ESV Study Bible Review: An Honest and Thorough Look
A good study Bible is one of the best resources to have when building a Bible study habit. In fact, it’s the first resource I recommend you get. The ESV Study Bible is one of the most popular study Bibles available today. So, let’s take an honest and thorough look at the ESV Study Bible and see if it’s for you.
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| Pros | Cons |
| -Accurate Word-for-Word Translation -Comprehensive Study Notes -Robust Cross References -Detailed Book Introductions -Commitment to Core Christian Beliefs | -Small Print -Lack of Portability -Broad Theological Perspective -Academic Tone of Study Notes -Poor Digital Editions |
Key Takeaways: The ESV Study Bible shines in its depth and extent of its study notes, articles, maps, and illustrations. However, its small print, thin pages, and extensiveness makes it a challenge to carry around everywhere. That said, the ESV Study Bible is worth buying if you want to become a student of the Bible.
Who Should Buy it: The ESV Study Bible is perfect for pastors, seminary students, or mature lay Christians seeking a deeper understanding of the Biblical text.
Features Overview
For the purposes of this review I am using the ESV Study Bible, Personal Size (trutone, brown).
The ESV Study Bible boasts a comprehensive list of features including:
- 20,000 Study Notes
- 80,000 Cross References
- 200+ Charts
- 50+ Articles
- 240 Full Color Maps and Ilustrations
- Concordance
- Ribbon Markers
- Smyth-Sewn Binding
This abundance of features makes the ESV Study Bible a complete resource for personal Bible study. You don’t have to feel like you need to go and purchase other Bible study resources and tools because it’s all contained in this study Bible.
In other words, this Study Bible has all the resources you need for your typical Bible study all in one book. So, purchasing the ESV Study Bible as a study Bible can save you money on building a Bible study bookshelf.
Product Details
The following chart provides the product details for the ESV Study Bible, Personal Addition (TruTone, borwn) from the Publisher’s website. The third column is the same details for the specific Bible I own.
| Detail | From Website | Personal Bible |
| Translation: | English Standard Version (ESV) | ESV |
| Format: | TruTone | TrueTone |
| Page Layout: | Single-column | Single-column |
| Page Count: | 2,720 | 2,720 |
| Size: | 5.375 in X 8.0 in | 5.118 in X 8.0 in |
| Weight: | 46.54 oz | 44.64 oz |
| Type Size | 7.7 | 7.1 |
As this chart shows most of the details are the same as advertised on the website. However, some are not. In the Bible I own the pages are a little smaller, the font a little smaller, and the weight is less. This could simply be due to problems with manufacturing.
So, let’s take a look at some of these discrepancies and key features to see if the ESV Study Bible is worth it for you.
Study Notes
The ESV Study Bible boasts an incredible 20,000 study notes from a team of over 95 evangelical Christian scholars and teachers across 20 denominations with diverse and unique backgrounds. This makes the study notes of the ESV study Bible some of the best ever compiled.
These study notes seek to represent the “classic evangelical orthodoxy, in the historic stream of the Reformation.” As such there is a strong commitment to the core Christian doctrines such as the truthfulness of the Bible, the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, etc.
That said, there is a broad range of positions and interpretations within “classic evangelical orthodoxy.” The study notes do an excellent job of presenting these various interpretations fairly and without bias.
For example, in addressing the creation account the study notes read,
“By a simple reading of Genesis, these days must be described as days in the life of God, but how his days relate to human days is more difficult to determine (Ps. 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). See further introduction: Genesis and Science.”
ESV Study Bible
When you read the earlier introduction it will talk about the different views and positions within evangelical orthodoxy such as,
- “calendar day” reading
- “day-age” reading
- “analogical days” view
- “literary framework” view
It concludes by stating that none of these views require denying the historicity of Genesis 1 and how all these views can be squared with other biblical passages on creation. I disagree, but that’s for another time.
So, the ESV Study Bible meets its goal of holding to classical evangelical orthodoxy and presenting the various views within it. But in doing so, it fails to take a stronger theological stand on certain issues.
This means that the ESV Study Bible notes may not always align with your theological perspectives or that of your denomination (though all are presented fairly). You may prefer a Bible that more closely aligns with your specific doctrinal beliefs.
Font Size and Page Quality
The font size of the ESV Study Bible, Personal Edition is advertized as 7.7 pt. However, as you can see in the chart below, when I measured the font size of my own Bible it was closer to 7.1 pt.
| Advertized | Actual | |
| Biblical Text | 7.7 pt | 7.1 pt |
| Study Notes | Not mentioned | 5.7 pt |
| Article Text | Not mentioned | 7.1 pt |
Measuring the font size in a book surprisingly easy. You simply,
- Measure the size of the text in milimmeters (mm)
- Divide that number by 4.217 (the equivalent of a pica, a unit of measurement designed to determine the size of typefaces)
- Take that new number and multiply it by 12 to get the point size (what you use in Microsoft Word)
So when I did this with my Bible, I measured using a capital “T”. The capital “T” measured 2.5 mm, which would get me a font size of 7.1 pt.
The font size of the study notes are different than that of the Biblical text. The calculated font size of the study notes was 5.7 pt. font.
The font size of the articles is the same as the Biblical text.
Overall, the font size of the ESV Study Bible is small. This can make it hard to read, especially in the dim lighting of a church setting. For that reason, you may want to consider getting a large print edition, which advertizes a font size of 10.75 pt.
Page Quality
The page quality of the ESV study Bible is average. The quality is similar to pages found in other Bibles.
The text on the other side of the page bleeds through. So, you can see the text on the other side, but cannot read it. There are study Bibles that have a worse bleed through.
And in my opinion, the text is still readable and the bleed through is not distracting.
Also, given the thinness of the pages I would not feel comfortable underlining or highlighting verses in this Bible. For that I would recommend a Bible with thicker pages like, ESV Journaling Study Bible even though it has less features.
Articles
The ESV Study Bible boasts an impressive number of articles, 50+. This is more than any other study Bible that I have looked at. The articles cover a wide range of topics including:
- Biblical doctrine
- Biblical Ethics
- Interpreting the Bible
- Reading the Bible
- The Canon of Scripture
- The Reliability of Scripture
- Archeology and the Bible
- Original Languages in the Bible
- The Bible in Christianity
- The Bible in World Religions
- etc.
These articles are very thorough and thoughtful in their approach. It’s like having the knowledge of a Biblical studies degree without having to go get the degree. These articles have valuable insights that can deepen your faith in and understanding of God’s word.
That said, the articles come across as academic in tone. One reviewer said,
“I am a lay person who just wanted to study the Bible with some additional background. This Bible is like an Encyclopedia.”
Ronny
I agree entirely. The article depth can easily be overwhelming to a new believer or someone new to Bible study. That said, if you are academically inclined or have considered seminary, then this may be the perfect study Bible for you.
Also, all the articles are found in the back of the Bible and not throughout. As such, I sometimes forget about them.
Book Introductions
The ESV Study Bible has book introductions for all 66 books of the Bible. These introductions include information on the title, author, date and historical context, theme, purpose, history of salvation summary, literary features, and an outline.
These book introductions are thorough and detailed providing an excellent overview of the book of the Bible. With the quality of these introductions there is no need to purchase a Bible handbook.
Handling and Portability
One of the most important factors to consider when getting a study Bible handling and portability. Is this a Bible that you can carry everywhere? Does it stand up to general wear and tear.
Now this is going to be somewhat subject, but to simulate natural wear and tear I held my thumb on one spot on the page for 5 minutes. I did because people are going to hold the Bible as they read it. So, it’s important to see how the pages stand up to average use.
After leaving my thumb on the page for 5 minutes, I discovered that the page quality worsened. There was moderate wrinkling that appeared normal again in time. Also, the page felt a weaker and a little damp from the oils on the hand.
Overall, the strength and appearance of the page returned. This indicates that the ESV Study Bible can stand up to normal wear and tear. Though, I would be cautious in how rough I was with the pages and try not to rest my hand on them for long.
Portability
Overall the ESV Study Bible, Personal Size is designed to be portable. It is smaller than the other regular sized ESV Study Bible and still contains all the notes and articles.
That said, it’s 2 and1/8 inches thick and weighs 2.79 pounds. So, it’s still a solid Bible. And given the quality of the pages I would be hesitant to carry this Bible in a bag or backpack. In fact, I wouldn’t. Though, the TruTone cover does help protect the pages.
Even though the cover helps protect the pages, the cover itself is still susceptible to damage like folding, creasing, etc. For all these reasons, I would not call the ESV Study Bible, Personal Size portable. At least not in a practical sense.
Personally, I would rather get the regular sized ESV Study Bible (or even the large print) in Hardback and carry it around.
The ESV Study Bible is a great Bible, but it’s not for everyone. So, you’ll want to check out this post to see how the ESV Study Bible compares to other Study Bibles.
