The “Orthodox Study Bible” is a much needed resource for Orthodox Christians, and anybody who wishes to read the Orthodox perspective on scriptural interpretation. It has the complete Orthodox canon of the Old Testament found in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible that was cited in the New Testament and served as the original Bible of the Christian Church. Each book is accompanied with an introduction explaining who wrote the book and why the book was written, along with its spiritual significance.

The notes accompanying the New King James translation of the text are unlike notes found in other Bibles that I’ve come across. They emphasize the spiritual context of the passages in question, and relate the Old Testament narratives, prophecies, and prayers into a Christ-centered context. Events and people in the Old Testament foreshadow and prefigure Christ. This allegorical interpretation is not found in contemporary secular and “ecumenical” study Bibles, which focus on the bare historical meaning of the passages, devoid of any spiritual meaning they possess.