As an armchair Biblical archaeologist I was excited to see that Crossway has published The ESV
Archaeology Study Bible. I have numerous Bibles of all bindings, covers, translations, etc., but this Bible just may become my “go to” Bible.

Features? This Bible is full of them. It is a hardbound volume and at over 2000 pages, it’s no light weight. Features in this volume make it a valuable tool for pastors, teachers, layman, and armchair enthusiasts, like myself. Even if archaeology is not the reader’s main focus it would be an exceptional addition to any library.

Just some of the features in this volume are:

Archaeology articles of interest
Glossary
Bibliography
Sidebars (with an index)
Concordance
Table of weights & measures
Timelines
Maps (with an index)
Background of the OT
Background of the NT
Author Bio’s
Copious notes
Cross references
Did I mention maps?

This study Bible will be well used in my library for study and lesson preparation. And, it has maps. Did I mention that? Maps always give me a helpful point of reference for the Biblical narrative and this Bible is packed with useful maps and an index.

For the non-teaching laymen, this volume would simply be enjoyable to slowly sift through gaining practical knowledge while bolstering spiritual understanding at the same time.

Drawbacks? The pages are extremely thin. But at 2,024 pages and nearly 2” thick, they need to be. On the other hand, to contain as much useful information as it does, those pages need to be thin.

This study Bible is well worth the purchase price and contains so much info you won’t be able to put it down. I have spent many enjoyable hours just paging through it, picking up info I didn’t have. It may very well become your "go to" Bible as well.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page. Thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )