A Bible with notes is never merely a Bible with notes. The notes teach a reader what questions to ask, which doctrines matter, and whether Scripture belongs primarily to private judgment or to the worshiping Church. This Orthodox study Bible review considers the Orthodox Study Bible as a valuable entry point for readers who want to encounter Scripture within the faith once delivered to the saints, while also recognizing what one volume cannot provide.
For many inquirers, especially those coming from evangelical or Roman Catholic backgrounds, the Orthodox Study Bible is often their first sustained experience of an Orthodox reading of Scripture. That is a real gift. It places the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the life of the Church in a single volume and helps readers see that Orthodoxy does not treat the Bible as an isolated sourcebook for religious opinions. Holy Scripture is read in the Church, proclaimed in the services, interpreted by the Fathers, and fulfilled in Christ.
What the Orthodox Study Bible Is
The Orthodox Study Bible, commonly called the OSB, contains the New King James Version of the New Testament and an English translation of the Old Testament based primarily on the Septuagint. It also includes introductory material, study notes, articles, a lectionary, liturgical prayers, and maps. Its purpose is not simply to provide more background information. It seeks to introduce readers to the Orthodox mind of the Church.
That distinction matters. Many study Bibles are built around a particular modern Protestant theological system. Their notes may be useful in places, but they can quietly train a reader to treat the Reformation as the assumed lens for every passage. The OSB instead directs attention toward Christ, the Holy Trinity, the sacramental life, the communion of saints, and the continuity between Israel and the Church.
It is particularly useful for readers who have heard that Orthodox Christians use a different Old Testament but have never seen why. The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Old Testament widely used in the apostolic era and received in the Church’s worship. When a passage in the OSB differs from the wording familiar in a typical Protestant Bible, the difference is often connected to this Septuagintal inheritance.
Orthodox Study Bible Review: Its Greatest Strengths
Its greatest strength is its basic orientation. The notes regularly connect biblical passages to the Church’s confession of Jesus Christ as true God and true man. They do not flatten salvation into a single moment of decision, nor do they present faith as intellectual agreement detached from repentance, baptism, prayer, fasting, and perseverance.
The Old Testament is where this orientation is especially helpful. Modern Christians often open Genesis, Leviticus, Kings, or the Prophets with little sense of how these books are received in Orthodox worship. The OSB helps readers recognize Christ in the promises, sacrifices, wisdom, kingship, exodus, and prophetic hope of Israel. It presents the Old Testament as Christian Scripture without pretending that every verse has a simplistic one-to-one symbolic meaning.
Orthodox Christians receive books such as Tobit, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and Maccabees as part of the Church’s biblical inheritance. A reader formed only by a 66-book Protestant Bible may be surprised by their presence. Yet these books illuminate prayer, martyrdom, wisdom, almsgiving, the resurrection, and the faithful life of Israel before the coming of Christ. These books were in the Scriptures used by Christ, and the Apostles and were known to them.
The study notes are generally clear enough for newcomers. They offer brief explanations rather than assuming formal theological education. A catechumen can read a Gospel passage and find help with difficult terms, sacramental references, or major doctrinal themes without having to sort through academic debates on every page.
The volume also reinforces an essential Orthodox conviction: Scripture and Tradition are not competitors. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures guides the Church in receiving, preserving, proclaiming, and interpreting them. For someone weary of endless disagreements over what the Bible supposedly means, this is not an escape from serious study. It is an invitation to study under the care of the historic Church.
Limits a Serious Reader Should Understand
The OSB should be purchased and used with gratitude, but not with unrealistic expectations. It is a study Bible, not a complete Orthodox library. Its notes are necessarily brief, and brief notes cannot show the full richness or occasional complexity of patristic interpretation.
A reader looking for a verse-by-verse collection of the Church Fathers will need more than this volume. The Fathers sometimes offer several complementary readings of the same passage: historical, moral, Christological, and liturgical. The OSB often points in a sound direction, but it cannot reproduce the depth of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospels, St. Athanasius on the Incarnation, or the Church’s hymnography for feasts and Holy Week.
There are also translation questions. The New Testament uses the New King James Version, which is readable and familiar to many American Christians, but its English style may feel dated to some readers. The Old Testament is based on the Septuagint, and its wording can be unfamiliar to those accustomed to translations based on the Hebrew Masoretic text. That unfamiliarity is not automatically a problem. Often it is precisely the reason the OSB is valuable. Still, readers should approach differences carefully rather than treating every variation as evidence that one text must be corrupt and the other perfect.
The notes can also feel uneven. Some passages receive helpful theological comments, while other difficult texts receive only a short explanation. This is the unavoidable limitation of trying to fit the Scriptures, commentary, introductions, prayers, and reference tools into one physical book. It should not discourage the reader, but it should produce humility. The Bible is not exhausted by a footnote.
Finally, the OSB does not replace the Church’s appointed reading of Scripture. Orthodox Christians hear the Bible in the cycle of services, where readings are joined to hymns, feast days, fasting seasons, and the preaching of the Church. Reading at home is necessary and fruitful. Reading only at home is insufficient for a Christian life.
Who Will Benefit Most?
The Orthodox Study Bible is an excellent choice for an inquirer beginning to investigate Orthodoxy, a catechumen preparing for baptism or chrismation, or a lifelong Orthodox Christian who wants a dependable Bible for prayer and regular reading. It is also helpful for families, provided parents read with their children and offer appropriate guidance for difficult narratives.
It may be less satisfying as the only resource for someone already engaged in advanced biblical studies. Such a reader will likely want a fuller patristic commentary, historical study tools, and direct reading in the Fathers. Yet even serious students can benefit from keeping the OSB nearby because it preserves a distinctly Orthodox frame of reference.
For former evangelicals, one practical caution is needed. Do not use the OSB merely to collect proof texts for arguments about icons, the saints, baptism, or the Eucharist. Those teachings are indeed rooted in the apostolic faith, but the deeper goal is not to win a debate. It is to be converted in mind and heart, to receive the Church’s life, and to obey Christ.
How to Read It Fruitfully
Begin with one of the Gospels, preferably Luke or John, and read a manageable portion each day. Read the biblical text first. Then consult the notes to clarify what the Church sees in the passage. If a note raises a question, write it down rather than rushing to a conclusion.
Keep prayer at the beginning and end of your reading. A simple request is enough: ask the Lord to give you repentance, attention, and obedience. Scripture read only to gain information can leave the heart unchanged. Scripture received prayerfully exposes sin, strengthens hope, and teaches us to recognize Christ.
It is also wise to follow the Church’s lectionary as you are able. The assigned readings place Scripture within the rhythm of feasts and fasts. A passage that seems distant in private reading often becomes clear when heard in the Divine Liturgy or connected to a hymn of the day.
If you live in the west Phoenix area and are exploring Orthodoxy, bring your questions to a priest or a serious catechism class. All Saints of North America Orthodox Church exists not only to provide information about Orthodoxy, but to receive people into a lived communion of worship, confession, sacramental life, and faithful formation.
The best use of the Orthodox Study Bible is not to become a solitary expert. Open it consistently, pray with attention, attend the services of the Church, and allow the Word of God to call you from curiosity into repentance and communion with Christ.
