If you’ve been following the Bible Reviewer blog for a
while, you might wonder why I’m reviewing yet another edition of the Amplified Bible. Besides the fact I love
it, each copy I’ve received to review has had unique features discussed in
these posts:
So what’s different this time? Well, I gave the first
review copy (reader edition) to a family member who prefers this translation and the second to a friend
who suffers from anxiety. The hardback copy of The Amplified Study Bible remains on my desk as a stand-up resource
I use regularly in preparing for Bible study classes, but when it comes to
just sitting down and reading the Bible cover to cover, I don’t like hardbacks.
I prefer quality leather or paperback, but since I couldn’t find the study
edition in either, I bought a leatherlike Amplified Study Bible to read from my favorite cushy chair.
This edition has all the features of The Amplified Study Bible reviewed a
couple of years ago, but this time I ordered thumb-indexing, which I don’t
usually have. Most of the time, I don’t need those little indented tabs that
take me to the book I’m looking for, but I’ve been especially interested in the
books of the minor prophets, who are “minor” only because they didn’t go on as
long as, say, Jeremiah. With the small pages hard to find and my recall unreliable on who goes before whom in the arrangement of these books, I wanted index tabs to quicken the search.
Besides tabs and the lap-reading-comfort of the softer-than-hardback cover, I bought this edition because of the large print in the
text AND in the footnotes. That’s unusual. And, since the text itself includes
alternate words choices, the informative footnotes can be concise. For
example, in Genesis 1:1, this brief footnote says volumes:
“God. This
standard Hebrew term for deity Elohim
is in the form called the plural of majesty or plural of intensity. In contrast
to the ordinary plural (gods), this plural means ‘the fullness of deity’ or ‘God
– very God’. Furthermore, the use of the plural allows for later revelation
of the Trinity (see 11:7; Mt 28:19, Jn 1:1-3).”
My only regret in ordering this excellent edition of
God’s Word is that I didn’t get to review it sooner, but if you hurry, you
might be able to get your copy – or a gift or both – during Easter week!
Mary Sayler, ©2019, poet-writer, reviewer
To
order the purple leathersoft large print edition I have, click here. Or click on the picture ad in the left-hand column of this page.
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