Product Description

Thousands of satisfied scholars, students, and worshippers have relied on the New Oxford Annotated Bible for its excellent scholarship, easy-to-use supplementary materials, and high-quality bindings.
The newest edition of the NOAB with Apocrypha is no different, offering a wealth of new maps, charts and diagrams that expand on this already indispensible Bible. It includes all of the features that readers have valued in past editions and more: foot-of-page annotations provide convenient reference to unknown terms, while background essays, charts, and Oxford's signature biblical maps deepen the readers' understanding of the Biblical world in its historical, social, and geographical context.
Printed on smooth, flexible paper in clear typeface, and available in a variety of elegant bindings, the NOAB offers the best features at reasonable values. The NOAB with Apocrypha combines Oxford's highest reputation in theological scholarship with sensitivity towards readers' needs in scriptural study.
* Wholly revised, and greatly expanded book introductions and annotations.
* Annotations in a single column across the page bottom, paragraphed according to their boldface topical headings.
* In-text background essays on the major divisions of the biblical text.
* New essays on the history of the formation of the biblical canon for Jews and various Christian churches.
* More detailed explanations of the historical background of the text.
* More in-depth treatment of varieties of biblical criticism.
* A timeline of major events in the ancient Near East.
* A brief history of biblical interpretations, from biblical times to the present.
* A full index to all of the study materials, keyed to the page numbers on which they occur.
* 36-page section of full color New Oxford Bible Maps, approx. 40 in-text line drawing maps and diagrams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18332 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2432 pages

Review
"The New Oxford Annotated Bible with its excellent footnotes and concise introductory materials has a thoroughness and clarity that should prove invaluable to the lay reader and scholar alike."--Frederick Buechner "I know of no other annotated Bible that is as rich as The New Oxford in both the precision of its textual notes and the clarity and helpfulness of its introductions. It will be and extraordinarily useful edition to have on one's library shelf."--Andrew M. Greeley

About the Author
Bruce M. Metzger, Collard Professor of New Testament, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary. Roland E. Murphy, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Duke University Divinity School. Bruce M. Metzger, Collard Professor of New Testament, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary. Roland E. Murphy, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Duke University Divinity School.

Customer Reviews

A Top-Quality Study Bible
Oxford has greatly improved its New Annotated Study Bible. The notes are far more extensive than in previous editions. In addition to including the complete text of the NRSV in an easy-to-read typeface, this new edition contains notes pointing out information and meanings which are not obvious from just reading the text and, in places, indicating meanings from the underlying Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts which are not evident in the NRSV translation.

The notes are entirely scholarly and do not attempt to teach any religious doctrine.

In places, the NOAB Third Edition is less thorough in its notes than the competing HarperCollins Study Bible, but the notes are better written and far less tedious to read.

The best study bible for "seekers"
When the Oxford University Press labels this an "ecumenical" study bible, it's not kidding. The Apocrypha are included, naturally. (You don't have to read them, of course, but you will have to pay for them.) But the Old Testament is also respectfully referred to as "The Hebrew Bible". And all dates are given as BCE/CE rather than BC/AD. The annotations are just as scrupulously free of denominational bias. Of course, the only way it can manage that is by avoiding religious interpretation altogether. This makes the book less useful to those looking for an in-depth treatment of their particular faith, I suppose. But that's also what makes it invaluable to those of who are still "waiting in the hall" - as C.S. Lewis put it. That, combined with the title's decades of acceptance by men far more learned in the subject than I (and just the general classiness of the OUP), means I *trust* this Bible as I do no other I've seen on the market - as one can only trust someone who isn't trying to sell you anything. And, without wading too far into the muddy and turbulent waters of the translation issue, let me register my opinion that the New Revised Standard Version used here strikes me as the most literal translation that can still be considered good English. (It doesn't read with the absolute clarity of a good thought-for-thought version like the Good News Translation, but it far excels the New American Standard Bible - generally considered the single most literal English version - and the mega-popular but lamentable New International Version, which doesn't even have all-out-literalism as an excuse.)

Furthermore, as a specimen of book manufacture, the New Oxford Annotated Bible is a giant among dwarves. The uncluttered double columns of text [11-pt. Times New Roman, I'm guessing] and single column of annotations at the bottom of the page, set with half-inch margins, printed on opaquer-than-average paper, is more readable than any non-Giant Print Bible I've ever seen. The words of Jesus are not printed in red, but if you're afraid you'll lose track of them, you can always highlight them with a red marker and draw pointing arrows labelled "Over Here!"

This edition makes the Bible fun to read
I used this Bible for two classes in college, one on the Hebrew Bible and one on the Christian Scriptures. This translation is not only one of the most accurate in English but also is much easier and more fun to read than more archaic versions. I have nothing against the King James Version for its use of language, but when you're mostly interested just in what happened and don't need it to sound poetic, this version is better. It also has useful notes at the bottoms of the pages and maps in the back for all the periods of time the Bible covers.