Book Review: The Complete Jewish Study Bible

Description from Hendrickson Publishers

Christians and Messianic Jews who are interested in the rich spiritual traditions of their faith will be thrilled with this brand new study Bible. The Complete Jewish Study Bible pairs the updated text of The Complete Jewish Bible with extra study material, to help readers understand and connect with the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.

The Complete Jewish Bible translation shows that the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is a unified Jewish book meant for everyone—Jew and non-Jew alike. Translated by David H. Stern with new, updated introductions by Rabbi Barry Rubin, it has been a best-seller for over twenty years. This translation, combined with beautiful, modern design and helpful features, makes this an exquisite, one-of-a-kind Bible.

Unique to The Complete Jewish Study Bible are a number of helpful articles and notes to aid the reader in understanding the Jewish context for the Scriptures, both in the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and the B’rit Hadashah (the New Testament).

Features include:
– Twenty-five contributors (both Jewish and Christian), including John Fischer, Patrice Fischer, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Rabbi Russell Resnik, and more
– Thirty-four topical articles ranging from topics such as the menorah (or “candelabra of God”) and repentance (t’shuvah) in the Bible, to Yeshua’s “Sermon on the Mount” and the Noachide Laws (the laws given by God to Noah and subsequent generations) and their applicability to Gentiles
– In addition to these topical articles and detailed study notes, there are twelve tracks or themes running throughout the Bible with 117 articles, covering topics such as Jewish Customs, the Names of God, Shabbat, and the Torah
– New Bible book introductions, written from a Jewish perspective
– Bottom-of-page notes to help readers understand the deeper meanings behind the Jewish text
– Sabbath and Holy Day Scripture readings
– Offers the original Hebrew names for people, places, and concepts

My Review:

If I would buy a study bible and even spend the extra money to get it bound in leather, this is the Bible I would get. The Complete Jewish Study Bible fascinates me. I first learned about the Complete Jewish Bible version when I came across the book Names and Titles of God by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson. http://www.jesuswalk.com/names-god/names-god.htm I also reviewed this book in an earlier post. I had no clue how Greek, Latin and English changed the names in the Bible and I found it fascinating how the Complete Jewish Study Bible was different from all the other bible versions that I knew. It took me some time to get adjusted to the names in the Complete Jewish Study Bible especially how the page headings have the names of the books in Hebrew on the left side and English on the right side. But after spending time in this version, I got accustomed to it. I was very happy for the glossary of Hebrew words into English and the glossary of English words into Hebrew in the back of this bible in the appendix. This bible has a small footnotes section that goes over some verses in more detail but it’s not overwhelming like many other versions. The introduction is a great help for people with no Jewish background. The introduction covers the topical articles that are found throughout the Complete Jewish Study Bible. There are 117 articles split up into twelve themes including Anti-Jewish Scriptural Interpretations, Covenants, Jewish Customs, Jewish-Gentile Relations, Messianic Prophecy, The Names of God, The Sabbath, Salvation and Atonement, The Holy Days of Isra’el, The Land of Isra’el, Torah, The Tabernacle (Mishkan). Each article is listed in the Appendix. The introduction covers a history of how the Complete Jewish Study Bible came to be along with other explanations such as translations and translators, The Bible, Contents of the Bible, Why the Bible is God’s Word, Jewish Tanakh verses Christian Old Testament, and Original Language Texts Underlying the Complete Jewish Bible. I could give a detailed review about what I learned in just the introduction of the Complete Jewish Study Bible. The Complete Jewish Study Bible introduction helps remind Christians that their faith is Jewish. The Appendix also covers an Index of Tanakh Passages Cited in the B’rit Hadashah, Scripture Readings for Shabbat and Festivals, Feasts & Fasts, Biographies of Rabbies and Sages, Contributors, Work Cited for Further Reading, About the Translator and Maps. Each book has a full color page for the introduction. The Complete Jewish Study Bible comes with two blue ribbons attached. My teenage daughter says that the book smell smells like a nice type of tea. She says that the book smell is a very important part of book review because you cannot enjoy a good book unless it has a good too. The pages are thin like most Bibles are. It would not be good for journaling with paint. You can see the type on the other side quite easily but it is not distracting while reading. I would like the pages to be slightly thicker but feel nice to the touch. I’m not fond of hardback Bibles because they do not wear well but I was given the hardback version to review but knowing the content, this is the bible I would want in a leather cover. I would highly suggest any one looking for a study bible and that is interested in the Jewish roots and history to buy The Complete Jewish Study Bible without hesitation in any cover they choose.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Hendrickson Review Program. http://www.hendrickson.com/content/hendrickson-review-program/  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”