Editor’ s Preface
When you see the Bible in its ancient context, it comes to life as a body of literature that shaped God’ s people. These are the people who were known first as the sons of Jacob, the people of Israel, and later as the Jewish people, and from them came Jesus and the Christian tradition. This is the true story of the whole world, of every person, and of our deep need for relationship with the God who made the universe. This is the story of how God sought to know us and love us— by sending his Son to die and rise for us, so that we may truly live.
Faithlife Study Bible( FSB) invites you to find your place in this story by understanding the Bible more fully— and to feed your curiosity about God and his work in the world.
VISION
Faithlife Study Bible helps remove the obstacles to understanding the Bible, so people with any level of knowledge and experience can pursue an enriching study of Scripture. We encourage you to read a passage, then read the study notes, and then go back to the passage. Our ultimate goal is to help you engage with God’ s Word— and with God himself.
Faithlife Study Bible bridges contextual gaps. FSB is your guide to the ancient world of the Old and New Testaments. For each biblical passage, we have curated the most relevant data to illuminate the biblical text, from archaeological findings to manuscript research. Historical, cultural and linguistic details help you understand the background of the Bible so you can interpret its significance. Study notes, media and articles connect the dots from Genesis to Revelation, revealing how the story of God unfolds across different books and eras. FSB also looks at the Bible as a work of literature, explaining how different genres, narrative structures and literary devices shape the text.
The notes provide explanations of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text of the Bible, but they’ re written for people who don’ t know those languages. Unlike other study Bibles, FSB was developed on the basis of the original languages of the Bible. Utilizing the technology and data behind Logos Bible Software, we were able to create a study Bible that works with multiple English translations. We call this translation independence. For example, the insights you’ ll receive from FSB in the New International Version will be just as relevant for a study partner who uses the New King James Version.
Faithlife Study Bible unites scholarship and discipleship. The notes and articles draw from a wide range of academic research to illuminate the Bible, its world and its message. While this certainly is a scholastic effort, it is foremost an endeavor of faith. FSB stands in the Christian tradition summarized by the ancient Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed. It is committed both to the authority of Scripture and to the challenge of wrestling with its full meaning.
Faithlife Study Bible invites you to be an interpreter. The study notes explain the biblical text while recognizing that God’ s truth often reflects his mysterious ways and requires guidance from his Spirit. When tradition and scholarship presents diverging views on a passage, FSB explains the interpretive options, so you can reach your own conclusions. Rather than tell you what to think, the notes in FSB help you learn how to think about a text and work toward a deeper understanding.