Little Rock Catholic Study Bible

The Liturgical Press in collaboration with the Little Rock Bible Study has just released an outstanding study Bible containing the newest translation, the NABRE.

This is highly recommended for several reasons:

It is user friendly. I don’t particularly like the introduction by Catherine Upchurch because it seems to me to be written at too basic of a level. The trend in publishing is to dumb down the level of writing, and that was my feeling about her introduction —

But that is because I am used to reading advanced commentaries and prefer a level of writing that does not tend towards the lowest common denominator. Many people without a background to the Bible will probably like Ms. Upchurch’s style, which is transparent and accessible. I just don’t like feeling like I am having my hand held as I move through a text. Others new to the endeavor will feel more comfortable. Most publishers, Catholic and secular, have adopted this third grade level type of prose, because apparently it is where a lot of readers are at. I think it better to challenge people a bit. However, that is a biased, subjective opinion. If you are new to a study Bible, you may well be very glad for the style of the introduction.

This objection notwithstanding, Ms. Upchurch does a very good job of explaining the Bible, and will not lose the reader, so she should not be faulted. St. Augustine said he would rather be understood by the people than praised by the philosophers. She does well what an introduction should do: give the lay of the land in comprehensible fashion.

The reader should also know is that I have in the past had one of my own publications on the Bible subjected to a “dumbing down” by another writer, so I recognize when this is being done, or at least I perceive it as such, and instinctively find it unfortunate.  But again, others may like it. Read the introduction and decide for yourself.

Part of my difficulty with the introduction is that it contrasted so much reading level wise with the rest of the background articles. This is to be expected, because they are by topnotch scholars.

First, Fr. Ronald Witherup and Abbot Jerome Kodell are two of the very finest with regards to bringing scholarly concepts to a popular audience. In my opinion they are head and shoulders above the more popular popularizers who dominate the Catholic media. Irene Nowell, OSB, is also quite good. The background articles are uniformly outstanding, and not run of the mill. Even advanced readers of the Bible will appreciate them.

When I see Witherup and Kodell’s name behind a book, article, or review, I pay close attention. They are very accomplished at bringing the Bible to non-specialists without losing the specialists. This is an art at which few excel. Plus, they have no overt agenda or ideology, so you know you are getting an objective, informed, and balanced, perspective. They come across as sincere believers as well as accomplished scholars, teachers, and writers.

The LRCSB is physically appealing, well laid out, and of a very readable type size. The footnotes are superb. The new translation of the OT is outstanding.

All in all, I would rank this Study Bible with the Catholic Study Bible published by Oxford University Press, which was composed by a Who’s Who of American Catholic Bible scholars. This indeed is high praise. Actually, the LRCSB is probably a bit easier to use, and the background articles are less overwhelming and more accessible.

In summary, this continues the outstanding tradition of the LRCSB. The Liturgical Press did a great job of putting this together. At $39.95 for the paperback edition, it is a very good buy.  Very highly recommended!

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