The tagline for the MacArthur Study Bible Second Edition is “Unleashing God’s Truth One Verse at a Time.” I think that’s the perfect description of this Bible.
John MacArthur is notably one of the most famous preachers of our time. He’s known for his strong Bible teaching and his outspoken opinions on topics of theology. When offered the opportunity to review his study Bible, I knew it would be a Bible for scholars or anyone who wanted to go deep. Now that I’ve had a chance to explore it, though, I see it as a Bible for anyone.
Bible Features
I love a beautiful Bible, especially a leather edition. The MacArthur Study Bible comes in a variety of covers–hardcover, Leathersoft, guinine leather, and premium leather. I love a nice leather Bible, so I chose the genuine leather . I love it. It not only looks good, but it feels quality.
The front of the cover is blank, but the spine has a beautiful gold title with gold stripes at the top and bottom. It’s eye-catching and will stand out on a bookshelf.
Another feature I chose was to go with the thumb index. When I was younger, I had several Bibles that had a thumb index, but it seems to have gone out of fashion, and I’m not sure why. A thumb index is the little cutouts and labels on the edges of the pages that helps you find the individual books of the Bible.
The MacArthur Study Bible is strong on charts and maps. Each book of the Bible includes a handful of charts and maps. These help organize chronology, journeys, battles, empires, and names. One chart that jumped out at me was the “Progress of Revelation”. It lists the author and writing date for each book of the Bible. Maps include “Major Mountains of the Bible”, “Cities of Refuge”, and “The Spread of Solomon’s Fame”. Charts include “Prophecies of Isaiah Fulfilled at Christ’s First Advent”, “Object Lessons in Jeremiah”, and “The Temples of the Bible”.
The index at the back of the Bible is more thorough than many.
Throughout the pages of the Bible are John MacArthur’s study notes. I’m assuming they’re his notes he made through the years as he preached on the individual Scriptures. Unlike some study notes, these are very simple and easy to understand, written for the everyday Christian rather than theologians.
The MacArthur Study Bible Second Edition is the Legacy Standard Bible. It’s a version I’m not familiar with, so I’ll have to check it out to see what I think of it. It is supposed to be grammatically correct and true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The MacArthur Study Bible also comes in NKJV.
Bible Review
There was a time, not that long ago, when I would have been intimidated by a study Bible like this. I saw them as something for other people, but not me. But once I launched All God’s Women and began serious Bible study, I realized that study Bibles are actually for everyone. The less we know, the more we have to learn, and study Bibles can help us understand what we read. The notes in this Bible are helpful to readers of all levels of Bible readers. They’re simple and easy to understand.
I know John MacArthur brings out strong opinions among believers, but he has put together a strong study Bible that would be a helpful resource for any Christian.
Let's chat! What are your thoughts?