The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) is an Eastern Orthodox study Bible published by Thomas Nelson in 2008. It uses an English translation of the Septuagint by St. Athanasius Academy for the Old Testament and the New King James Version for the New Testament.
The original edition of the OSB, released in 1993, included only the New Testament and Psalms, both NKJV. Priest Seraphim Johnson criticized the use of the NKJV translation, particularly for the Psalms.[1] The 1993 edition was also criticized by Archimandrite Ephrem for its commentary feeling more evangelical than Orthodox.[2] The NKJV text of the Psalms was replaced in the 2008 edition by the Psalms of the new OSB translation of the Old Testament.
The 2008 OSB's Old Testament is a translation of the Septuagint developed by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. The translation is based upon the Alfred Rahlfs' edition of the Septuagint using the NKJV as the base text, being altered where different from the Septuagint, and the Brenton edition as additional reference material.[3] The 2008 OSB's New Testament is the NKJV, which translates the Greek Textus Receptus used by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The overview committee included fourteen archbishops, metropolitans, and bishops from various Orthodox jurisdictions, as well as eight priests and seven lay scholars.
The translations of the Old Testament and New Testament are accompanied by commentary from the Orthodox viewpoint. Articles provide guidance and support for many facets of the Orthodox faith which can be confusing or unknown to those unacquainted with the Church. There is a comparative of list of contents, side-by-side with the Roman Catholic canon and the generally accepted Protestant canon. The OSB addresses such questions as: Why is the Mother of God essential to the Faith? Who were the Seventy Disciples? How is an Orthodox understanding of the Bible different from a Roman Catholic or Protestant understanding? In addition, the OSB provides basic daily prayers, a lectionary for personal use, and reproductions of icons in its pages.
Although not an official text of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the publication has received positive endorsements from such prominent bishops as Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), Metropolitan Phillip (Antiochian Orthodox Church) and Metropolitan Theodosius (Orthodox Church in America).[4]
Citations
BibliographyBook: ((St. Athanasius Academy)). Orthodox Study Bible . Thomas Nelson. 2008. 978-0-7180-0359-3.