such, those from other branches of Christianity may find it different from other versions with which they are more familiar. The FIRST EVER Orthodox Study Bible presents the Bible of the early church and the church of the early Bible.

Clark Carlton, The Way: What Every Protestant Should Know About the Orthodox Church, (Salisbury, MA: Regina Orthodox Press, 1997) p. 137f. In this special series, Dr. Jeannie discusses the "recently discovered" square of papyrus that supposedly proves that Jesus was married. Listeners are offered a number of compelling reasons why the papyrus is a forgery... Inspirational Ancient Artwork. In keeping with the tradition of the early Church, you experience full-color ancient images meant to draw you closer to Christ. The Orthodox Study Bible is great because it has a vibrant translation of the full Orthodox canon including books that Protestants don't have - like Judith, Tobit, and I, II, and III Maccabees. (Catholics have most of these books in their canon as well aside from III Maccabees.) I'd heard that Luther and others recommended it for devotional reading, and I definitely found that it strengthened my walk with God and my understanding of the rest of the Bible, particularly Maccabees and Judith. In fact, I'll say that without reading I and II Maccabees you really don't understand the New Testament as well as you could. Tobit was fun and faith building.

The intentional unity of Luke/Acts is more than sequential. It is also thematic, in the sense that both works carry the same images, ideas, and preoccupations. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, with its headquarters located in the City of New York, is an Eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, The mission of the Archdiocese is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, to teach and spread the Orthodox Christian faith, to energize, cultivate, and guide the life of the Church in the United States of America according to the Orthodox Christian faith and tradition. Commentary notes, or annotations, serve as the defining characteristic of study Bibles. The OSB is no different except that its comments originate not from the interpretation of modern Bible scholars, but rather from over 50 early church sources. These notes not only draw upon the biblical and theological understandings of individuals such as Athanasius, Irenaeus, and Chrysostom, they also gear themselves toward the life and practice of Orthodox Christians. It was commissioned at the behest of the Egyptian King, Ptolemy, who wished to expand the celebrated library of Alexandria to include the wisdom of all the ancient religions of the world. Because Greek was the language of Alexandria, the Scriptures therefore had to be translated into that language. The Orthodox Study Bible was released in early 2008 with a new translation of the Septuagint based on the Greek text of Alfred Rahlfs Septuaginta, and with reference to the Brenton translation. Thomas Nelson Publishers granted use of the New King James Version text in the places where the translation of the LXX would match that of the Hebrew Masoretic text. This edition includes the New Testament as well, which also uses the New King James Version. It also includes extensive commentary from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. [1] The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (EOB) is an extensive revision and correction of Brenton’s translation. Its language and syntax have been modernized and simplified. It also includes extensive introductory material and footnotes featuring significant inter-LXX and LXX/MT variants.