TNIV Reference Bible: Hands On Review
The official word from Zondervan states that the TNIV Reference Bible's official release date is January 2008. However, Christian Book Distributors is showing availability "on or about" December 10 (as of this writing, CBD did not have any copies yet). The TNIVRB has been a highly anticipated Bible for a number of reasons. The complete TNIV translation has only been in circulation for about two and a half years, andI started teaching primarily from it in the latter half of 2006. However, my greatest complaint at the time was that I couldn't find a copy of the TNIV that didn't draw attention to itself. That is, I couldn't find one that wasn't in neon colors, let alone one with a simple traditional look and feel. Further, I had difficulty find a text layout that I liked. I prefer a single-column text with wide margins for taking notes. Yet, at the time, I couldn't even find a single-column edition of the TNIV.
Then, in September of 2006, I laid eyes on proofs for two different editions of the TNIVRB that were being circulated by Zondervan. One contained the single column text which resulted in the final copy, but the other was a two-column text with cross references in the middle. I quickly cast my vote with the editors at Zondervan for the single-column text. Of course, I made a number of other suggestions, too, including those elusive wide-margins and also suggested moving the cross references to the inside of the page. Zondervan hasn't taken those two suggestions to heart yet, but I'll keep pushing. Besides my vote for the single-column text, the only other influence I feel I had on this edition was to press for a non-thinline edition. Unfortunately, this change in plans pushed the publication of the TNIVRB from October to now, and raised the price by about $5. Nevertheless, after quite a bit of waiting, the TNIVRB in its final form arrived in my mail today, a generous gift to me from my friends at Zondervan.
Zondervan aims the TNIVRB at pastors, students, and teachers. Further, their goal was to make the Bible high quality but sell it as low of a cost as possible to get it in as many "gatekeepers'" hands as possible. Therefore, the TNIVRB does not come in the tradition box that most high-end Zondervan Bibles include, but rather a cardstock slip cover. But as for the Bible itself, it appears to be very high quality. Currently, there's only one edition--black bonded leather--but that leather feels quite solid. More importantly, the binding is smyth-sewn so that the user won't have to worry about chunks of pages coming unglued.
I suppose I was most surprised about the size and weight of the Bible. As already mentioned, I lobbied Zondervan strongly not to make the TNIVRB a thinline Bible. After gaining support from other TNIV fans in the blogosphere, Zondervan announced in May of this year that the TNIVRB would measure in at about 1.25" thick. Well, when I got my copy in hand this evening, I immediately thought it looked thicker than that, so I measured it. I can tell you that the TNIVRB is actually about 1.5" thick, and I can't tell you how excited I am about that. This means thicker paper was used in the TNIVRB which will allow for less bleedthrough of text from underlying pages or personal notations.
Further, the TNIVRB feels good in the hand. It has just the right weight when holding it open, Billy-Graham-style in one hand. I like the TNIVRB because it both looks like a Bible and feels like a Bible! As shown in the picture above, it lays flat when laid on a surface. I don't mean that it merely stays open; it lays flat. Does it lay flat at Genesis 1? Well, not quite flat, but it stays open, which is more than I can say for my TNIV Study Bible that I wrestled with while teaching out of Genesis at church last Sunday. And I'm sure given some time, and once the cover absorbs the natural oil from being held in hand, that it will even lay flat at Gen 1.
As mentioned already, the cover is a black bonded leather. This is complemented by silver lettering and gilding of the pages' edge. The spine itself doesn't contain hard corners, but is semi-rounded which contributes to its look of high quality. The text on the spine is fairly simple. "Holy Bible" runs sideways, while "TNIV" and the current three-tiered Zondervan logo sit perpendicular and occupy the bottom 25% of the spine's area. A single black ribbon is included for marking one's place.
According to the publisher's website, the TNIVRB runs at 1,408 pages. Some pages, such as those designating the Old and New Testaments, and even sections of books within those categories have been seen in some other editions of the TNIV. But most of the TNIVRB is brand new layout. The main text pages themselves contain layout and text that looks anything but rushed. Frequent section headers help to set off pericopes, allowing the text to flow with plenty of free space. The main text font measures at 9 points and is adequate for a Bible of this size. In comparing pages in the final product to the proofs I saw in 2006, it may be that Zondervan slightly enlarged the type from the original concept as slightly less text appears on the pages in the published TNIVRB. Such changes are always welcome.
Thankfully, all text is BLACK, meaning no red lettering (I can hear the applause coming through the internet now).
Cross references run along the outer edge of the page and a new feature, "Topical Ties" run along the bottom. The Topical Ties treat subjects in the text along 700 or so categories. The reader is guided by markers demonstrating earlier or later texts which focus on the same subject. Unfortunately, an index to these topics is not included, but I would think it might be helpful if something like this were made available online.
Heavy note-takers, such as myself will find the TNIVRB mixed for note-taking. Some pages have a lesser number of cross references in the margin allowing for notes, but more "well-travelled" passages contain a full margin of notes that often spill over into the bottom of the page. Poetic sections, however, offer ample room for notations.
Nevertheless, between the cross references, Topical Ties, and parallel passage notations under section headings, the TNIVRB is the ultimate reference Bible. According to the slip cover, there are over 100,000 cross references alone. And Zondervan is claiming that the TNIVRB is the most comprehensive reference Bible available.
In the final analysis, the TNIVRB is the edition of the TNIV I wish I had been using from the very beginning. Nevertheless, late is better than never. Everything about it says this is a quality product, and while it isn't everything I finally want in an edition of the TNIV (I'm still holding out for wide margins), it will replace my TNIV Study Bible as my public TNIV of choice. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this Bible, and I'm glad to say that there are no final "gotchas." The TNIVRB is everything it was promised to be. I can readily recommend it to anyone wanting a regular reference edition of the TNIV, and it will be the edition that will receive the majority of my use.