carennedy's Full Review: Tyndale - Student's Life Application Study Bible: ...
was inspired by Phillip Yancey's book "The Bible Jesus Read" to read the Old Testament, only problem, it was hard to understand. I asked God for some help and my prayer was answered when my mom bought me this Bible.
The books contents are:
Table of Contents
List of the Books of the Bible
A Note to Readers
Introduction to the New Living Translation
Translation Team
Contributors
Why the Life Application Bible is Unique
What is Application
Features of the Life Application Study Bible
The Old Testament
The New Testament
Tables of Weights and Measures
365 Day Reading Plan
Index to Notes
Index to Charts
Index to Maps
Index to Personality Profiles
Dictionary/Concordance
As you can tell this Bible is packed full of information. To go into depth on every topic would make this review too long, so I'll write about the Translation, The Notes, The personality profiles, and the Living Application Bible's unique attributes.
Translation
The New Living Translation is a thought to thought translation instead of a formal equivalence, or word for word translation. This means that the translators had to understand the what the writer meant in each passage and then write it so a modern reader would understand the original writer's intent. To ensure accuracy the Bible is Translated by a group of experts who understand both the ancient language and the modern language. For this translation each book had 3 translators, each translated the book and submitted it with suggested revisions to a general reviewer. The general reviewer would review all three submitted revisions and write a first draft of that book which then went through more committee reviews. The final stage was to be approved by the Bible Translation Committee.
The old testament scholars reviewed the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. They also compared the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Latin Vulgate.
The new testament scholars reviewed the Greek New Testament and the Novum Testamentum Graece.
The writing is at the Junior High Level so that it is understandable to a vast audience. The have used modern weights, measurements, currency, calendar, time, cultural meaning, and gender statements. Whenever possible they ensure that the masculine voice is replaced by a non gender voice. Approximately 90 translators worked on this translation.
Unique
The New Living Translation Study Bible answers the question, "What does that mean to me, today?" In the notes provided at the bottom of the page the translators give the reader, historical facts, context of the passage, explains difficult words and phrases, and helps identify the interrelationships within scripture.
The committee's definition of Application: "A good application focuses the truth of God's Word, shows the reader what to do about what is being read and motivates the reader to respond the what God is teaching. All three are essential to application."
The New Living Translation Study Bible's feature's include: Book Introductions, who wrote the book, when was it written, overview of the story, important verses, mega themes and a map of key places mentioned in the book; An outline that organized to point out application features of the book; Harmony of the Gospels; Profile Notes - bibliographies of the people in the Bible, who are they and what can we learn from them; Maps; Charts and Diagrams; Cross references to other passages in the Bible that are connected to the passage you are reading; Textual Notes to give you more depth into the translation of the verse; Index and a dictionary/concordance.
Why I like this Bible.
For me starting in the Old Testament meant a lot of harsh feelings and questions. It was written at a time I do not understand and the notes in this book help to round out my understanding of a passage. For example the story of Judah and Tamar is difficult to comprehend outside of historical fact.
Tamar was Judah's daughter in law. Her husband dies before they have children, she then has to marry his brother and he refuses to give her children because they won't be his but those of his dead brother. He dies and Tamar is sent away to wait until the youngest is old enough to marry her. Judah doesn't call her to marry his youngest son, so she dresses as a prostitute whom Judah hires for the night. (He doesn't know it's her) As a result, she gets pregnant and when Judah finds out that she is pregnant he orders her killed. Then she proves to him that he is the father of her child because she was the prostitute he slept with.
The notes explain that at this time a widow was to marry her husband's brother and that the child would be considered the dead husband's child for inheritance purposes. Prostitution was common, accepted at the time and they wore vales to hide their faces. Judah wanted to execute Tamar because the baby would not be his grandchild or heir. It was very important to the men of this time that the women give them heirs, any adultery by a wife would result in death because it messed with the husband's bloodline. There is no room here for feminist feelings, it was a harsh and different world back then. Being given the history and cultural laws of the time enhance the text and your able to draw on the real message. Tamar was full filling her duties to provide Judah with an heir, she took command of the situation when Judah would not. As a result the Jesus' bloodline was preserved.
(In the New Testament their is a chart of Jesus' bloodline, in which Judah and Tamar play an important role. )
Knowing who the author of each book is, when it was written and why in many cases enriches your understanding of the book. The introduction to the book tells the reader the purpose of the book, who wrote it, who they were writing to, the date it was written, the setting, and the key verse to the meaning of the book. It gives a story about the book to link it to today. For example the book of Nahum:
"The shrill whistle pierces the air, and all the action on the court abruptly stops. Pointing to the offending player, the referee shouts 'foul.' ...." "..... As you read Nahum, sense God's wrath as he avenges sin and brings about justice. Then decide to live under his guidance and within his rules, commands and guidelines for your life."
Knowing what the book is about before you dive into it lets you get more out of it. You can understand the mega theme and find other lessons from it as well.
The personal profiles of people in the Bible and how we can apply their lessons to our lives is another example of the tools in the book that enhance the meaning for today's life. I enjoy reading the bibliographies because they give me a summary of what the Biblical story is telling me and I can take the lessons and apply them to my life.
The concordance is really helpful when I'm searching for guidance on a specific feeling, situation or thought.
Bottom Line
The Life Application Study Bible provides you with in depth information to aid in your study of the scriptures. The information you receive helps you apply God's word to your day to day life. The Bible is hard to read and understand on it's own. This version provides you with experts on history, language, customs and ideals of the time when it was written. It is organized so that you can find the information quickly and cross reference with other verses in the bible to get a fuller picture of God's intended meaning. Alike the King James version the writing style throughout the whole is consistent and flows. Unlike the King James Version, it is in a language that I can understand
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