Oddbean

Do you use a study Bible? Is there one you would recommend? (It's a bit of a cliché perhaps, but people recommend the OSB, even for non-orthodox. But open to suggestions). Quite like the Catena app but would prefer a physical copy.

Thanks, that’s a good question for me. The Orthodox Study Bible is an interesting translation, but the study notes are hit or miss and can be deceiving. They seem very informative to people who aren’t well read (99% of everyone) because they touch on historical controversies, but they often get those controversies wrong. The two Study Bibles I would recommend are the Lutheran Study Bible and the Oxford Annotated Bible, and I’d recommend them to any denomination because they have tons of useful academic and historical information. You have to read them with the understanding that the Lutheran one is very Lutheran, and the Oxford one is very liberal and secular, but the wealth of information more than makes up for biases, they’re extremely useful. If you’re Reformed (Presbyterian, Baptist, lots of nondenoms and Anglicans) a facsimile reprint of the Geneva Bible is also worth owning. It’s dated, it was the first study bible ever made (from the 1570’s) but theologically it’s still on point and old Bible prints look a lot prettier than modern ones. I’ll provide a link to each of these three, if requested.

Thanks, I will have a look at these options. Thanks for the link offer too but I'm keen on physical version. I think I fall into that 99% so perhaps I don't need to concern myself too much, it's just that they're all fairly pricey, so needs a wee bit of research / recommendation. Having looked around a bit before this it does seem like you do run into a fair amount of pinches of salt eg your Oxford Annotated description. I was just reading parts and following along with a very accessible and engaging lecture series (might be a bit too non academic for some, not sure), but again, would ideally prefer non-screen time.

I'm not even entirely sure what a Lutheran is tbh, so maybe a link to the Oxford one, are there particular editions to avoid? Had a look around and there's a fair amount reasonably priced second hand, which is good.

I am not quite sure what you mean by study version. With annotations? I'd recommend, that you rather ask a priest from a local church if you have questions about interpretations of the Bible. You might need to research the churches around you a bit, since nowadays there are a lot of misguided people, even among the church staff.

Yeah, there's different sorts, but a lot will have eg historical commentary, translation notes and variations, relevant notes from church fathers, even maps and whatnot. Depending on the version. But yes there would be certain things which would be better to ask a priest. There's quite a good YouTube channel which goes super in-depth on bibles and study Bibles, what they contain. The good thing about OSB would be the inclusion of apocrypha, not sure which other versions would include that. https://youtu.be/7BzYh3WskL4

The most relevant stuff in the Bible is beyond "the material". Hence you'll need the clergy to answer your questions. IMHO extending the Bible with other written stuff can also lead astray, but interaction with other real human beings (whom share the same dogma/confession) may be easier to give you a consistent interpretation.

Logos is great for most all branches of Christianity. I'm Protestant: Not a "study Bible" but a Bible for studying: Crossway's ESV Scripture Journal: Old and New Testament Sets "pair the entirety of every book of the Bible with lightly lined blank pages opposite each page of Bible text." I love having the books as individual books: https://www.crossway.org/bibles/esv-scripture-journal-old-and-new-testament-s-tpb/ Journey Through the Bible is a compilation of one pastor's notes generated during family Bible study. I like it for its thought-provoking questions and associated singing with readings: https://churchandfamilylife.com/products/60d216cc47738a0534abf66f The Chronological bible has been nice so far but barely dipped into it! https://www.crossway.org/bibles/esv-chronological-bible-tru/

John MacArthur has a good study Bible. I think he has it in more than one translation. My husband has it in print and we both have his Bible app. (NASB, ESV, and NKJV). The base Bible app is free or you can pay for the version with his commentary.

Ever decide on this? I too would recommend the OSB and encourage you to dig into that tradition if you haven't already. I know you've encountered Jay Dyer, he has some decent apologetics resources. Regarding bibles, I'd stick to ones that don't pick and choose to remove books that were agreed upon by the church ecumenical councils as canonical. The commentaries of the OSB themselves don't dig too deep, but point to places where you can dig deeper.

Ha yeah, same. And sometimes I'll dip into a book by book lecture series after. But I've heard study bibles might be worth looking into. I mean even if it's not I can just ignore the commentary ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Study Bibles are mostly useful for entry level Christians. The closer you get to a professional education, the less helpful they are, but since 99% of people never come close to that, they're good for 99% of people. The one caveat is, you have to draw the distinction between the Bible and the interpretation of the note. Some people confuse them, not on purpose, but just because it's all right there in front of their face, so they take everything at face value. Notes can be mistaken, they can also single out one interpretation of a verse, when in reality, the interpretation is debated, or in some cases, there is a multi layered interpretation.