Review
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Title: NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel Message
Publisher: Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 49530
Genre: Study Bible
Year Published: 2015
Number of Pages: 2880
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN10: 0310438330
ISBN13: 978-0-310-43835-5
Price: $49.99
Reviewed by Steven Ray Montgomery for the Association for Mormon Letters
The “NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel Message” (hereinafter, Zondervan Study Bible) is, as of August 2015, a new, completely rewritten study Bible, based on the groundbreaking and popular New International Version first published in 1985. This new version weighs just short of a hefty five pounds, is printed with the beautiful four-color process, and contains almost 20,000 new verse notes, as well as extensive cross references, indexes, a concordance, introductions to each book or major section, maps, photos, charts, timelines, and a library of 28 theological articles written by biblical experts on a wide variety of subjects.
As an active Latter-day Saint, I strive to take care when using study Bibles, preferring those that are “balanced” between opposing viewpoints and appear to adhere closely to the original written texts. This Bible does not disappoint, despite the evangelical lens its been filtered through. It is theologically conservative, but is not afraid to mention secular or liberal points of view. Further, the contributors to the Zondervan Study Bible are top notch scholars, and were carefully screened and vetted to ensure that the contributions were from “[those who] revere scripture,” strive to “excel in idiomatic accuracy” and where great care is taken that “the phrases, sentences, the idioms, [are] all . . . taken into account.”
So I was curious to see how the Zondervan Study Bible handled various topics, one such being the authorship of the first five books of Moses. I found this topic well balanced between Moses as the sole author and the so-called Documentary Hypothesis, or several authors, perspective.
For the viewpoint in favor of Moses, this Bible cites verses such as when “Jesus himself refers to the Pentateuch as ‘the book of Moses (Mark 12:26), ‘the law of Moses’ (Luke 24:44),” when Philip spoke to Nathaniel about finding the “one Moses wrote about in the law” and when “Moses” as scripture is referred to in Luke 16:29, Luke 24:27 and 2 Corinthians 3:15. Support also comes “from the Pentateuch itself, which directly credits Moses with writing down sections . . . the ‘Book of the Covenant’ in Exodus 20:22–25:33 (see also Exodus 24:4, 7) and the ‘Book of the Law’ in Deuteronomy 5–26.” The claim for Moses himself being the author is clearly stated.
For the viewpoint of other authors besides Moses, the Zondervan Study Bible mentions: (1) the “knowledge of events that occur after Moses’ lifetime; (2) the “manner in which the Pentateuch refers to [Moses] in the third person; (3) the mention in Numbers 12:3 where Moses refers to himself (supposedly) as “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Would the real Moses have referred to himself in such a manner? This point is compelling (4). Then there is Deuteronomy 34 which reports Moses’ death. This Bible cautions that because of these observations one should not be overly dogmatic that Moses penned absolutely everything in the Pentateuch. And we haven’t even covered the Documentary Hypothesis.
But lack of space and time prevents me from covering the Documentary Hypothesis thoroughly. It’ll have to suffice to mention that it is presented and in some detail. Trust me. The reader is presented with enough information to be informed to make up his own mind regarding the matter.
I wanted to see how the Zondervan Study Bible handled one of my favorite Old Testament Scriptures, Psalm 19. I was delighted to read: “This psalm is a majestic meditation on how God has revealed himself; indeed, it is a celebration of two different modes of revelation: God reveals himself in creation (vv. 1-6) and in his word (vv 7-14), corresponding to what theologians call “general” and “special” revelation respectively . . .” Due to my training in history, theology, and law, this resonated with my understanding. That law was either inherent in the nature of things (natural law), and was discovered through observation and reason, or law is given directly by God, Divine or revealed law.
The idea of a “general revelation” or a discovery of “natural law” also accords with Latter-day Saint scripture. The world and all in it, or out of it, “are created and made to bear record of [Christ]” (Moses 6:63), and “denote there is a God.” (Alma 30:44)
The Apostle Paul’s teachings on Mars Hill have always fascinated me, so I wondered how the Zondervan Study Bible dealt with Paul’s phrase “we are his offspring” in Acts 17:28. The Zondervan Study Bible provided the necessary historical background vital to understanding that Paul met the Greeks with their own understanding, that of their own Poets. The reader is informed that these words stem “from the stoic poet Aratus (315-240 BC) in his ‘Phaenomena’.” The Zondervan Study Bible commentary on this verse does come short of the Latter-day Saint understanding of Adam and Eve, and the rest of us, being spirit “offspring” of Deity, but I don’t really expect that in any non-LDS Bible.
I also was curious how the Zondervan Study Bible reacted to baptism for the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:29. Here there was first, a predictable evangelical Christian response. It’s to be understood “in a manner adapt[ed] to the context. If there is no resurrection from the dead, it makes no sense for new Christians (who were spiritually dead before their conversion) to undergo baptism if faith and baptism have no effect on what happens after death. But that understanding is balanced by the words that this verse is to be understood as “vicarious baptism on behalf of deceased people” as was carried out by certain sects of that day.
I found myself spending hours looking up the footnotes, reading the commentary, reading the illustrations, etc. Overall the Zondervan Study Bible is well balanced. I was impressed with how “controversial” parts of the Zondervan Study Bible were treated. A respect for the text was shown and, for the most part, avoided wresting scripture to fit any particular theological agenda. And where there was a division of opinion they clearly staked out the positions, leaving it up to the reader to decide “hard questions.”
It even has a subject index. Something I complained about when I reviewed the NIV Essentials Study Bible.
I like gazetteers and this Bible has a gazetteer, of sorts. It has a three page map index, which is good, but I would have preferred a more comprehensive gazetteer, one able to look up all those tiny, obscure, backwater places that seem insignificant but often have significant importance.
There are several blemishes. One of my biggest gripes is the tiny size of the text. But maybe that’s more indicative perhaps of my age. Another is the rather clunky and cumbersome digital access. I found it hard to use. But it is free with the purchase, and it does enable you to find what you need, highlight important verses or passages, take notes, look up any word or phrase, find places in the map section and so forth.
But these are just tiny nits. This is a good Bible. It will be on my “readily available” shelf.
Yes, I really like this Bible. It has much going for it.