Review: The Great Adventure Bible

In honor of National Bible Week, I am very excited to talk to about a Bible I was given.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the “Great Adventure Bible” for free in exchange for an honest view. All words and opinions are my own.

I can genuinely say that this is probably my favorite Bible that I’ve owned. Until I got to college, my main Bible was an Extreme Faith Bible. When I got to college, my church handed out free copies of a Catholic Student Edition of the NABRE. The first time I bought my own Bible was when I was 22 and gearing up to lead a Bible study. After carefully looking through Bibles, I chose Saint Mary’s Press College Study Bible. Since then, that has been my go-to. That is, it was until I got The Great Adventure Bible.

Though each individual has preferences about Bibles, I want to share why I like this one so much.

Tactile and Visual Features

From the cover on, this is a great Bible. The cover is simple yet appealing which I appreciated. I think the compass design is clever without being overwhelming. The gold text on dark blue looks sharp. The material is strong but flexible. It’s been buried under books, shoved in bags, etc. and has held up pretty well.

As far as Bible paper goes, it certainly is lightweight but slightly more opaque than others. There still is some ink show-through, but it isn’t distracting.

The text size is good, and I really liked that they changed fonts between Scripture and the chapter explanations.

The full color is beautiful, and as I’ll explain a little later, very helpful.

The margins are kind of narrow so if you’re hoping to use it for journaling, you probably should get a different Bible. But, if you just want to jot a few words here and there, you could probably make this Bible work.

There are two ribbons attached to the Bible. My only disappointment is that one of the ribbons is already frayed, but this is such a tiny detail. To be fair, as I explained above, I’ve already put the Bible through a lot.

As far as tactile and visual go, I think this Bible far surpasses other Bibles of a similar price.

Standard Bible Features

I usually go for the NAB or NABRE edition, but I also enjoyed the RSV (Catholic Edition) translation. As could probably be expected, I didn’t notice too much of a difference between the translations. I think this is one of the places where preference really comes in. From what I’ve read about the RSV, it is a balance between a formal and dynamic translation which is what I’m looking for when it comes to reading the Bible or doing some basic studies. The Great Adventure Bible also has a Nihil obstat and Imprimatur so you can trust that everything in it, Scripture and beyond, are theologically sound.

One of the things that I wish there was more of was footnotes. Personally, I like a little more, but the footnotes in this Bible were very helpful. Again, this comes down to preference, and Ben actually told me that he liked that there were fewer footnotes in this one.

I thought the book introductions I read in this Bible are fantastic. They’re a good length and level of detail. They provide crucial context without overwhelming the reader.

Though most of the Bible I’ve used have maps, the ones in this Bible are even better. Not only are they colored, but they also highlight paths with specific Scripture references. This is a great tool to use, particularly when reading through books like Genesis where we can’t immediately picture the distance between two cities.

There are also explanations about how this translation came about, how to interpret Scripture, and more.

Though most of the things I discussed are pretty typical in Bibles, The Great Adventure Bible frequently does it better.

Special Features

What sets The Great Adventure Bible apart from other Bibles is the organization to facilitate a solid study of the Bible.

I’m a sucker for color-coding, and this Bible does it well. There are 12 time periods color-coded, and not only does it break apart important time periods, but the colors were selected intentionally to represent a specific meaning. This helps in navigating the Bible while also keeping the significance in the back of our minds.

Additionally, the Bible identifies the different covenants and includes them throughout to help place the events in Salvation history.

Each book has a chart detailing Scriptural events, the dates, the locations, and secular information. This is so helpful to understand the context of what you’re reading.

 

Lastly, the Bible identifies a number of key events. There is a Table of Contents so you can find them within the Bible. On each page, there is a marker by the reference and a boxed explanation nearby.

These features are clear, useful, and detailed. Whether someone is new to reading the Bible or has been reading it for years, these aspects guide the reader along a journey to grow deeper in understanding and appreciation of Scripture.

Other Thoughts

Before I wrap up this post, I want to share a few more thoughts beyond my perspective on the features.

First, Ben also seems to really like this Bible. When I told him I was getting a copy of The Great Adventure Bible, he was really excited. When it arrived, he wanted to look at it right away, and I even caught him keeping it on his nightstand.

Second, this Bible has been great for when I lead a small group for Confirmation. I’m able to read the passage, look at the introduction,  and look at key events nearby to get a good idea of what we’ll be talking about without needing any other resources. I was particularly excited when I was able to not only show a map but also found a line outlining the travel we were just talking about. It has been so helpful for this, and that in itself makes it worth it for me.

 

***

Overall, I think The Great Adventure Bible is a phenomenal resource for studying Scripture. I cannot recommend it enough!