The Reformation Study Bible ESV, 2005 Edition

A review of the Reformation Study Bible, copyright 2005 (ISBN: 9781596381384). This older, lighter and thinner edition of the Reformation Study Bible features the 2007 ESV text formatted into two text columns. The paper is not very opaque and ghosting is troublesome. But the print is darker than that in the 2013 edition of the Reformation Study Bible, and I greatly prefer the two-column format to the very wide single-column format currently in print. The 2005 edition of the Reformation Study Bible is far smaller and more portable than the 2013 edition; but the 2005 edition’s study notes are often shorter, and it offers none of the topical articles and creedal material featured in the later edition.

At about the 19:47 point, I show how to identify the ESV text edition by examining a few verses in Genesis.

Detailed Contents

00:00 Dimensions, margins, layout, font (four charts)
00:32 A look at the box
01:15 Size compared to the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible
01:30 Size compared to the 2013 Reformation Study Bible (NKJV)
01:55 Page layout
03:20 The font in the text
04:01 The center column references
04:20 Column order versus page order references (as in the Allan 62 Longprimer)
04:50 The page-bottom notes
05:04 Paper qualities
05:40 Show-through (ghosting) is annoying
05:55 The text is NOT line-matched
06:05 The “newsprint” effect
06:52 Print non-uniformity (fading)
07:10 Book and section introductions
09:15 The words of Christ are in black ink
09:42 The concordance
10:00 A reading schedule, 14 blank pages, and eight glossy, color maps
11:05 The vinyl, paste-down liner and the burgundy genuine leather
11:30 The ribbon marker and the tail band
11:55 The Bible lies open in Genesis
12:45 The associate editor was Keith Mathison, who wrote a book on postmillennialism
13:29 The copyright page and various ISBNs
15:50 A close-up look at the typeface
16:40 Font compared to that in the Orthodox Study Bible
17:13 Font compared to that in the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible
17:48 Font compared to that in the 2013 Reformation Study Bible (NKJV)
18:28 Font compared to that in the Allan 62R, and a few words in opposition to study Bibles and in favor of one-volume commentaries
19:47 How to tell which ESV text edition you have (2001, 2007, 2011, or 2016)
22:37 The note at Genesis 6.2. Who were the sons of God?
23:36 The footnote at 2 Peter 3.9, “not wishing that any should perish”
25:03 The introduction to 2 Peter … did Peter write that book?
25:31 The introduction to the book of Revelation on the millennium
27:27 The 2005 edition of the Reformation Study Bible had more theological notes than the 2013 edition
28:11 Summary: one major difference between the two editions of the Reformation Study Bible is the additional study material included in the 2013 edition