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The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV
"The Chronological Study Bible" presents the text of the New King James Version in the order in which the events actually happened, with notes, articles, and full-color graphics that connect the history and culture of Bible times. Burgundy cover.
6414 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2008
1152 people are currently reading
579 people want to read
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
January 1, 2012
I love the Bible, don't get me wrong. But as a Christian, I could never recommend this study Bible to anyone. Some of the notes included are severely unbiblical. Any Christian who believes that the Bible is the inspired work of God should have a problem with the notes in this book stating other wise. I will continue to look for a biblical chronological study Bible, because this isn't it.
February 10, 2016
I cannot recommend this study bible. The notes are highly speculative with a secular bent. The notes do contain some facts, but the opinions are suspect, incorporating a lot of thought to promote topics such as feminism, psychology, and anthropology, which incorporates language common to Darwinian thought. If you must read this one, I would recommend having an Archaeological Study Bible by Zondervan handy for cross reference. A good alternative would be the NIV, Integrated Study Bible, Hardcover: A New Chronological Approach for Exploring Scripture.
It is troubling to me how many people gave this Bible a high rating. We must be more discerning and not so willing to trust those with letters after their name. The truth of the Bible has stood the test of time and will be here long after those "experts" with "credentials" are gone. We must contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3).
It is troubling to me how many people gave this Bible a high rating. We must be more discerning and not so willing to trust those with letters after their name. The truth of the Bible has stood the test of time and will be here long after those "experts" with "credentials" are gone. We must contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3).
March 2, 2011
I only received this from Amazon today, but am very impressed by the amount of research, erudition of the contributors, presentation, content and appearance of the material contained in it. I can't to wait reading through a chronological Bible reading plan just to see how all the 9 epochs fit together and see how it effects my overall view of Scripture. I appreciate that God is outside of time, but unfortunately we are stuck with it and have to always view things from our miniscule historical perspective of today's understanding. But hey, it's going to be fun!
January 29, 2018
It could have been better (the study part not the Bible part).
There were many moments when the people splicing the sections together just got lazy. For example, in the Kings and Chronicles accounts of the exact same event would be pages and pages apart. Part of the appeal of a chronological Bible was being able to compare different accounts without having to flip back and forth. But this failed on that account.
Additionally, I could tell some of the people writing the study notes do not consider the Bible inerrant. Whenever the Hebrew (Biblical) account of a historical event differed from another civilization's the editors would side with the other civilization. If you want to read the Bible as a historical text fine, but at least give it the same credence as other historical texts. Don't assume it's the one in error because it's a religious text as well.
There were definitely useful elements of the study notes. It just did not satisfy expectations.
There were many moments when the people splicing the sections together just got lazy. For example, in the Kings and Chronicles accounts of the exact same event would be pages and pages apart. Part of the appeal of a chronological Bible was being able to compare different accounts without having to flip back and forth. But this failed on that account.
Additionally, I could tell some of the people writing the study notes do not consider the Bible inerrant. Whenever the Hebrew (Biblical) account of a historical event differed from another civilization's the editors would side with the other civilization. If you want to read the Bible as a historical text fine, but at least give it the same credence as other historical texts. Don't assume it's the one in error because it's a religious text as well.
There were definitely useful elements of the study notes. It just did not satisfy expectations.
July 30, 2017
While I am not yet entirely finished reading this version of the Bible, I wanted to get the review out of the way, as I love the historical notes, but I hate the point of view. Yes, I know, it is a Christian study Bible based on the New KJV, so what should I have expected, but still. Wonderful notes and images and maps.
May 5, 2016
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.]
As someone who enjoys the chance to review and examine new Bibles from time to time [1], I am continually impressed and also puzzled by the level of marketing that goes into Bibles, as well as the intents that different Bibles are made for. Some Bibles are fairly low-frills while other Bibles are designed, at least within the levels permitted by modern printing, to be objects d’art. This book is designed on the artistic level, and from an aesthetic perspective it is immensely pleasant. With a two-toned brown leather cover and fine paper pages with frequent drawings and shaded areas for commentaries of a historical, geographical, or theological nature, the book is one that is pleasing to the eye and also to the mind. This is clearly a Bible that was designed with great care, and the people responsible for its graphic design are worthy of immense praise, as are the people who did the research on historical maps and the factual commentary of the book. The book’s frequent timelines and cross references with other contemporary biblical passages help to put the Bible on a firm and somewhat non-contentious chronological perspective, commenting upon different opinions but seeking not to be drawn into a disputatious spirit and leaving the reader to decide between, for example, different timings of the Exodus after presenting both arguments.
In terms of the contents of this Bible, much of its basics will be familiar with many who are aware of the standard Thomas Nelson format for the NKJV, including its textual apparatus and its marginal notes, which give comments on literal meanings and alternative readings for various verses, as well as cross-references. The real differences from most NKJV versions on the market is in the way that the Bible itself is structured, with a focus on being a chronological Bible, where the Bible’s passages are placed in nine numbered and sequential epochs in the following eras: Before the patriarchs (Creation to 2000 BC), the period of the patriarchs between 2000 and 1500 BC, the rise of a unified Israel from 1500 to 1200 BC, the political centralization from 1200 to 930 BC, the divided kingdom between 930 BC and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the exile and post-exilic Persian period from 586 to 332 BC, the intertestamental period between 332 and 37BC, the Messianic age between 37BC and 30 AD, and the early Church between 30 AD and 100 AD. Not all of the choices of chronology are without controversy, such as the placement of Job, for example, in the post-exilic period rather than in the Patriarchal period given the apparent knowledge that David had about the contents of Job [2] and the placement of the vast majority of the Psalms as well as the latter part of Isaiah in the post-exilic period, neglecting their historical content during the first temple period (or before, in the case of many of David’s psalms). These misplacements of scripture will draw well-deserved criticism from those who have a properly high value of scripture and great criticism towards corrosive higher textual criticism. More praiseworthy to the fair-minded reader will be the book’s large number of maps, explanatory notes, and chronological charts, time capsules, answers to noteworthy textual questions, notes on science and technology, and comments on beliefs and ideas of the biblical contemporaries as best as the Bible’s editors understand them.
Besides these stumbles when it comes to misplacing scripture in the wrong chronological period, there are a few aspects of the book that are worthy of some comment and criticism. For one, the book nowhere conveniently contains an index showing the precise place where passages can be found in order, forcing the reader to hunt around for the placement of widely separated fragments of books that are split across several sections, unless the reader can find the index of scriptures after the concordance. While this is not a problem if the reader of this Bible is expected to view the book in a front-to-back fashion as part of a desire to read the Bible in a year (or some other such scheme), if someone is attempting to use this Bible to follow along with a sermon speaker in church services, the simple task of locating verses is a hazardous and difficult task, and possibly a very embarrassing and unsuccessful one. Additionally, this is a Bible that is designed to be a definitive statement, and does not contain either wide margins or a congenial atmosphere for writing notes within the Bible itself, which would likely make it harder to read the book’s notes or contents and would destroy much of the aesthetic appeal of the Bible itself; this is not a book, in other words, that one will want to highlight or write inspired marginal notes in, which will likely make it less appealing for many readers as well. It should also be noted that like some authors [3], the editors of this book have repackaged previously published material from the Life and Times Historical Reference Bible of 1997 in this version. Readers who are offended by this sort of repackaging are hereby given due notice of its practice here. This is, in short, a worthy Bible for reading and home study, but a Bible that is not ideal in its adoption of dubious higher criticism or for use as part of one’s participation in public worship.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[3] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
As someone who enjoys the chance to review and examine new Bibles from time to time [1], I am continually impressed and also puzzled by the level of marketing that goes into Bibles, as well as the intents that different Bibles are made for. Some Bibles are fairly low-frills while other Bibles are designed, at least within the levels permitted by modern printing, to be objects d’art. This book is designed on the artistic level, and from an aesthetic perspective it is immensely pleasant. With a two-toned brown leather cover and fine paper pages with frequent drawings and shaded areas for commentaries of a historical, geographical, or theological nature, the book is one that is pleasing to the eye and also to the mind. This is clearly a Bible that was designed with great care, and the people responsible for its graphic design are worthy of immense praise, as are the people who did the research on historical maps and the factual commentary of the book. The book’s frequent timelines and cross references with other contemporary biblical passages help to put the Bible on a firm and somewhat non-contentious chronological perspective, commenting upon different opinions but seeking not to be drawn into a disputatious spirit and leaving the reader to decide between, for example, different timings of the Exodus after presenting both arguments.
In terms of the contents of this Bible, much of its basics will be familiar with many who are aware of the standard Thomas Nelson format for the NKJV, including its textual apparatus and its marginal notes, which give comments on literal meanings and alternative readings for various verses, as well as cross-references. The real differences from most NKJV versions on the market is in the way that the Bible itself is structured, with a focus on being a chronological Bible, where the Bible’s passages are placed in nine numbered and sequential epochs in the following eras: Before the patriarchs (Creation to 2000 BC), the period of the patriarchs between 2000 and 1500 BC, the rise of a unified Israel from 1500 to 1200 BC, the political centralization from 1200 to 930 BC, the divided kingdom between 930 BC and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the exile and post-exilic Persian period from 586 to 332 BC, the intertestamental period between 332 and 37BC, the Messianic age between 37BC and 30 AD, and the early Church between 30 AD and 100 AD. Not all of the choices of chronology are without controversy, such as the placement of Job, for example, in the post-exilic period rather than in the Patriarchal period given the apparent knowledge that David had about the contents of Job [2] and the placement of the vast majority of the Psalms as well as the latter part of Isaiah in the post-exilic period, neglecting their historical content during the first temple period (or before, in the case of many of David’s psalms). These misplacements of scripture will draw well-deserved criticism from those who have a properly high value of scripture and great criticism towards corrosive higher textual criticism. More praiseworthy to the fair-minded reader will be the book’s large number of maps, explanatory notes, and chronological charts, time capsules, answers to noteworthy textual questions, notes on science and technology, and comments on beliefs and ideas of the biblical contemporaries as best as the Bible’s editors understand them.
Besides these stumbles when it comes to misplacing scripture in the wrong chronological period, there are a few aspects of the book that are worthy of some comment and criticism. For one, the book nowhere conveniently contains an index showing the precise place where passages can be found in order, forcing the reader to hunt around for the placement of widely separated fragments of books that are split across several sections, unless the reader can find the index of scriptures after the concordance. While this is not a problem if the reader of this Bible is expected to view the book in a front-to-back fashion as part of a desire to read the Bible in a year (or some other such scheme), if someone is attempting to use this Bible to follow along with a sermon speaker in church services, the simple task of locating verses is a hazardous and difficult task, and possibly a very embarrassing and unsuccessful one. Additionally, this is a Bible that is designed to be a definitive statement, and does not contain either wide margins or a congenial atmosphere for writing notes within the Bible itself, which would likely make it harder to read the book’s notes or contents and would destroy much of the aesthetic appeal of the Bible itself; this is not a book, in other words, that one will want to highlight or write inspired marginal notes in, which will likely make it less appealing for many readers as well. It should also be noted that like some authors [3], the editors of this book have repackaged previously published material from the Life and Times Historical Reference Bible of 1997 in this version. Readers who are offended by this sort of repackaging are hereby given due notice of its practice here. This is, in short, a worthy Bible for reading and home study, but a Bible that is not ideal in its adoption of dubious higher criticism or for use as part of one’s participation in public worship.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[3] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
November 19, 2017
Read as part of a Bible-in-a-Year Reading Challenge, I tried a chronological edition this year.
God's word ALWAYS gets 5 Stars. The 4-Star rating given here is for the notes and historical background provided, its accuracy and relevance to the portion of scripture to which it applies, and other stuff like that.
God's word ALWAYS gets 5 Stars. The 4-Star rating given here is for the notes and historical background provided, its accuracy and relevance to the portion of scripture to which it applies, and other stuff like that.
December 31, 2022
Terrible notes but great to read in chronological order
December 31, 2023
My first time reading through the Bible chronologically. I really liked seeing how the various books wove together. A good way of seeing new things with fresh eyes.
May 20, 2016
This edition of the Chronological Study Bible NKJV is a nicely bound chronological Bible. It has a simple, studious looking 'Leathersoft' cover, brown in color with a big dark blue stripe across its center. This Bible is full of extra content, almost to the point of being distractingly cluttered. It has charts and 'timepanels', background notes, full color illustrations (some are very neat looking while others are not very decent), and maps throughout.
I have some problems with it though, besides some indecent works of art, some of the notes and commentary seem rather eisegetical. For instance, some of the notes dealing with wives being submissive to their husbands make it more of a concession to the culture of the time rather than God ordained. They say things like, "Paul's command 'Wives, submit to your own husbands' (Eph. 5:22) is at least partly related to concern for Christian witness within the surrounding culture, and is quite mild in comparison to the rest of his culture. What is significant is that Paul modified the culture's values, calling on all believers to submit…Wives were to submit 'as to the Lord' (Eph. 522), and husbands were to love their wives 'as Christ also loved the church"(5:25) and, "…the structure of these traditional codes was adopted in Christian letters,".
But the reasons given in the New Testament for wives submitting to their husbands was because of the structure that God had set up, not one man had set up. It's not that the apostles were adopting and then modifying cultural authority structures in the family and that the headship of a husband over a wife and her submission to him were just necessary cultural evils, rather they were explaining how to correctly implement the authority structure set up by God (husbands loving their wives, wives submitting to their husbands and children obeying their parents. Ironically, the commentators in this Bible are imposing modern cultural family-structure (equality of husbands and wives = no submission required) views on the Scriptures.
And of course, you can presume, based upon the hermeneutical method used in interpreting the above concepts in the Bible there are other things that are probably erroneously interpreted as well. One hint of it is in their use of dates, the numbers they use (like 26,000 years ago) hint at an 'old earth' or theistic evolutionist perspective.
Oh, and I didn't like some of the chronological arrangement. For instance, they have some prophecies from Isaiah being read after the fall of Jerusalem. Part of their reasoning is that, "Other prophetic passages speak of times later than the traditional date of composition for the passage itself. For example, parts of the Book of Isaiah refer to events that took place centuries after the prophet Isaiah lived. Though Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem during the 8th century B. C., the passage of Isa 44:28; 45:1 refers by name to Cyrus, a Persian king who lived in the 6th century . For this reason , some chapters form the Book of Isaiah appear in the time of Cyrus…" Umm… didn't God have the prophets prophecy LOTS of things that hadn't happened yet? It would hardly be unthinkable for God to have the prophets give out a particular name of someone in the future. Besides, right before God starts prophetically addressing Cyrus He states, "I am the Lord, the maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers."
Overall, this Bible is very nice looking inside and out (excepting the indecent pictures), but several of the above mentioned aspects keep me from recommending this Bible highly, though there are several redeeming factors, like the timelines, charts, and even other study notes that aren't so biased. I had reviewed the NIV version of this Bible a while back but seem to have forgotten about several of the problems that I had with it.
I am grateful to have received a free review copy of this book from the Book Look Blogger program(My review did not have to be favorable)
I have some problems with it though, besides some indecent works of art, some of the notes and commentary seem rather eisegetical. For instance, some of the notes dealing with wives being submissive to their husbands make it more of a concession to the culture of the time rather than God ordained. They say things like, "Paul's command 'Wives, submit to your own husbands' (Eph. 5:22) is at least partly related to concern for Christian witness within the surrounding culture, and is quite mild in comparison to the rest of his culture. What is significant is that Paul modified the culture's values, calling on all believers to submit…Wives were to submit 'as to the Lord' (Eph. 522), and husbands were to love their wives 'as Christ also loved the church"(5:25) and, "…the structure of these traditional codes was adopted in Christian letters,".
But the reasons given in the New Testament for wives submitting to their husbands was because of the structure that God had set up, not one man had set up. It's not that the apostles were adopting and then modifying cultural authority structures in the family and that the headship of a husband over a wife and her submission to him were just necessary cultural evils, rather they were explaining how to correctly implement the authority structure set up by God (husbands loving their wives, wives submitting to their husbands and children obeying their parents. Ironically, the commentators in this Bible are imposing modern cultural family-structure (equality of husbands and wives = no submission required) views on the Scriptures.
And of course, you can presume, based upon the hermeneutical method used in interpreting the above concepts in the Bible there are other things that are probably erroneously interpreted as well. One hint of it is in their use of dates, the numbers they use (like 26,000 years ago) hint at an 'old earth' or theistic evolutionist perspective.
Oh, and I didn't like some of the chronological arrangement. For instance, they have some prophecies from Isaiah being read after the fall of Jerusalem. Part of their reasoning is that, "Other prophetic passages speak of times later than the traditional date of composition for the passage itself. For example, parts of the Book of Isaiah refer to events that took place centuries after the prophet Isaiah lived. Though Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem during the 8th century B. C., the passage of Isa 44:28; 45:1 refers by name to Cyrus, a Persian king who lived in the 6th century . For this reason , some chapters form the Book of Isaiah appear in the time of Cyrus…" Umm… didn't God have the prophets prophecy LOTS of things that hadn't happened yet? It would hardly be unthinkable for God to have the prophets give out a particular name of someone in the future. Besides, right before God starts prophetically addressing Cyrus He states, "I am the Lord, the maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers."
Overall, this Bible is very nice looking inside and out (excepting the indecent pictures), but several of the above mentioned aspects keep me from recommending this Bible highly, though there are several redeeming factors, like the timelines, charts, and even other study notes that aren't so biased. I had reviewed the NIV version of this Bible a while back but seem to have forgotten about several of the problems that I had with it.
I am grateful to have received a free review copy of this book from the Book Look Blogger program(My review did not have to be favorable)
May 6, 2016
Thomas Nelson’s “Chronological Study Bible (NKJV)” is an incredibly valuable tool for pastors, bible teachers, and students of God’s word. Though I firmly believe that the Bible is God’s infallible written word and should not be altered in the slightest degree, I also believe that tools like this chronological study bible are great for helping believers understand the history and context of God’s word.
Most of original readers of Scripture would have had at least a basic (and often a very detailed and complex) understanding of historical and cultural context as they read the Bible. Modern readers have a tiny fraction of the contextual understanding that the original readers did. The Chronological Study Bible helps fill in the gaps for the reader and answer questions about the historical and cultural context of each book of the Bible.
This well pieced together Bible also amplifies the telling of the story. For example, 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Chronicles are riddled with the Psalms that David wrote in the midst of those trying times in his life. This brings a new sort of life to each individual Psalm and helps the reader identify even more with David’s struggles in the historical books of 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Chronicles. The Bible is arranged in historical order without compromising the overall composition of Scripture. Much of the Old Testament seems out of order and repetitive if you read through a regular bible, but this bible puts everything in the order the events took place historically. The OT historical books are also riddled with the words of the prophets so that we can see the historical context of each prophetic word from God in its own time.
nkjv-chronological-study-bible-3The often debated historical place of the book of Job is addressed convincingly as well. Though the date and time of authorship are unclear, what is clear is that the book became prominent during/post exile, which makes sense, considering themes and truths as presented in the wisdom book of Job would have spoke loudly and relevantly to the Israelites struggling with their own sufferings in exile.
The Chronological Study Bible also provides detailed historical information (but not too detailed for the casual reader) during the “blanks” of the Bible, such as between Genesis 11 and 12, and between the Old and New Testaments. These historical transitions help the reader transition as well as they continue through Scripture.
I believe this study bible is much more beneficial in the study of the Old Testament than of the New, seeing as how the majority of the NT books were meant to be read individually, though the same could be said of OT books. For instance, the Gospels record much of the same accounts and it is a little redundant to read them back to back, especially considering that each author composed their accounts with certain things in mind or certain lessons to teach. It becomes a little more helpful again once the reader arrives in Acts and the NT letters as we see the letters next to the story describing where Paul/Peter/John were or what was happening to them as they wrote. Naturally, the story concludes with Revelation.
The Bible also has tremendous amounts of notes, timelines, historical information, dates, and explanations that certainly help the reader gain a great understanding of the context and history of the bible. Not to mention a detailed concordance and index.
In summary, I believe that this bible is an incredibly valuable tool for pastors, teachers, and students of God’s word, but should not be used as a person’s primary personal bible for personal study and devotion. Its purpose is more to help the modern reader understand the history and culture of the bible than it is to provide spiritual applications. With that being said, I would highly recommend this bible to any serious student of the Bible who desires to have a greater understanding of God’s word.
Most of original readers of Scripture would have had at least a basic (and often a very detailed and complex) understanding of historical and cultural context as they read the Bible. Modern readers have a tiny fraction of the contextual understanding that the original readers did. The Chronological Study Bible helps fill in the gaps for the reader and answer questions about the historical and cultural context of each book of the Bible.
This well pieced together Bible also amplifies the telling of the story. For example, 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Chronicles are riddled with the Psalms that David wrote in the midst of those trying times in his life. This brings a new sort of life to each individual Psalm and helps the reader identify even more with David’s struggles in the historical books of 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Chronicles. The Bible is arranged in historical order without compromising the overall composition of Scripture. Much of the Old Testament seems out of order and repetitive if you read through a regular bible, but this bible puts everything in the order the events took place historically. The OT historical books are also riddled with the words of the prophets so that we can see the historical context of each prophetic word from God in its own time.
nkjv-chronological-study-bible-3The often debated historical place of the book of Job is addressed convincingly as well. Though the date and time of authorship are unclear, what is clear is that the book became prominent during/post exile, which makes sense, considering themes and truths as presented in the wisdom book of Job would have spoke loudly and relevantly to the Israelites struggling with their own sufferings in exile.
The Chronological Study Bible also provides detailed historical information (but not too detailed for the casual reader) during the “blanks” of the Bible, such as between Genesis 11 and 12, and between the Old and New Testaments. These historical transitions help the reader transition as well as they continue through Scripture.
I believe this study bible is much more beneficial in the study of the Old Testament than of the New, seeing as how the majority of the NT books were meant to be read individually, though the same could be said of OT books. For instance, the Gospels record much of the same accounts and it is a little redundant to read them back to back, especially considering that each author composed their accounts with certain things in mind or certain lessons to teach. It becomes a little more helpful again once the reader arrives in Acts and the NT letters as we see the letters next to the story describing where Paul/Peter/John were or what was happening to them as they wrote. Naturally, the story concludes with Revelation.
The Bible also has tremendous amounts of notes, timelines, historical information, dates, and explanations that certainly help the reader gain a great understanding of the context and history of the bible. Not to mention a detailed concordance and index.
In summary, I believe that this bible is an incredibly valuable tool for pastors, teachers, and students of God’s word, but should not be used as a person’s primary personal bible for personal study and devotion. Its purpose is more to help the modern reader understand the history and culture of the bible than it is to provide spiritual applications. With that being said, I would highly recommend this bible to any serious student of the Bible who desires to have a greater understanding of God’s word.
May 3, 2016
If you have ever wanted to read the Bible in the order that events actually occurred in time for a unique perspective on history, you are going to love The Chronological Study Bible - the only New King James Version Study Bible that contains the text of the Bible arranged in chronological order!
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV is a visually stunning Bible that contains a rich variety of resources, including contextual notes, articles and full-color graphics that help immerse you in the history and culture of Biblical times.
This particular edition of The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV comes in a luxuriously soft Duotone Earth Brown/Auburn which is a pleasure to handle! Inside, the pages are printed on parchment-colored paper and filled with soothing but colorful photos, illustrations and graphics that highlight key markers on your journey through time.
The most unique feature of this Bible, of course, is the arrangement of the text. The Chronological Study Bible is divided into 9 epochs (or periods of time). The books of the Bible are placed into epochs based on historical events that occurred (or are predicted to occur) in world history.
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV males a wonderful gift and resource for the Bible student who wants to learn more about the history, background and culture of the Bible, and for individuals who are looking for a unique devotional and study Bible.
This review is an excerpt from the original review that is published on my blog. To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Merged review:
If you have ever wanted to read the Bible in the order that events actually occurred in time for a unique perspective on history, you are going to love The Chronological Study Bible - the only New King James Version Study Bible that contains the text of the Bible arranged in chronological order!
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV is a visually stunning Bible that contains a rich variety of resources, including contextual notes, articles and full-color graphics that help immerse you in the history and culture of Biblical times.
This particular edition of The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV comes in a luxuriously soft Stone Brown/Navy color combination which is a pleasure to handle! Inside, the pages are printed on parchment-colored paper and filled with soothing but colorful photos, illustrations and graphics that highlight key markers on your journey through time.
The most unique feature of this Bible, of course, is the arrangement of the text. The Chronological Study Bible is divided into 9 epochs (or periods of time). The books of the Bible are placed into epochs based on historical events that occurred (or are predicted to occur) in world history.
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV males a wonderful gift and resource for the Bible student who wants to learn more about the history, background and culture of the Bible, and for individuals who are looking for a unique devotional and study Bible.
This review is an excerpt from the original review that is published on my blog. To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV is a visually stunning Bible that contains a rich variety of resources, including contextual notes, articles and full-color graphics that help immerse you in the history and culture of Biblical times.
This particular edition of The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV comes in a luxuriously soft Duotone Earth Brown/Auburn which is a pleasure to handle! Inside, the pages are printed on parchment-colored paper and filled with soothing but colorful photos, illustrations and graphics that highlight key markers on your journey through time.
The most unique feature of this Bible, of course, is the arrangement of the text. The Chronological Study Bible is divided into 9 epochs (or periods of time). The books of the Bible are placed into epochs based on historical events that occurred (or are predicted to occur) in world history.
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV males a wonderful gift and resource for the Bible student who wants to learn more about the history, background and culture of the Bible, and for individuals who are looking for a unique devotional and study Bible.
This review is an excerpt from the original review that is published on my blog. To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Merged review:
If you have ever wanted to read the Bible in the order that events actually occurred in time for a unique perspective on history, you are going to love The Chronological Study Bible - the only New King James Version Study Bible that contains the text of the Bible arranged in chronological order!
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV is a visually stunning Bible that contains a rich variety of resources, including contextual notes, articles and full-color graphics that help immerse you in the history and culture of Biblical times.
This particular edition of The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV comes in a luxuriously soft Stone Brown/Navy color combination which is a pleasure to handle! Inside, the pages are printed on parchment-colored paper and filled with soothing but colorful photos, illustrations and graphics that highlight key markers on your journey through time.
The most unique feature of this Bible, of course, is the arrangement of the text. The Chronological Study Bible is divided into 9 epochs (or periods of time). The books of the Bible are placed into epochs based on historical events that occurred (or are predicted to occur) in world history.
The Chronological Study Bible, NKJV males a wonderful gift and resource for the Bible student who wants to learn more about the history, background and culture of the Bible, and for individuals who are looking for a unique devotional and study Bible.
This review is an excerpt from the original review that is published on my blog. To read my review in its entirety, please visit Create With Joy.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
July 3, 2024
Harold Bloom once said that any person who read the Bible from cover to cover would have to be a madman or a fool; it's just not meant to be read that way. Well, I've done it twice!
The first time was in 2009. I had just gotten a score on my GRE 2 Literature in English exam that was not as high as I'd hoped, and tackling the Bible was one part of a more massive project to fill in the gaps. (The plan worked. Two years later I got an impeccable score.) For my first attempt, I chose the New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha and I read it exhaustively--every introduction, every explanatory footnote, every concordance note, every appendix. In hindsight, this was a pretty awful plan for achieving what I was looking for. Strictly from a literary standpoint, I should've chosen a King James Version; that's what would've helped me to best recognize allusions and quotations in other works. The New Revised Standard Version gave a more literal and historically contextualized version, which helped me to better understand what was being said but also oriented my mind toward literalness and paranoid particularity. In 2009, my agnosticism skewed quite heavily towards atheism, and with all the footnotes and editors' introductions of the Oxford edition, I became rather preoccupied with the finer points of undermining what I was reading. The question of whether every word of the Bible is literally true is a debate with a surprisingly brief and stupid history, and it's a question that essentially misses the point altogether; of course there are inconsistencies, mistakes, contradictions, and impossibilities scattered throughout the Bible, but that doesn't mean its words can't still be the centerpiece of an intelligent person's religion.
The Oxford Annotated Version did give me an appreciation for isolated works like Ecclesiastes and Job, but it also ultimately left me with an overall frustration and confusion. I couldn't fit together how all the prophets and exiles and temple periods and wars lined up, and so it all started to seem like repetitive nonsense to me. By the time I got to the New Testament and all the randomly organized epistles, I was ready to be spending my time with some other book.
Recently, however, I decided to revisit the Bible, and this time I wanted something that was more sequential--the prophets interspersed where they would have been in the chronicles, the epistles edited into the acts of the apostles, the gospel all harmonized. Furthermore, I wanted a KJV translation, and if it could include contextualizing historical narratives throughout, all the better. I did some research, and this book seemed to be the best bet.
Unfortunately, the editors of this "chronological" Bible kind of sidestep some of the very tasks that were their ostensible mission, and in large part this is because the overarching editorial directive for this edition appears to have been one committed to the literal truth and divinity of every word in the Bible, inconsistencies be damned. There are some literal redundancies in the Bible--passages that are repeated almost verbatim. I would have preferred an edition bold enough to excise all but one of the repetitions (and/or to reconcile them with parentheticals in the few places where they change), but such cutting would apparently undermine the divine inspiration of the redundancy, so we get them side by side. Where there are obvious inconsistencies in the repeated passages, the editors do cartwheels trying to justify how both versions could have been literally true and why the "authors" of the Bible would have deliberately included both versions. In passages where the dissonance is especially strong, like the many repetitions of Kings to be found in Chronicles, which was written to be much more propagandistically pro-David than the earlier text, the editors have explicitly kept the competing narratives apart, spinning them as a "Priestly Version" and a "Prophetic Version." This not only fails to achieve the "chronological" sequencing that is the whole point of reading this edition, but by constantly alternating between the two versions and interrupting them with editorial introductions meant to deny that they're different, you don't even get the overall tonal effect of the respective texts. If you read Kings by itself, then you'll get a full story and will understand what the takeaways of that story are. If you then read Chronicles, you'll get the same story once again (with some subtle and not-so-subtle changes), but you'll get a different set of takeaways. A good "chronological version" would give us the best of both texts, minus all obvious repetitions, in order to tell the completest version of the story including all the various takeaways. This version, however, is just confusing and exhausting. Where this version has the most significant task to achieve, it fails most miserably.
The editorial notes are also academically dishonest at times, positing historical and archeological facts that no historian or archeologist would agree with. This is likewise because of the editors' overall desire to prove the literal truth of every word. Thus, they present some "scholarly" information about the historicity of Moses that would only be accepted in fundamentalist religious circles, and they don't even mention that this contradicts the findings of all scholars who don't have a religious objective.
My two-star rating is for the composition and editorial notes of this version specifically, not of the Bible itself. Somebody looking for a sequential, narrative-based version of the Bible, who doesn't mind if it's abridged so long as it's "complete," and who is more interested in clearly seeing the truth contained in the message(s) and stories rather than holding on to the idea that the Bible is a flawless historical record of facts should look elsewhere for an edition. If you're like me, this book will only frustrate you further rather than solving any of your confusion over the Bible "not being in order."
The first time was in 2009. I had just gotten a score on my GRE 2 Literature in English exam that was not as high as I'd hoped, and tackling the Bible was one part of a more massive project to fill in the gaps. (The plan worked. Two years later I got an impeccable score.) For my first attempt, I chose the New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha and I read it exhaustively--every introduction, every explanatory footnote, every concordance note, every appendix. In hindsight, this was a pretty awful plan for achieving what I was looking for. Strictly from a literary standpoint, I should've chosen a King James Version; that's what would've helped me to best recognize allusions and quotations in other works. The New Revised Standard Version gave a more literal and historically contextualized version, which helped me to better understand what was being said but also oriented my mind toward literalness and paranoid particularity. In 2009, my agnosticism skewed quite heavily towards atheism, and with all the footnotes and editors' introductions of the Oxford edition, I became rather preoccupied with the finer points of undermining what I was reading. The question of whether every word of the Bible is literally true is a debate with a surprisingly brief and stupid history, and it's a question that essentially misses the point altogether; of course there are inconsistencies, mistakes, contradictions, and impossibilities scattered throughout the Bible, but that doesn't mean its words can't still be the centerpiece of an intelligent person's religion.
The Oxford Annotated Version did give me an appreciation for isolated works like Ecclesiastes and Job, but it also ultimately left me with an overall frustration and confusion. I couldn't fit together how all the prophets and exiles and temple periods and wars lined up, and so it all started to seem like repetitive nonsense to me. By the time I got to the New Testament and all the randomly organized epistles, I was ready to be spending my time with some other book.
Recently, however, I decided to revisit the Bible, and this time I wanted something that was more sequential--the prophets interspersed where they would have been in the chronicles, the epistles edited into the acts of the apostles, the gospel all harmonized. Furthermore, I wanted a KJV translation, and if it could include contextualizing historical narratives throughout, all the better. I did some research, and this book seemed to be the best bet.
Unfortunately, the editors of this "chronological" Bible kind of sidestep some of the very tasks that were their ostensible mission, and in large part this is because the overarching editorial directive for this edition appears to have been one committed to the literal truth and divinity of every word in the Bible, inconsistencies be damned. There are some literal redundancies in the Bible--passages that are repeated almost verbatim. I would have preferred an edition bold enough to excise all but one of the repetitions (and/or to reconcile them with parentheticals in the few places where they change), but such cutting would apparently undermine the divine inspiration of the redundancy, so we get them side by side. Where there are obvious inconsistencies in the repeated passages, the editors do cartwheels trying to justify how both versions could have been literally true and why the "authors" of the Bible would have deliberately included both versions. In passages where the dissonance is especially strong, like the many repetitions of Kings to be found in Chronicles, which was written to be much more propagandistically pro-David than the earlier text, the editors have explicitly kept the competing narratives apart, spinning them as a "Priestly Version" and a "Prophetic Version." This not only fails to achieve the "chronological" sequencing that is the whole point of reading this edition, but by constantly alternating between the two versions and interrupting them with editorial introductions meant to deny that they're different, you don't even get the overall tonal effect of the respective texts. If you read Kings by itself, then you'll get a full story and will understand what the takeaways of that story are. If you then read Chronicles, you'll get the same story once again (with some subtle and not-so-subtle changes), but you'll get a different set of takeaways. A good "chronological version" would give us the best of both texts, minus all obvious repetitions, in order to tell the completest version of the story including all the various takeaways. This version, however, is just confusing and exhausting. Where this version has the most significant task to achieve, it fails most miserably.
The editorial notes are also academically dishonest at times, positing historical and archeological facts that no historian or archeologist would agree with. This is likewise because of the editors' overall desire to prove the literal truth of every word. Thus, they present some "scholarly" information about the historicity of Moses that would only be accepted in fundamentalist religious circles, and they don't even mention that this contradicts the findings of all scholars who don't have a religious objective.
My two-star rating is for the composition and editorial notes of this version specifically, not of the Bible itself. Somebody looking for a sequential, narrative-based version of the Bible, who doesn't mind if it's abridged so long as it's "complete," and who is more interested in clearly seeing the truth contained in the message(s) and stories rather than holding on to the idea that the Bible is a flawless historical record of facts should look elsewhere for an edition. If you're like me, this book will only frustrate you further rather than solving any of your confusion over the Bible "not being in order."
April 29, 2016
I am so excited about this beautiful Bible! I was amazed when I received this Bible from the publisher- Thomas Nelson- to review. With brown imitation leather in two tones and an embossed cover, it really is striking and appropriate for both men and women. Of course, I am writing this review simply concerning the asthetic appeal and quality as well as usefulness of this particular version. The Bible itself is worthy of more than 5 stars! Apart from the obvious value of the Bible, I do think this version- the New King James- is excellent and worthy of being read. Also, I love owning a chronological Bible; it really helps get things in perspective! This particular copy is a study Bible so it also has full-colour maps and notes on each page. This is the only NKJV study Bible in chronological order and I highly recommend you get a copy!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
December 30, 2017
I’ve read the Bible through before, and read parts of it so often I could recite them, but I’d never previously read it in chronological order, which was an interesting exercise. I was not aware before this of just how much is repetition - the same events with diffferent perspective, different detail, or sometimes clearly copied by one author from another (or by both from a common source elsewhere). Reading several different versions of the same story at once was a bit monotonous at times, but on the other hand it made certain details or ideas stand out in a way they don’t when you read the various books individually. I also enjoyed the historical/archaeological commentary that went along with the scriptural text, including information about how things were dated by scholars and how much must now be conjecture. Some of this information was already familiar to me but some was not.
June 28, 2016
The Chronological Study Bible is absolutely wonderful for someone that wants to read and study the bible in the order of the events that happened. This will be my go to bible from now on. I need those events in order it makes it easier for me to comprehend. This Chronological Study Bible is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I love the pictures that are throughout. So if you are looking for a new bible to try I highly recommend getting a copy of The Chronological Study Bible today. 5 stars! I received a copy of this bible for my honest review.
December 28, 2018
As someone who loves history, this Bible was amazing! When you understand the history and culture of the people in the Bible, the stories, the spiritual lessons make much more sense. It was also very cool to see how the religion of the ancient Jews compared/contrasted to their neighbors. I love this Bible!
October 12, 2024
The chronological Bible is okay…the notes emphasize events surrounding the Bible… and with the exception of psalms being placed in certain spots it is mostly the Bible in the order that is has always been.
For instance, Calvin’s Harmony of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy is far better organized and far more helpful than the chronological Bible.
For instance, Calvin’s Harmony of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy is far better organized and far more helpful than the chronological Bible.
January 1, 2021
First time I’ve read the Bible chronologically, this particular edition has the text arranged into periods of time called Epochs:-
1 - Before the Patriarchs; 2 - The Patriarchs; 3 - The Rise of a Unified People; 4 - From Tribes to a Nation; 5 - The Fall of Two Nations; 6 - Exile & Return; 7 - Between the Two Testaments; 8 - The Coming of the Messiah; 9 - The Church Age
This being a study Bible, it contains plenty of features to help you understand the context & arrangement of the text as well as lots of beautiful illustrations & photographs, so my nerdy art-loving little self was very happy. Smooth paper as well, so it FEELS nice to read/handle (some books are horrid) & clear typeface, though some of the picture captions etc. might be on the small size for some. The study features are:-
Epoch introductions
Historical overviews
Transition Commentaries - explains placement & chronology of related Bible passages
Cultural background notes:- Art & Literature; Daily Life & Customs; Gods & Goddesses; People’s & Nations; Personalities; Places & Geography; Politics & Government; Religion & Worship
Daily Life insights:- Agriculture & Herding; Architecture & Building; Beliefs & Ideas; Daily Life & Customs; Health & Medicine; Marriage & Family; Plants & Animals; Politics & Government; Science & Technology; Religion & Worship;
In-text maps
Time charts, panels & “capsules”
Glossary
Concordance
Index of Scripture Passages by Book
One- and Two-Year Daily Reading Plans
Illustration & Photography Credits
Space for your own notes
Well worth reading “just” for devotional purposes as well as for studying. Highly recommended!
1 - Before the Patriarchs; 2 - The Patriarchs; 3 - The Rise of a Unified People; 4 - From Tribes to a Nation; 5 - The Fall of Two Nations; 6 - Exile & Return; 7 - Between the Two Testaments; 8 - The Coming of the Messiah; 9 - The Church Age
This being a study Bible, it contains plenty of features to help you understand the context & arrangement of the text as well as lots of beautiful illustrations & photographs, so my nerdy art-loving little self was very happy. Smooth paper as well, so it FEELS nice to read/handle (some books are horrid) & clear typeface, though some of the picture captions etc. might be on the small size for some. The study features are:-
Epoch introductions
Historical overviews
Transition Commentaries - explains placement & chronology of related Bible passages
Cultural background notes:- Art & Literature; Daily Life & Customs; Gods & Goddesses; People’s & Nations; Personalities; Places & Geography; Politics & Government; Religion & Worship
Daily Life insights:- Agriculture & Herding; Architecture & Building; Beliefs & Ideas; Daily Life & Customs; Health & Medicine; Marriage & Family; Plants & Animals; Politics & Government; Science & Technology; Religion & Worship;
In-text maps
Time charts, panels & “capsules”
Glossary
Concordance
Index of Scripture Passages by Book
One- and Two-Year Daily Reading Plans
Illustration & Photography Credits
Space for your own notes
Well worth reading “just” for devotional purposes as well as for studying. Highly recommended!
January 18, 2021
Feels a little ... suck uppish? ... to give the Bible five stars, but I really really did enjoy reading it chronologically like this, and the notes on what else was going on in the world at the time of the events being talked about was so interesting. How other religions would have been influencing the Hebrew’s practices and why X idea would have been significant. The only thing was when you get into the Gospels ... reading four accounts in a row of the same story could get a little tough, and honestly didn’t make the confusing parts make any more sense. But loved having the Psalms on context of the events they were written about and the narrative of Acts mixed in with Paul’s letters. And the whole Kings/Chronicles accounts put into order with the prophets prophesying at those times. I wouldn’t want this to be my only Bible, but it was a great way to get more insight on the Bible as a historical account.
January 5, 2023
I love the Bible. I love reading the Bible. I mostly listened to the Bible this year, as I did last year, on Daily Audio Bible Chronological website... BUT I followed along and used the pages of this Chronological Bible that my husband bought me. I asked for the Bible, it is not his fault. But, I did not like the way they organized the book... I don't think they put it in a good Chronological order... AND I did not like the commentaries in the Bible. So, I will be selling or giving it away. I will not be keeping it. I am using an Illuminated ESV Bible for next year and it has journaling space. I am looking forward to that. But I did read/listen to the whole Bible in one year... for the second year in a row.
Using this book for the The 52 Book Club 2023 Challenge prompt #29 Over 500 pages long
Using this book for the The 52 Book Club 2023 Challenge prompt #29 Over 500 pages long
January 18, 2023
I was thrilled to start this bible for the new year and to dive deep into Scripture. But from the get go things were pretty off… first of all, the commenters are vocal about not being creationists which was hugely disappointing and then throws off a huge chunk of the dates that they give for biblical events. Then, most of there commentaries are about the historical pagan, unbiblical practices that were happening at the same time. A little background on their current events would have been good but they completely ignore scripture. It’s as though you are reading two different books at the same time, not two, one complimenting the other. I’m disappointed and threw the book in the garbage.
October 9, 2024
This is your normal everyday Bible, rewritten in a chronological fashion. So instead of book by book, the editors put the books in the order it was estimated they were written. So the prophet chapters will be placed within the historical book at the time they were written. Paul's, Peter's and John's letters show up in the Book of Acts at the time they were written. The book also has a lot of side paragraphs on history, lifestyle, architecture, etc. to give the reader more context. One irritation: in many side paragraphs, the editors call the area Palestine, way before the Romans slapped that name on the area as an insult to the Jews. Otherwise, though, the book is well done.
November 5, 2020
Great Resource for a Broader Understanding
We took just over 22 months working our way through the Word and the associated commentary comments. This was not the first time through the Bible as individuals or as a couple, so I'm not sure how comfortable a first-time reader of God's Word would feel working through this valuable resource.
We have the hardback version of this book, so my only real knock is that the Kindle version does a poor job connecting the accompanying comments with the relative text.
We took just over 22 months working our way through the Word and the associated commentary comments. This was not the first time through the Bible as individuals or as a couple, so I'm not sure how comfortable a first-time reader of God's Word would feel working through this valuable resource.
We have the hardback version of this book, so my only real knock is that the Kindle version does a poor job connecting the accompanying comments with the relative text.
May 14, 2020
Yesterday I finished reading through this Chronological Bible. There are interesting tidbits of info scattered throughout, and there are transitions between time periods to help you make sense of things. I liked a lot of it, but some of it was not good. I highly recommend reading other commentaries with this to off-set some of the inaccuracies or questions that might arise. I'll give it 3 stars for the publisher's notes. God's Word is always 5+ stars in my book.
December 28, 2017
A very good study Bible. It has one and two year reading plans included for those who have set a goal to read through the Bible. It also contains good (though secularized and occasionally speculative) historical notes, illustrations, timelines, topical index, concordance, etc. A very good edition for any Bible student to have in their library.
March 26, 2022
I loved this version of the Bible. It was full of additional, helpful information about cultures and ways of living that enhanced my understanding. It took almost two years for me to read because I began reading 2 pages a day with my morning devotional. It was my pandemic Bible Study. I am grateful for the journey.
April 18, 2022
I like the Chronological order, in a sense, of this version. The New King James version is perfect for me and add in all the notes, transitions and other historical detail it makes for a very full read. From turning chaos into order to the Triumphant return of Christ this is a solid go to study Bible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2022
I found the chronological layout to be very helpful, but didn't appreciate many of the notes, which seemed to be written either from or for a non-Christian perspective.
As far as the notes go, this reads more like a textbook for use in a World Religions class, as opposed to a classic study Bible, as it claims to be.
I would rather find a different Chronological Bible to recommend to others.
As far as the notes go, this reads more like a textbook for use in a World Religions class, as opposed to a classic study Bible, as it claims to be.
I would rather find a different Chronological Bible to recommend to others.
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September 23, 2024I started my quest to read the complete Bible in the Fall of 2022. I found more questions than answers. I found many of the stories from my childhood not the way that I remembered. I found the Old Testament filled with hate and The New Testament built on love. I was saddened by how humans manipulate scripture for their personal gain.
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