Help! Question about Ignatius RSV versus NAB

[RevDrNorth]

I have an NAB (St. Joseph Edition) with study notes. From a Protestant point of view the scholarship is rather liberal. I have heard a lot about the RSV (Ignatius) and noticed it was adovcated by Catholic Distance University (and others) as possibly a little more orthodox.

My question is this. Are the study notes in the RSV the same as in the NAB or are they different?

I am thinking of purchasing one but if the study notes are the same I may not.

Thanks for any insight.

RevNorth

 

[Mannyfit75]

I have an NAB (St. Joseph Edition) with study notes. From a Protestant point of view the scholarship is rather liberal. I have heard a lot about the RSV (Ignatius) and noticed it was adovcated by Catholic Distance University (and others) as possibly a little more orthodox.

My question is this. Are the study notes in the RSV the same as in the NAB or are they different?

I am thinking of purchasing one but if the study notes are the same I may not.

Thanks for any insight.

RevNorth

The RSV I got have an appendix which has commentary on several Biblical passages. The Navarre Bible Commentary is also a good source book which uses the RSV Bible.

 

[RevDrNorth]

Thanks for the info Manny.

Are the Ignatius RSV Bible study notes (within the Bible) different from the NAB Study Notes. I don’t want to order the RSV and have the same study info just different language. Does anyone have both and can look quickly.

Thanks,

RevNorth

 

[Mannyfit75]

Thanks for the info Manny.

Are the Ignatius RSV Bible study notes (within the Bible) different from the NAB Study Notes. I don’t want to order the RSV and have the same study info just different language. Does anyone have both and can look quickly.

Thanks,

RevNorth

I’ll have to get back at you for it. However, there is a new edition. Have you heard of the Catholic Answers Bible? It uses the NAB tradition with footnotes from Dave Armstrong…It is the first edition. I actually have it.

Here is where you can buy it if you like:

catholiccompany.com/product_detail.cfm?ID=6415

 

[rwoehmke]

The Ignatius Press Study Bible is available in $10 chunks from Amazon. So far they have the four gospels and most of the epistles. The epistle volumes contain more than a single epistle. The notes are much different than those in the NAB. I don’t think the Old Testament is available at all at this point. I believe Jeff Cavins is among those working on the notes. It might be good to check with Ignatius press about what is available as it is possible there is an earlier version of the Ignatius Study Bible. I really like the portions that I have purchased thus far. Of course one would be talking close to 100 bucks for the series of paper backed books that is available at this time. One of the draw backs is that one has to go back and forth between booklets when doing cross references in the notes.

 

[Tietjen]

Thanks for the info Manny.

Are the Ignatius RSV Bible study notes (within the Bible) different from the NAB Study Notes. I don’t want to order the RSV and have the same study info just different language. Does anyone have both and can look quickly.

Thanks,

RevNorth

I have heard from others that the RSV-CE Bible has better study notes. I haven’t seen for myself though; however, there are MANY who prefer the RSV-CE over the NAB and that has me in the situation of ordering one for myself. I understand that there is now a second edition as well.

 

[lak611]

Thanks for the info Manny.

Are the Ignatius RSV Bible study notes (within the Bible) different from the NAB Study Notes.

Oh, most certainly. I do not own the Ignatius RSV-2CE. I have the original RSV-CE published by Scepter. The notes are actually very sparse and appear as end-notes following the Old and New Testaments, respectively.

I don’t want to order the RSV and have the same study info just different language. Does anyone have both and can look quickly.

Thanks,

RevNorth

I own the NAB but never use it. The notes are extremely questionable, and the text is quite pedestrian, with liberal use of inclusive language. The Psalms are not even available on the official Vatican website. The Psalms were also rejected by the Vatican for use in the liturgy.

 

[lak611]

I have heard from others that the RSV-CE Bible has better study notes. I haven’t seen for myself though; however, there are MANY who prefer the RSV-CE over the NAB and that has me in the situation of ordering one for myself. I understand that there is now a second edition as well.

The notes in the RSV-CE are definitely more orthodox than those in the NAB. The notes in the original RSV-CE appear as end-notes following the Old and New Testaments, respectively. I never use the NAB, mainly because of the notes, but also because of the liberal use of inclusive language, particularly in the Psalms (which were rejected by the Vatican for use in the liturgy and do not appear on the official Vatican website).

 

[foundthelight]

I have both the NAB and the RSV-CE.

The Vatican always uses the RSV-CE when quoting the Bible. I have two books by Pope Benedict which use the RSV-CE for quotes. These facts speak for themselves.

The Navarre study bible series is the epitome of “Orthodox” when it comes to notes and discussion. I strongly recommend it. You can get it in reasonably priced paperback volumes which cover the whole Bible.

As far as the notes in the RSV-CE are concerned, my Ignatius edition is very sparce.

 

[Joel_Tunnah]

I have the Ignatius RSV-CE 2nd Edition. It’s covered in red fake leather, and printed in Korea by Thomas Nelson bible co. There are a handful of terse footnotes, mostly dealing with translation options - but that’s it for notes. On the plus side, the paper and type face are excellent.

I also have the four Gospel pamphlet editions of the Ignatius Study Bible. Very good study notes - but only the NT is available, and each book is sold separately. The notes are done by believing Catholics, unlike the notes for the NAB.

I hear they’ve signed Christopher Hitchens, Bart Ehrman, and Dominic Crossan to do the notes for the next yearly NAB revision.

 

[Manfred]

I have an NAB (St. Joseph Edition) with study notes. From a Protestant point of view the scholarship is rather liberal. I have heard a lot about the RSV (Ignatius) and noticed it was adovcated by Catholic Distance University (and others) as possibly a little more orthodox.

My question is this. Are the study notes in the RSV the same as in the NAB or are they different?

I am thinking of purchasing one but if the study notes are the same I may not.

Thanks for any insight.

RevNorth

The notes, etc. in the St Joseph ed. NAB are definitely NOT the same as any for the RSV-CE or RSV-2CE. If you’re serious about the RSV-CE, then the Navarre Bible Commentary series is the way to go; I think it’s complete by now, covering all of the NT and the OT. The Ignatius Study Bible series is a work-in-progress, with many of the NT books completed; it is based on the RSV-2CE.

If you are really serious, then consider the Haydock Commentary and the Douay-Rheims version.

The Haydock NT and a good portion of the OT are here:
haydock1859.tripod.com/index.html

The D-R is here: newadvent.org/bible/

Hope this helps, Doctor.

 

[SemperFidelis]

I second the Haydock notes and commentaries. If you can handle the Old English and the price tag (usually around $125) then I would go for that.

Here’s one from Loreto Pubs:

loretopubs.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=60

Same thing, except from Angelus Press:

angeluspress.org/index.php?act=warehouse&info=5456

 

[Joel_Tunnah]

I second the Haydock notes and commentaries. If you can handle the Old English…

The DR is written in early modern English. “Old English”, aka Anglo-Saxon, hasn’t been used since the 12th century.

Here is a cool comparison of Gospel passages in Old, Middle, and modern English:

bible-researcher.com/engchange.html

 

[Elzee]

The notes in the RSV-CE are definitely more orthodox than those in the NAB. The notes in the original RSV-CE appear as end-notes following the Old and New Testaments, respectively. I never use the NAB, mainly because of the notes, but also because of the liberal use of inclusive language, particularly in the Psalms (which were rejected by the Vatican for use in the liturgy and do not appear on the official Vatican website).

What is your source for the statement I highlighted in red (that the psalms in the NAB were rejected by the Vatican - is that statement on their website or is it just assumed since they do not appear on their site? (I’m looking for an official statement/document stating this).

thanks!

 

[Manfred]

What is your source for the statement I highlighted in red (that the psalms in the NAB were rejected by the Vatican - is that statement on their website or is it just assumed since they do not appear on their site? (I’m looking for an official statement/document stating this).

thanks!

No, it’s not just hearsay; just check your missalette. But for more info, go here: adoremus.org/1298-LectQues.html

 

[Elzee]

No, it’s not just hearsay; just check your missalette. But for more info, go here: adoremus.org/1298-LectQues.html

Thanks! This is from 1999 and says the Lectionary is reviewed every five years…was that done? Just curious.

 

[Manfred]

Thanks! This is from 1999 and says the Lectionary is reviewed every five years…was that done? Just curious.

Uh, yeah, sure it was.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

I have an NAB (St. Joseph Edition) with study notes. From a Protestant point of view the scholarship is rather liberal. I have heard a lot about the RSV (Ignatius) and noticed it was adovcated by Catholic Distance University (and others) as possibly a little more orthodox.

My question is this. Are the study notes in the RSV the same as in the NAB or are they different?

I am thinking of purchasing one but if the study notes are the same I may not.

Thanks for any insight.

RevNorth

FWIW: there is no contradiction between “being liberal” & “being orthodox” - just as there is no contradiction between “being schismatic” & “being conservative”.​

More to the point, one can easily be both liberal & orthodox - sometimes, one can “be orthodox” only by “being liberal”.

This is all said on the assumption that “liberal” is an appropriate word in this context. It’s not - not least because real theological liberalism has been very rare for a good while: there has been little of it in Biblical scholarship since WW1; most Biblical scholarship in the last 90 years has been rather conservative. The NAB notes are a good illustration of this.

Whether a position is liberal in any sense should be far less important than whether it is true, or Christian, or good in some other way. Goodness in a thing is far more important than where it comes from - which is a Catholic POV, FWIW

“You will now be returned to your normal programme…”

 

[SemperFidelis]

It’s not - not least because real theological liberalism has been very rare for a good while:

There’s a lot of Jesuits out there who might trump this claim. Theological liberalism (ie: unorthodoxy) has been rampant since the 60’s, more so than almost any period since the Reformation. Are you saying it hasn’t been?

there has been little of it in Biblical scholarship since WW1; most Biblical scholarship in the last 90 years has been rather conservative. The NAB notes are a good illustration of this.

If I read you right, the NAB notes are conservative? The historical critical method has been introduced in the last 90 years and I would say it is far from conservative (conservative in my definition equals Traditional in this specific case). The NAB notes are also far from Traditional.