I have the books Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler so this bible is a welcome addition to my library. It has quickly found it's place next to my regular study bible where I have started using it in comparison with my ESV.

The added study helps, definitions of the names of God, and the footnotes make this bible very user friendly! In addition each chapter starts out with an over view and the names listed in that chapter.

This is an excellent resource bible and also great for everyday use. As I stated above there is something about having the original language and meaning of the names right there in scripture that adds a whole new depth to your bible study.

The the Names of God Bible adds a richness and depth to the scriptures. By using the very personal names of God instead of just "God" or "the Lord" the scriptures become intimate and personal. The heart of God is truly revealed and the meaning of the scriptures become so very personal. God ceases to be a mystery and becomes instead the closest friend. He becomes real and personal as His character is revealed in the very names He chose for himself. I absolutely love this bible!

Thanks to Revell for this review copy. ( )

An intriguing and wonderful concept. The beauty and grandeur of the King James Version with the names used for God in the original Hebrew and Greek transliterated and presented in the text. Thus, Ezekiel 6:3a reads:

And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD [Adonay Yahweh]...

Or Isaiah 41:16b:

...and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD [Yahweh], and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel [Qedosh Yisrael].

It is a neat way to remember that God has many names and titles. There are numerous sidebars and explanations of the names. There is introductory material on the names of God and intros to each book of the Bible. There are other indexes and helps too. The text is clear, clean, and neatly presented.

I see, thus far, no theological leanings (like, say, minimalist vs. maximalist, Arminian vs. Calvinist, etc.) that would preclude any Bible-believing Christian, layman, or scholar from buying this. I've seen Spangler's book Praying the Names of God in bookstores (and never bought it), I think this Bible supersedes it. (Though those who have and like and use her original book, and the companion Praying the Names of Jesus, would find this an invaluable resource and a necessary purchase.)

I got my copy in a bargain bin, brand new, for $8.97, and I think worth every penny. ( )

"The Names of God Bible" (NGB) uses "God's Word Translation" (GWT) as its base text. This is a relatively new translation from 1995 employing a translation method they describe as “closest natural equivalence” to express the meaning of the original text. This philosophy focuses on what the translators define as readability with an aim to mirror the structure common to our everyday day English, using grammar and punctuation that they feel contemporary readers would be most familiar with.

GWT is essentially a dynamic equivalent translation that is too interpretive for word for word study. Conceptually this seems strange for a Bible that aims for greater specificity indicating the names of God in their original languages throughout. Forfeited is an accurate word for word translation for more of a thought for thought. The individual authors writing style and choice of words is sacrificed. What is most lacking are the theological words that would enable meaningful short hand discussion. Gone are words such as covenant, grace, justify, repent, resurrection and righteousness. These are serious omissions. Gone as well is the clear teaching of the doctrine of justification by replacing the translation of all of the different Greek words behind "justify," "righteousness," "reckoned," "imputed," "accredited," and "propitiation" with one catch-all word, "approval."

People can be seriously mislead by inaccurate translations of verses like James 2:24 that read: "You see that a person received God's approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes". There is a radical misrepresentation of Justification by faith alone when one is promised Gods "approval based on what one does in such places like Rom. 4:16,20, 9:30, 32, 10:6, 11:20, Gal. 3:22, 5:5; and Heb. 11. The result is misrepresenting justification as the "cause" instead of the "medium" through which saving faith comes.

Beyond the dangerous misrepresentations in the translation, NGB indicates more than 10,000 occurrences of at least 121 names (or titles of God) such as Yahweh, El Shadday, El Elyon, and Adonay. They state that this purpose is "to help readers connect with the Hebrew roots of their Christian faith and experience a deeper understanding of God's character". To do this the names are highlighted in brown ink to stand out within the biblical text.

Yet, there are instances where the original renderings are not clear enough. Such an example includes the GWT rendering of “Lord of Hosts” (‘Yahweh Sabaoth’). As ‘hosts’ could accurately be described as a reference to angelic beings, i.e. the hosts of heaven, GWT has chosen to translate this phrase “Lord of Armies,”. Unfortunately, there are no explanation that these armies are the armies of heaven and not the armies of men which can lead to significant misunderstanding.

Ann Spangler developed the Name pages, book introductions, Calling God by name sidebars and topical prayer guide. Helpful listings include an alphabetical list of names and titles of God, pronunciation guide to these names and titles, names of God reading path system, topical prayer guide, table, and fast track reading plan for the names of God, as well as a name index and general reading plan.

The Names of God Bible is helpful as a reference tool to quickly see the names of God and explanations for further insight, but the Bible as a whole is not very useful as either a study tool providing word-for word-precision, not as a study Bible having much of the needed basis background commentary or helpful study additions. The introductions to each book are brief. Absent are links like maps, concordances, and other common reference tools.

Product Information
Format: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 1760
Vendor: Revell
Publication Date: 2011 Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.75 X 2.00 (inches)
ISBN: 080071931X
ISBN-13: 9780800719319

"Bible has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". ( )