Book Review: NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

From the Cover:
Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture

From the Inside Jacket Cover:
The Bible was originally written to an ancient people removed from us by thousands of years and thousands of miles. The Scriptures include subtle culturally based nuances, undertones, and references to ancient events, literature, and customs that were intuitively understood by those who first heard the Scriptures read. The NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible gives you a window into this world. . . 

Features:
A timeline precedes each of the Testaments, showing a chronological progression of Biblical history and world history simultaneously. Before the Old Testament there's a Hebrew to English translation to explain words that do not have a direct equivalent. Similarly, before the New Testament, there is a glossary of commonly used terms. There are plenty of other charts, maps, notes, pictures (historical documents, artifacts, etc.) and articles dispersed throughout the Bible. The words of Christ are in red and of course an index and concordance in the back.

My Thoughts:
Although the text remains true to the NKJV of the Bible, all of the supplemental information gives it the feel of a text book. I find this helpful in some ways, and off-putting in others. It does provide an awesome amount of contextual background, from notable rulers of the day to the way of life of various cultures, how they worshiped and in ways these things effected God's people. However, these are Holy, sacred Scriptures, the very Word of God. So, I'd rather not think of this Book as just another historical account of the Ancient times.

When I open God's Word, I seek His truth and I long to understand Him and His ways. So, I am accustomed to reading Bible notes that help me do just that, ones that give me more insight into the character of God. . . not notes that, for example, explain the idols that near-by pagan cultures may have worshiped, complete with pictures and all.

Again, there are some very helpful and useful resources in the NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible that I think are great and intend to investigate further. I appreciate what the authors do in providing a cultural context to bring another level of clarity to God's Word. However, I believe I will keep my current Bible as my "go-to" source for daily reading, and this one will remain on the shelves as an additional reference.

(I received copies of this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)