A new study Bible for the 21st century has now been published that includes the reference material from a book that has continued to be a bestseller since the beginning of the 20th century. Zondervan Bibles has released the first-ever Halley’s Study Bible (Zondervan, 2020).

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With content gleaned from Halley’s Bible Handbook (Zondervan, 2014)—the most popular Bible handbook of all time and available as one of more than 40 study resources with your membership in Bible Gateway Plus—Halley’s Study Bible helps the reader understand the Bible through articles, study notes, charts, maps, and photos next to related Scripture.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Halley’s Bible Handbook: A Classic, Relevant, and Handy Resource]

From the Foreword to Halley’s Study Bible

“Henry Hampton Halley lived from 1874 to 1965. I remember him as a tall, quiet man who always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Our family called him Papa Daddy. He was my great-grandfather, and while I knew him for only a short time, the many stories shared by my parents and grandparents about his life and ministry have created a longlasting memory. His calling was simple—God put it on his heart to help people read, understand, and love God’s Word.”
Patricia Wicker

He was a trained pastor in Michigan when, in 1908, his doctor told Henry that, for the sake of his health, he should “get outdoors and do physical labor.” Henry resigned his pulpit and became an ambitious young contractor and realtor. His love for the Bible, however, remained fervent. Through the years he discovered he could memorize large portions of Scripture. Churches across America began asking him to conduct Bible recitation sermons that included narratives of every book of the Bible. He opened his recitals with a brief background sketch of the Bible or passages he was to present. His main purpose was always to teach the Bible and encourage the reading of it.

As a helpful reference for his audiences, in 1922 he printed 20,000 copies of a 16-page leaflet titled Suggestions Concerning Bible Study which listed the dates of all the books of the Bible and gave the main idea and a brief summary of each. Each year saw an elaboration of the booklet, but it wasn’t until the 7th edition of 144 pages that it was named Halley’s Pocket Bible Handbook. By 1960 it was in its 22nd edition with 968 pages. Today more than 6 million copies are in print in multiple languages.

“Henry H. Halley had the high aim to make the Bible accessible for everyone, and he clearly succeeded based on the success of Halley’s Bible Handbook,” says Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Zondervan Bibles. “We’re honored that we can expand that impact through this new study Bible. This pairing of Halley’s written work with stunning, 4-color visuals and the bestselling New International Version (NIV) translation will equip more readers to understand their Bible better—and what could be better than that?”

For the first time, Henry Halley’s insights are conveniently placed within a study Bible in the world’s bestselling modern-English Bible translation, the New International Version in Zondervan’s exclusive NIV Comfort Print® typeface. Halley’s own notes are paired with new photography of archaeological findings and biblical places. Also included are insightful verse-by-verse study notes from a proprietary note system.

Features of Halley’s Study Bible:

• Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV)
• Over 750 articles, charts, and maps, gleaned from the bestselling Bible handbook of all time, Halley’s Bible Handbook
• Full color throughout with over 150 photos of ancient sites, Holy Land topography, and archaeological finds
• Over 6,000 bottom-of-the-page study notes
• Concordance with over 10,000 Scripture references
• Words of Jesus in red
• Two satin ribbon markers
• Exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface
• 9-point print size

“Halley’s Bible Handbook was the first of its kind. It defined the Bible handbook category and set a standard of excellence and accessibility for students of the Bible,” said Stan Gundry, SVP and editor-in-chief, Zondervan. “Taking the updated and expanded notes of the most recent edition of Halley’s and adapting them for use in a study Bible advances Dr. Halley’s original intention of providing a resource for the average Bible reader who has few resources for understanding the Bible.”

Henry Halley’s passion to spread biblical literacy began with a simple pamphlet and grew into the Halley’s Bible Handbook with over 6 million copies in print.

About Comfort Print®
Zondervan Bibles teamed up with 2K/Denmark, the world’s foremost Bible typeface foundry, to create exclusive Comfort Print® Bible fonts. Comfort Print Bibles are easy to read at any size because the typeface was designed to be both efficient and readable. Zondervan Bibles believes that the beauty of the message should be reflected in the physical form of the book. Choosing the right typeface is one significant element in creating beautiful Bibles. To learn more about Comfort Print® fonts, visit www.ComfortPrintBibles.com.

About Zondervan
Zondervan (@Zondervan) is a world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., delivers transformational Christian experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources, and digital products. The company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, Mich. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.

Publisher of the NIV Halley’s Study Bible is HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.

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