What’s a Study Bible & Is it Better Than a Normal Bible? 

I stole my first Bible from a hotel room. It was April of 2018. I wasn't religious at the time. I was in New Hampshire for the annual New England High School Drama Festival ( I was a senior). My school was chosen as one of the best schools in Massachusetts to go. I opened a drawer to put my charger in and there was a Bible. Rebel me thought it would be hilarious to take it. So I did. Read a couple chapters here and there and I ended up reading most of the Gospel According to Matthew (due to me being in a production of Godspell. Great musical, check it out) and now here I am, truly discovering religion.

The gideon's have actually stated that replacing a bible in the hotel room means they have succeeded. so Feel free to take the hotel bible make a gideon's day.

+1 for montage music during the long desk travel

Matt, the Gideons Bibles in hotels were meat to be taken. It’s a fascinating story, definitely worth a TMBH video.

I've got to admit, I love Study Bibles and I probably own way too many. My current favorite is the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. One problem we all have to overcome every time we sit down to read the Bible is our cultural filters. The Bible was written to people of the ancient Near East, but I’m a modern Westerner. This often puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to interpreting the Bible. Take for example the parable of the Lost/Prodigal Son. When the son "came to his senses" and returned home, his father saw him coming and "ran to him". This last phrase doesn't stand out to many of us today but, as this Bible's study notes point out, in the ancient Near East it was undignified for an important person to run. To Jesus' listeners this would have been a major plot twist in revealing the depth of God's love. So this just adds a layer of nuance to a familiar story. It's like Dr. John Walton says, when we read the Bible we need to "listen with ancient ears".

Loved your trip to the end of the desk, Matt.

Thanks for this, Matt. I've had bibles in the past, but they never meant anything to me and I couldn't ever 'get' the stories being told. They were always just words. Although I consider myself agnostic, your videos have inspired me to read the bible again and these recent vids are helping me pinpoint how to get back into it. Thanks again.

Yes, "eleventy billion". 1:21 and "garganticer" 16:12

As a Gideon I can confirm that hotel Bibles are placed that people might pick them up, read them, and pass them on to somebody else. On average, each of our Bibles placed is read by eight people. Have a blessed day, and be a blessing by giving somebody a Bible along with helping them in whatever their need might be. There's truly nothing quite like storing up treasures in Heaven!

The hotelroom Bibles are for the taking, thats the whole point! The Bibles placed by Gideon, that is...

Maps are also great during particularly boring sermons if you want to play out imaginary battles in your head but still look pious.

I was given an Archeological Study Bible in college and I love it. It also pairs nicely with your Acts series. Also- maps are the best. Love, Mom

This is really helpful. I grew up in church and felt like I didn't need a study bible because we shouldn't need anything more than what God has given us in his word and his Spirit. Totally makes sense that these would be a HUGE time saver and resource.

I draw my own maps and insert it. Helps me remember

Thanks, LOVE YOU. And thankfully God is always with us.

1:40 what a trip! Thanks for taking us along!

That opening killed me! It was fun!

I like how a guy named Wade sent him flyfishing stuff...cause when you flyfish you WADE into the water....

Thanks Matt. Your are quickly becoming an invaluable resource for my theological edification. I am slowly narrowing down how to go about wrapping my mind around Christianity in a much more meaningful way. What a task! God bless you brother. Appreciate all the help. S. Spencer

If anyone is confused like I was, the Scripture is actually Isaiah 42:5. Not Isaiah 4:25. I looked in all four of my Bibles and chapter 4 only goes up to verse 6. I hope this helps anyone else that didn't know! :)

I think the Gideons would rather that someone take a Bible home with them then that they sit gathering dust in hotel rooms.

It blows my mind that genealogy in the Bible by defining the names all point toward Jesus, his characteristics and death/resurrection.

Thanks again, Matt, for another great video! I'm glad you mentioned the caution of using the notes exclusively, as I've come to learn (mostly through experience) how, depending on the publisher/translation used, the notes will most definitely have some type of theological bias - even if unintentional (e.g. NIV/ESV more "Calvinist-Reformed", CSB-more Traditionalist, etc.). Keep up the great work!

This was super helpful and informative (and funny). Nice job dude!

Thank you. I have bought an ESV study bible and it’s really helping!

Gideon’s place them in the hotels, they are free to take, it’s not stealing. I’m a Gideon.

Very nice is the Ignatius Study Bible (RSV), with notes and commentary by contemporary Bible scholars such as Scott Hahn.

ESV study Bible is great! They make them now in the smaller personal size, so it does make it easier to use on the go. Awesome video!

Super awesome, Matt! Loved the #neoclassical reference to hooks to hang info on 🤣 #imaneoclassicalhomeeducator 🙋🏼‍♀️

I have a friend who is a Gideon that places Bibles in hotel rooms. Yes, please take them if you need one. If you don’t read it and leave it. That is what they are there for. The Gideons replenish them regularly.

Has anyone else mentioned Matt's reference to Isaiah 4:25??? LOL In his defense he was reading it upside down. I believe the cross-referenced verse is Isaiah 42:5. It was a great episode even with that in it. Actually that made it a little better. :-)

"Gee wilikers" I actually laughed!

Thanks for this video. I'm 2 months in on a reading plan, going through my new ESV Study Bible. I wondered what exactly the cross references could be used for. I'll be utilizing them in bible study with my buddies so we can bounce around scripture when studying a particular concept. Oh and I got the personal size -- not too unwieldy! But sometimes I need to squint reading the tiny study notes

I got a NASB study bible for my 18th birthday and it was one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten!

Nicely done. Keep 'em coming!

You can "steal" Gideon bibles if you are "in need" of it, according to a sticker inside if I remember correctly (of course, check it's actually a Gideon bible and not the family heirloom copy of the hotel owner, they'd rather you didn't take that).

Isaiah 4:25 is my favourite verse! So easy to memorize!

I heard a Gideon spokesperson state that the intention of putting Bibles in hotel rooms and that you will take it and become a Christian through reading it. So, you need a Bible and find one in a drawer at your hotel room, feel free to take it.

When Matt went to go get the study bibles from the other end of the desk, I imagined Destin Sandlin killing himself laughing as he watched it.

Thanks Matt! This video was super helpful! (And entertaining!)

Love the video man. Now I need to go and look at the Lord of the Rings maps again.

You always want a study bible. There is so much you don't know about bible times, and scholars put study notes in there to help you learn

No dumb questions and TMBH all in the same day I don’t know what to do with my self. Mom account number 10781.

I am about to enter seminary and am sure I will be knee deep in huge commentaries on different books of the Bible and so I am contemplating if I should buy a study Bible when I know that I am going to have access to those.

Matt: Starts talking about knowing where places are in Middle Earth. Me: Cracks a smile while slowly looking towards the Map of Middle Earth on my wall.

Great video, Matt! 👍👊🖐️

Have you ever thought about possibly putting the jumbo study Bible in a bible case? It might make it easier to use. Also, as a LOTR nut, loved the reference. Anyway, awesome and funny video as usual!

Hey Matt, I use your videos for my mens group each week. Could you do a spot on how to use an interlinear, like Greens, as well as a Vines and Strongs, to help us non-greekgeeks get the most out of the original languages? Love your stuff!

I love it when YT suggests an old TMBH that I've never seen. It's like discovering an entire Agatha Christie story I've never even heard of. Well, .... maybe not exactly like that. The old bookcases.... the manatee... I'm getting nostalgic.

Eleventy billion is my new favorite number! 🤣 great video!

The Thompson Chain Reference Bible seems to let the Bible interpret itself. I just got one. I also have study Bibles and also plain reading Bibles. But the Thompson Chain Reference is a whole new eye-opener for me.

I love my NRSV Oxford study Bible with apocrypha fifth edition. I also use my rsv-ce css Bible by saint benedict press.

KateOwlMebula9 Thanks for your information. Robert Alter's new translation 'The Hebrew Bible' is a great translation with commentary that also explains the puns, word plays, word choices, syntax, rhythm and dialogue qualities of the text. His 'Art of Bible Translation' goes into the energy involved in keeping repetitions, keywords, and following the Hebrew word order, even if it surprises English speakers. It's terrific.

Just discovered your videos omg love you

My preference for study Bibles isn't a theological study Bible like the ESV Study Bible, but an academic/'secular' study Bible like the New Oxford Annotated Bible or HarperCollins Study Bible. I don't need someone telling me how to interpret the Bible theologically, let me do that myself. That's why I'm reading the Bible. However, it is handy to have notes about cultural and historical context of the text because these texts came into being literally thousands of years ago. Society today is definitely not the same as society back then, so I need some sort of assistance in getting that historical context, but without having someone else's theological perspective pushed on me in my own independent study. However, I do like to pair the NOAB (which is in NRSV, a translation that I do really like) with a non-study ESV Bible as I do really like the poetic beauty of the ESV translation. The ESV 23rd Psalm is my favourite rendition of it, (and the 23rd Psalm is my favourite passage. It was my grandpa's favourite before he died, so it's comforting knowing I'm in God's care, and it also makes me feel close to grandpa).

Dude I have one of those italian leather NIV study Bibles! I prefer ESV, but who can deny the aesthetic beauty of those NIV duo-color leather bibles!?

Ah darn. Now I really don't have a good excuse explaining why I don't have a study Bible.

Nice transition, great video Matt! Really glad you like the fly box and flies. How are the tying session going?

For the ESV Study Bible I would actually think the Marriages, Deaths etc part in the beginning Is to write down the marriages and deaths in the bible. So you can quickly look it up. Like writ the person and then the chapter and verse they got married or died or born. But that is just me

@Wade I would like to buy one of those Fly Fishing care packages

can you do a video on bible apps?

Love the clever analogies you use! Always great content! Great channel and great work!!!!

I'm pretty certain you said you would cover this is the next video and I can probably just look it up myself but is the committee that is over the version of the bible the same people that put the footnotes in the version of the study Bibles or are they completely different people. I'm also curious of your opinion of using a lexicon verses a concordance. Love that you make these videos as much about evidence and study as opposed to your personal opinion. I know you throw it in there from time to time but you are very honest in your statements and I respect that.

It is interesting how different translations; sometimes just 1 translation differences has resulted in completely new denominations being formed. #5 of the 10 commandments in many Bible's is "thou shalt not kill." ESV's is "you shall not murder." Even though most people always understood the 5th commandment to mean murder; some took older translations completely literal to the point of becoming a peace faith. The commentators in my NIV study Bible had to explain the 5th Commandment as referring to the murder. However, my ESV study Bible doesn't really have to explain it as much. Seems to me that if you have to explain something as simple as the 10 Commandments, than perhaps the translation needs to be re-looked...

You can buy a Bible at a thrift shop for .99 or a hard cover/ fancy cover for 1.99 In most cases.

On a practical note, while I enjoy commentary (variably, y'know, due to quality issues), I've made a ton more use of cross-ref citations over the years. I'm working on a project now well over 1000 pages of material, for several years, where I'm regularly checking cross-reference notes from various Bible editions to see what OT references and citations various authors, plus especially Jesus by report, had in mind, and whether the contexts help inform the meaning of what's being talked about in the NT. Not only do I find this super-helpful in identifying and parsing out high Christology claims about Jesus (relevant to trinitarian Christian theism, i.e. why those of us who are trinitarians go with that overall theology), the references can make a huge difference in understanding salvational and judgment texts. (e.g. Jesus or someone, maybe Paul, says X which sounds like hopeless punishment, but He or he is quoting or referencing Y from the OT; and checking contexts there shows that as ferocious as the judgment may sound, maybe even moreso in the OT, God actually means the punishment to lead the punished people to repent and come back to doing love and justice instead and faithfully following Him. So the punishment isn't hopeless after all. There's a lot of this sort of thing under the hood. {g} )

I'm trying to read the Bible again - used to be religious but not anymore. I still have the urge to read it though. does that make sense?

uninterrupted...uh...well...the fly-fishing part, but interesting since I like Bibles and fishing

It seems like having a nice bible with just the scriptures, chapters & chain reference is the way to go. Can't you just refer to separate books for commentaries, outlines, studies, etc. whether digital or physical? This way you can always have the translation you want plus read whatever else you want in separate books. What am I missing?

My first study bible was the Criswell Study Bible. It was used until it fell apart. lol

What's the music at the start of the episode when you're getting your bibles? Come on, it'll be fun ♫😄📚

My grandfather gave me my first Religious texts. They are a Leather Study Bible and Luther's Small Catechism.

Sir, I like ESV Bible 🙏 but this is very expansive for me. Can't buy. But tnx for your programme. God bless you. From India (Delhi)

I had a Thompson Chain Reference Bible, KJV, about a year after I was saved. Sadly, I didn't take advantage of it, in any way, because I was still a baby and was not affiliated with a church that taught a great deal of Scripture. Yes, how I got saved only God knows. Now that I am focused on studying though, I would probably use the heck out of the Chain Reference now. A few Study Bibles are helpful at times when I'm really stuck on a particular Scripture and I find it helpful to read what a couple other, very scholarly people, have to say so as to help give me a jumping off point. But my primary teacher is Scripture, so I believe that the Chain Reference would get the most use from me at this time in my life. I prefer the KJV to this day, though I own and use NKJV, NASB, and ESV. I ditched the NIV years ago, after hearing and reading about problems within the text. They may have since been corrected, but I still carry my own bias against that version, along with the NLT and MEV, and a couple others that are politically correct versions. As a woman in her 70's, you could say I'm stuck in my ways. But I use what is comfortable for me, and I guess that's the bottom line for everyone. Read THE Word and spend TIME with God, regardless of your preferred version. The relationship is what's important.

Love that intro bro.

I’ve had a Thompson Chain Reference Bible for decades.

Finally, I've been studying the Bible for 2 years wondering what in the heck a cubit is, who knew I just needed a different Bible.

They actually do have small ESV study bibles too!!!

Since switching to the Complete Jewish Study Bible Has changed my theology, my relationship with God, and my walk with Him.

Hey this guys videos are so radical I think he deserves whatever cash he gets from it. God bless your videos sir!

I need to go to some of your parties with people comparing study Bibles. :D I love the Oxford Annotated Bible--it's not a "study" Bible, but it does have great annotations and I can also ignore them if I just want the Word. Definitely get the hardcover; it's just too heavy for the soft cover, and they'll tear.

Multiple volume commentaries are probably more useful such as the Anchor Bible series of books. Many things are lost in translation and for those who have time, probably better to learn hebrew and greek.

Do you happen to have transcripts of your episodes? I’d like to link this episode to my mom but her English isn’t fluent, having something written would make it easier. Or maybe you have the possibility to open up the “add subtitles” option? (If it’s already open I’m sorry, I can’t see it in the app version.) Subtitles are great for both non-fluent speakers and the hearing-impaired/deaf, me and many more would appreciate it. I just found out about your channel thanks to sexplanations, and it’s great work!

Would really like the ISBN for the small NIV. Study Bible you have there

I wonder if he likes the ESV Study Bible? LOL.

I like how he went all the day over to the edge of his desk to grab his bibles but ended up grabbing them after he returned to his seat

The new revised NIV Study Bible can be bought for $35 with tax on Amazon. Notes are good and has very little bias.

Where can i get gideons bible except hotels?

I’m sure you plan to get there, but I’ve got sucked into ESV study Bible on The Olive Tree app. Buying that version was actually cheaper than a paper version, and it’s super light and with me whenever on my phone. A downside for me, though, is you know how you forget people’s phone numbers because the contact is in your phone? I find that when actually handed a paper Bible, I’m a little lost.

“If you can’t remember who died recently in your family, you can write it right there in the Deaths section. I can’t vouch for that. I’m not sure why that’s in there” 6:02 😂 😆❤️

I do like the cross references.

I need to get into fly fishing this summer. Too bad I’m a bass junkie. Bought a NASB reference Bible for my first run. for the literal translation and the cross references to let me digest it naturally. After I grind this for a year or so, I’ll check some study bibles!

Great vid but you didn’t get to the hard hitting question I always have when cracking open my study Bible, what’s up with that super thin paper???

ESV Study Bible is the best study bible out there!

Hi Matt id like your take on this one Edition-NKJV APPLY THE WORD STUDY BIBLE (HARDCOVER) by Thomas Nelson OR ESV study bible. Not sure which one to go with. Is it worth the price? is it easy to understand etc id like both but cant afford both at the mo. Thanks

"Steal a Bible from a hotel" Seems like that would be a big no no, based on the 10 commandments, but I guess the Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms are one of the things guests get to keep?

I use a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. Best $95.99 I've ever spent!

"Come on let's go it'll be fun" *walks a distance of one (1) foot*

ESV comes in a personal size too....so....

I recently found out about your Study Bibles reviews. Great stuff! What's your take in regard to ESV study Bible and NLT illustrated Study Bible. What's your opinion in regard to The Open Bible?