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The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) is a translation and annotation of the Christian Bible published by Thomas Nelson. For the Old Testament, it uses the Septuagint, which predates the standardized Masoretic Text by one thousand years; and for the New Testament, it uses the Majority Text, which represents 94% of Greek manuscripts.

The Old Testament was prepared under the auspices of the academic community of St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, using clergy and lay scholars. Translated directly from the Septuagint, it was checked against the Hebrew Masoretic Text. The English style is that of the New King James Version (NKJV), which was used as a template. The New Testament is the NKJV. Both are accompanied by commentary from the Orthodox viewpoint.

The overview committee included fourteen archbishops, metropolitans, and bishops from various Orthodox jurisdictions, as well as eight priests and seven lay scholars. The Old Testament edition includes a new translation of the Psalms by Donald Sheehan of Dartmouth College.

Praise

The work has received positive endorsements from such prominent bishops as Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), Metropolitan Phillip (Antiochian Orthodox Church) and Metropolitan Theodosius (Orthodox Church in America)^[2].

For persons new or relatively new to the Orthodox Church, the OSB is a very positive tool. Articles provide guidance and support for many facets of the Faith which can be confusing or unknown to those who did not grow up in the Church. There is a comparative of list of contents, side-by-side with the Roman Catholic canon and the generally accepted Protestant canon. This is also helpful for converts and for Orthodox who live or work with Roman Catholics and Protestants.

In addition, the OSB provides basic daily prayers, a lectionary for personal use, and beautiful icons in its pages. All of these help make reading the Bible more meaningful.

For life-long Orthodox, the OSB provides insights to things many may take for granted: Why is the Mother of God essential to the Faith? Who were the 70 Apostles? How is an Orthodox understanding of the Bible different from a Roman Catholic or Protestant understanding?

The OSB makes clear that it has no intention of replacing or deflecting Orthodox Christians from their responsibilities in the Church to hear the Gospel and other readings. It does present itself as an aide to a fuller, deeper, more enriching spiritual life in the Church.

Criticism

One reviewer in the Orthodox Christian journals Sourozh and The Orthodox Christian Witness was critical of the work however, stating that the commentary "feels far too much like a piece of evangelical propaganda decked out in the trappings of Orthodoxy"^[3], and that "the Study Bible reproduces the whole textual apparatus (sic) of the NKJV, including many of the doubtful decisions of modern non-Orthodox biblical scholarship"^[4].

See also

• Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible, ongoing project of the whole Bible
• Holy Orthodox Bible The Holy Orthodox Bible, whole Bible completed by Peter Papoutsis
• New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS), an evangelical translation of the Septuagint only

References

External links

• Podcast interview with Father Peter Gilquist on the OSB