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Dr. Miczak's Best Picks - MICZAK.com
Friday, 11 May 2007
Renewal for Body and Spirit
Now Playing: Beautiful Bibles, Songs of Praise
Beautiful Bibles, Psalms of Praise

This issue, I am reviewing two exciting new Bibles and a hymnal.




Archaeological Study BibleThe first Bible I reviewed is published by Zondervan in the NIV or New International Version translation and is called the Archaeological Study Bible. At over 2,000 pages it has nearly 500 color photographs and free software which places the entire Bible with pictures at your fingertips. It also has 8,000 study notes with Christ’s words in red.
The Archaeological Study Bible is full of research, archaeological findings and artifacts from Bible lands and cultures. It is the history and culture of the peoples of the Bible that gives us fresh insight as to the deeper meanings of customs of that day and time.

What is really edifying is the inclusion of information found in the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were first discovered in 1947 in the area of Qumran Palestine in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West Bank. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they are alleged to be practically the only known surviving Biblical documents written before AD 100. The Greek Septuagint was written around 200 BC by comparison. Bibles written before 1947 such as the King James Version, did not have the advantage of access to older documents as these to compare texts. Today, the more modern translations do and the NIV takes advantage of these later archeological finds. This is a heavy Bible but perfect for referencing cultural practices and beliefs of the Bible. It also brought home to me that the Bible speaks of many tribes and ethnic groups albeit having come from Noah’s three sons. All the same, customs and practices did vary between groups. The Archaeological Study Bible does an excellent job of taking one through not only the history but the cultures that represent the Bible.

Archaeological Study Bible
ISBN-10 0-310-92605-X
Price: U.S. $49.99/CAN $65.99
For more information, visit:
Zondervan



The Holy Bible English Standard Version
The Holy Bible English Standard Version, Thinline, Trutone Edition published by Crossway Books and Bibles.
When William Tyndale began illegally publishing his New Testament in the common English language, he made his Bibles quite small. One reason is that they were easier to smuggle in undetected by the Anglican state church of England. The other reason is that a Bible which fit into the hand was more likely to be read and used in a person’s everyday life. This was very important to Tyndale’s mission whose translations make up to nearly 80% of the King James Version Bible. He was eventually arrested and burned at the stake with a manuscript copy of his New Testament tied to his chest. So great was the fear that the common man should read the holy writ and come to God directly without intercession of kings, priests or bishops.

The Holy Bible English Standard Version by Crossway Bibles follows through on this time tested concept. This is a beautiful thin Bible with gold gilding on the edges and a satin bookmark. The cover’s design is filigree with a buttery soft leather like binding. This is the complete Old and New Testament all in a lightweight, thin binding.

The English Standard Version is a very literal translation which leaves out much of the denominational bias found in many Bibles. It is refreshing to read what was actually conveyed, rather than a paraphrase of someone else’s understanding. There are brief study notes at the bottom of the page but they in no way hinder the enjoyment of the text itself which is so very well rendered. Here is the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord Is My Shepherd-ESV
A Psalm of David.
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

You’ll notice that only the archaic pronouns are missing and the text reads so beautifully without losing any of its poetic verse. The entire Bible is like this, literal without sacrificing the innate beauty of the scriptures. Extra features often found in a larger family Bible include a dedication page, record entries for births, marriages and deaths, a table of weights and measures, full color maps and a substantial concordance. It is about the size of the Common Book of Prayer and is the one Bible to take everywhere. On vacation, to keep with you for comfort or sharing the Gospel with others. A lovely work from Crossway Books and Bibles.

The Holy Bible English Standard Version
ISBN-13:978-1-58134-721-0
Price: $29.99
For more information, visit:
Crossway Books and Bibles




African American Heritage Hymnal

African American Heritage Hymnal published by GIA, (Gregorian Institute of America), Publications Inc. Compilers of this hymnal took great care to notate traditional hymns the way they are actually sung in African American churches. This project took eight years to complete but the results are incredible. This unique hymnal contains 575 Hymns, Spirituals and Gospel Songs traditionally enjoyed in African American Churches.
This hymnal is a treasure of the specific arrangements which are still sung in many established African American churches. Many such hymns had been handed down for generations until pioneers such as Thomas Andrew Dorsey, began doing formal writing and composing for commercial distribution of his songs. Dorsey actually began his career as “Georgia Tom” singing off-color blues throughout the south. However soon his fortunes dwindled and reaching an epiphany, he began to write gospel music with much the same syncopation and chording found in his blues compositions. His, “Walking Up the King’s Highway” was made famous by Mahailia Jackson who was one Dorsey’s song demonstrators. Dorsey wrote the songs and Jackson would sing them to audiences in hopes they would purchase his sheet music. Another of Dorsey’s compositions found in the African American Heritage Hymnal is, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” sung by Jackson at the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. Gospel Pearls, first published in 1921 by the National Baptist Convention, is a wonderful example the transition from learning hymns by ear to using the “shape note“ system to read music. Shape Notes were developed as a system to teach rural parishioners with no access to formal music lessons to sight read music by associating each note’s pitch with a specific shape. The first book printed with shaped noteheads, using "patent notes" was the Easy Instructor, by Wm. Smith and Wm. Little in 1801. The shapes used then are still in use to this day. So they were by 1921 long in use for teaching hymns and spiritual songs.
Other Black composers such as Lucie C. Cambell, (“He’ll Understand and say ‘Well Done‘”), softened the ethnic call and response of traditional field “hollers” and work songs. Poetic lyrics to stir the spirit were added to many such hymns. What emerged was a more mainstream form of this tradition. Gospel Pearls was the first “Gospel” Hymnal so titled for use in the church as the word gospel was not yet widely used to describe spiritual songs. Often used by the church deacons who to this day lead the congregation in devotionals before the start of service, Gospel Pearls allows the leader to sing or line out each verse for the church to follow. This sort of call and response method is indigenous to many African tribes and has found its way into not only religious music but secular blues, popular and hip hop arrangements.

The African American Heritage Hymnal is a complete church or corporate worship hymnal as it has the traditional responsive readings arranged according to subject and occasion in the front of the book. The hymns are then arranged in headings of “God Our Father”, “Jesus Christ”, “The Church”, “Life in Christ”, etc. Perhaps one of the best features is the exhaustive indexing of scriptural passages related to hymns and composers, authors and sources with a topical index.
Rich touches such as hymn number 484, “Ezekiel Saw De Wheel” and “Ain’t-A That Good News”, which was sung by the world traveled Fisk Jubilee Singers, retains the accent and flavor of how the song was originally sung. Others such as “Mayenziwe / Your Will be Done” uses African phonetics and is taken from a South African traditional song. Likewise “Thuma Mina” is a Zulu spiritual from South Africa. This is a rare glimpse into the culture and history of Black Gospel music. The African American Heritage Hymnal belongs in every complete church hymnal collection as it is just as much of Americana as the many folk genres that comprise the matrix of American music. Look for more reviews of GIA Publications in our upcoming issues!

African American Heritage Hymnal
ISBN - 1-57999-124-6
Price: $15.00
Deluxe Leatherbound
Price: $40.00
49 Hidden Treasures from the AAHH CD
Price $25.95
For more information, visit:
GIA Publications, Inc.






Posted by Author at 4:29 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 16 May 2007 11:28 AM EDT
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