Tag: NIV

Book Briefs: “NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Zondervan has released a monumental study Bible. The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible promises to bring the ancient world of Scripture to life for contemporary readers. The array of resources presented and the depth of research made accessible could almost be described as incredible.

This Bible is presented in a beautiful format and the study notes and articles are written by top-notch evangelical scholars. The editors, John H. Walton (professor of OT at Wheaton College) and Craig S. Keener (professor of NT at Asbury Theological Seminary) are experts in their fields. They have drawn from the work of other evangelical tools in creating this study Bible: most notably, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament, (edited by John Walton), and the IVP Bible Background Commentary for Old and New Testaments, (the NT volume of which was edited by Craig Keener).

Introductions focusing on the historical setting, cultural/religious setting and literary setting are provided for each book of the Bible. Broader introductions for different genres and collections of books are also provided, and over 300 articles are furnished on a variety of cultural background topics. Nearly 400 full-color photos, illustrations and images brighten the pages of this volume. There are dozens of detailed maps and the study notes are by no means brief. I would say it rivals the ESV Study Bible for length, but the focus on the notes is largely centered on historical and cultural background information.

So many modern readers of the Bible skip past background info and dive forward into application of the text. This is a shortcut that is not usually going to produce the most wholesome and meaningful results.  Understanding the ancient world of the text of Scripture can help us better see the parallels with our own day and age. New insights can open up to us new vistas of thought, and cautions can prevent us from misappropriating passages in ignorance.

The book of Lamentations was my area of focus for this review. The introduction was not overly long but appropriately set the stage. Historical detail is a must for understanding what can be quite dark verses for the uninitiated. The pictures of captives from Lachish being led into exile, or of mourning captives being led away by the Assyrians gave an appropriate frame of reference for the text itself. The parallel laments of other ancient cities help inform the reader as to the genre of the book. The many notes explained odd references  and brought out a fuller depth of meaning. What does it mean for those who pass your way to “clap their hands at you” (2:15 – derision)? Or why is a measuring line stretched out over a wall that then wastes away (2:8 – to determine which parts are too unstable to be reused)? What could the stones being thrown at those in a “pit” possibly signify (3:53 – stone covers placed over abandoned cisterns sometimes used as a gruesome end for enemies)?

The design of the Bible with its tan colored center column for cross-references, and its beautifully designed cover pages make it inviting to peruse. The extensive indexes make sure the resources you are looking for are accessible. Timelines and an excellent concordance are additional features that complement this work well. Of particular note are charts explaining Hebrew terms that have no exact English equivalent, and a helpful glossary of key Greek terms. The tables of parallel Ancient Near Eastern literature that attest to the Bible’s historicity or compare with it, are informative and invite the reader to pursue further study.

One final note of caution. Many evangelicals may not be prepared for the level of comparisons to be found between the Bible and other ancient literature and stories. Rather than explaining away or ignoring such parallel literature, this study Bible prepares the reader to know how best to understand the existence of such parallels and often points out how such parallels inform and enrich our understanding of Scripture and need not threaten our belief in Scripture’s status as the Word of the Living God.

I highly recommend this new study Bible and am happy to add it to my shelf as I seek to grow in my understanding of the world of the Bible.

Learn more about this new resource at www.contextchangeseverything.com.

Purchase a copy of this book at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or direct from Zondervan.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

The NIV 50: Celebrating 50 Years of the NIV Bible

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

NIV5050 years ago this August, the NIV translation was commissioned and the Committee on Bible Translation was born. After years of labor from a broad group of Evangelical scholars, the New Testament would be published in 1973 followed by the entire NIV Bible in 1978.

By all accounts, the NIV was an incredible success. It filled a need and provided a faithfully translated, widely available, and clearly understandable Bible in modern English. It was a major milestone in the history of Evangelicalism and most of us would agree that its impact was positive on the wider church. Even its critics, for the most part, respect the NIV in its mission and goal. Who doesn’t want to bring God’s Word to people in an understandable translation?

Over the summer, Zondervan will be releasing new resources marking the upcoming 50th Anniversary of what is really the birth of the NIV. Today I wanted to share a couple interesting articles and a video.

The following two articles showcase what a sacrifice was involved in bringing the NIV to completion. From unsuccessful pledge drives to an eleventh hour pitch to Zondervan for advance funding, to the sacrifice of scholars risking their future advancement by devoting time to this project, the project was tenuous. But who could have imagined the ultimate result: with the NIV becoming the most widely used English version?

The more I have studied the translation philosophy of the NIV, the more I have come to respect it. I hope to offer a review and analysis of Douglas Moo’s brief work (offered as a free ebook) on the state of Bible translation 50 years after the NIV, soon.

I leave you with two videos giving a brief overview of the continuing mission of the CBT and the NIV. Learn more about the NIV’s 50th anniversary at www.thenivbible.com/50th-anniversary.

In the Box: Books from Kregel, Brazos, Eerdmans and IVP

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

In the Box posts highlight new books I’ve received in the mail.

Over the last couple years, I’ve really enjoyed staying up to date with many of the new books being published by the major Christian publishers. This year, I plan to share news and thoughts on publishing and books more often here at Fundamentally Reformed. One of the recurring posts I plan to showcase is my “In the Box” series. In these posts, I’ll showcase new books received or purchased in the last week or so.

Today’s post will cover the last 3 weeks or thereabouts — and it won’t cover all the books I’ve received, otherwise this will get too long. I won’t mention (or I guess I am mentioning!) that I just love the NIV Application Commentary series and am slowly adding to my collection. Or that I picked up the IVP Bible Background Commentary on the OT to match my NT volume. Well, enough about that, now on to the new titles of note I’ve received in the last 2-3 weeks or so.

Invitation to Biblical Interpretation by Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson (Kregel)

Never before have I encountered a book with this many endorsements! I counted 39 endorsements on 13 pages! The book is quite impressive, so I guess it earned all the glowing remarks. With that many positive remarks from so many different respected Christian leaders, I am all the more excited to read and review this book! It looks to be an accessible and comprehensive manual on interpreting Scripture.

UPDATE: Read my review of this book here.

To learn more about the book, visit the book detail page at Kregel, or check out the sample pages at Westminster Bookstore.

Reformation Commentary on Scripture – Volume 12: Ezekiel, Daniel (IVP)

This is the second volume in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture series from IVP. They are doing for the Reformation era writers what they did with the Church Fathers in the Ancient Christian Commentary series. Many of the comments included in this book have never before been available in English. It promises to open up a window into the thought of the Reformers like nothing else. This is also a beautiful volume, that will earn a prominent spot on anyone’s bookshelf.

To learn more about the book, visit the book detail page at InterVarsity Press, or check out the preview available at Amazon.com.

The Best of The Reformed Journal edited by James Bratt and Ronald Wells (Eerdmans)

This book brings the best articles from The Refromed Journal, which was a top-notch journal from 1951 to 1990. The selections range from comments on humor and literature to politics and theology. Reflections on Billy Graham and JFK, baseball and Watergate, the Vietnam war and conservatism. This anthology promises to be an enjoyable look at some of the best evangelical writing of years gone by. Authors of the excerpted articles include Richard Mouw, George Marsden, Mark Noll, Cornelius Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Stanley Hauerwas and many others.

UPDATE: Read my review of this book here.

To learn more about the book, visit the book detail page at Eerdmans, or check out the preview available at Amazon.com.

The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins by Peter Enns (Brazos Press)

I will have much more to say about this book in the near future. I jumped into this work with both feet as soon as it arrived at my door. I was intrigued by the subject matter and impressed with Enns’ writing abilities. But ultimately, I was disappointed and alarmed by how far he took things.

The topic is controversial so there will be a variety of opinions on this, I’m sure. Enns seeks to show how we should best think of Adam in light of evolution. His contention is that Scripture is often misunderstood when it comes to the Adam story. It remains to be seen whether he succeeds in his quest.

To learn more about the book, visit the book detail page at Brazos Press, or check out the excerpt available at Christianbook.com.

Initial Thoughts on the New, Updated NIV

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

For years, the NIV has been the most loved, and most hated of the modern Bible versions produced in the 20th Century. Many of us who used to be KJV-only advocates used to reserve our sharpest criticisms for the NIV. Perhaps that background is one of the reasons many of us still are hesitant to use it. We just prefer a more literal approach to Bible translation for various reasons.

With the advent of Today’s New International Version, there was an outcry about gender neutral language run too far. Partly as a result of this controversy, the English Standard Version was produced. The ESV is a conservative remake of the somewhat liberal Revised Standard Version. And the ESV took the Bible market by storm, as many Reformed pastors and teachers have made it their Bible of choice. It is making inroads into non-Reformed segments of Christianity as well.

Along the way, people like Leland Ryken, John Piper and Wayne Grudem have had some not so flattering things to say about the NIV, and especially the TNIV. And many other conservative scholars have concurred. At issue are the many places where the NIV smooths over the text to make nice sounding English, but in the process obscures the presence of important connector words like “for” and other features of the text which influence its interpretation. Many feel the NIV makes too many interpretive choices for its readers. Of course the gender neutrality of the TNIV is not a problem in the NIV, but the direction the TNIV took seems to be far afield of where conservative scholarship thinks we should go with respect to Scriptural integrity.

In light of this reaction, I was initially hopeful that the announcement of a new NIV update might promise a turn toward a better direction for the NIV. After reading the translators’ notes about the new update, I am inclined to think it actually is the positive change I was hoping for. In several cases they move toward a greater transparency to the original text. They restore many of the missing “for”s, and the gender neutral language concerns seem for the most part to be satisfactorily addressed. The tack they take is not much different than the ESV which also uses some gender neutral language in an attempt to employ contemporary English.

In this whole process I was also pleased to learn that the publishing house has little control, if any, over the actual text of the Bible translation. The translation aspects of the NIV are kept separate from the publishing and marketing arm of spreading the finished product abroad.

I encourage you to read the translator’s notes on this important update for yourself. You can also see a video introduction of the text by Douglas Moo, the chair of the translation committee. Furthermore, there are several comparison tools available for comparing the 1984 NIV text, and the TNIV and now the new 2011 NIV Update edition. BibleGateway can do that. And a couple other sites have comparison tools for comparing the various manifestations of the NIV: This site has a drop down menu to pull up the text a chapter at a time. This one offers several different comparison points between the editions.

I think this whole update was handled transparently and honestly. I believe it is a good sign that evangelicalism as a whole has a careful concern for the text of Scripture and aren’t just ready to adopt any translation that can be made. The respect and care with which the translators of the NIV handle their work has been apparent through the whole process. I think the end result will prove to be a blessing to the wider church, even with the presence of other useful, conservatively produced translations. May this lead to a greater unity and a lessening of the “Bible wars” which have been transpiring in the last decade or so. I for one, am eager to get a copy of this new NIV, to see how it compares with my ESV.

One last word: check out Rick Mansfield’s review of the updated NIV. I’m sure more reviews will be forthcoming, in the next few weeks.

~cross posted from my team KJV Only debate blog

Help for the Bible Translation Overload

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

Charts like the one above highlight the problem that the abundance of Bible translations poses today. Sometimes, the plethora of available Bible translations on the bookstore shelf is overwhelming. How are we to make sense of the different options available? Which version should we use? And who is to say that this chart or others are correct? [This one is actually slightly biased as it is put out by the makers of the NIV and TNIV (which occupy the coveted “balanced” position). It also doesn’t include the ESV or HCSB, but that is because the chart is outdated.]

Well, over at my team KJV Only Debate Blog, Erik DiVietro has given us a 5 part series describing the various major Bible translations available today. This might make for some good weekend reading, so I thought I’d share it here. I felt he did a great job explaining and categorizing the various Bibles. He like myself, gravitates toward the ESV as his preferred Bible. Other good options are available, but it helps to learn the background of the various selections out there.