I have been reading Tektonics.org for a few years, and my interest in apologetics has only increased since I became a Christian. I enjoy reading the articles of JP Holding, Glenn Miller, and the Venerable Bede, and other prominent Christian writers on the internet for the concise, valuable information they give on apologetics and the knowledge that I can attain through reading their works. However, as a sophomore in high school, I often don't have the adequate time needed to sit down and read lengthy articles on the internet or detailed books written by reputable scholars. (As I am writing this review, this isn't the case, because I am off for the summer break). It is not infrequent that I only have time to come off, "chill" for a few minutes, read my Bible, and then take a "dive-in" to my daily homework for the rest of the night. One might assume that I am not learning anything relevant to Christian apologetics when this happens, and one would normally be correct about this.

That's where the Archaeological Study Bible comes in. It is a Bible that is edited by numerous scholars and has enough notes, and articles to keep an interested reader busy for months! This Bible comes complete with five-hundred articles and over eight-thousand footnotes relevant to the text. The articles are never longer than a single page of information, so it's not like you're ever reading detailed, technical information on a certain topic. The advantage is that it accurately covers the broad details of a topic, which gives the reader a base of knowledge from which to work on becoming more knowledgeable in certain fields of interest.

Now, from the title, one might get the impression that this Bible only deals with archeology, and while there is a definite focus on this area, that is not the exclusive area that this Bible dwells on. As an example, a few days ago I read an informative, accurate article in the Archaeological Study Bible about the authorship of the Petrine epistles. Whenever there is a skeptical objection to Biblical accuracy based on evidential grounds, there is almost certainly an article to be found that addresses it. There are articles addressing, but not limited to, the historical reliability of the patriarch accounts in Genesis, the historical reliability of the Exodus, the archaeological evidence that validates the accounts of the judges, the authorship of the Pentateuch, the extra-Biblical references to Jesus, and much more. As a primer on Biblical reliability, the Archaeological Study Bible is fantastic.

The only qualm that I have with this work is that it is true to its name, which means that it sometimes has information that I would consider relatively irrelevant to what I am interested in. For example, there are footnotes in the text describing architectural styles of ancient buildings, the design of wells used in the Biblical period, etc. I am certain that this information would interest some readers here, but personal, I would rather see that space being used to inform about more relevant aspects of the Bible. This is an extremely minor qualm, and it does not affect my overall view of the Archaeological Study Bible as being fantastic.

In short, the Archaeological Study Bible is a valuable resource that gives up-to-date, scholarly information on a wide variety of valuable topics in a concise, easy-to-read manner that is neither "dumbed down" or intimidating. If you're like me, when you are without an internet connection and only have your Bible available, you will appreciate the purchase.