Bearing Precious Seed Hand Size Text KJV

This is a text-only Bible with no references, notes, chapter summaries or page headings.

While not "large print", the text of this Bible is larger than most that I've seen in Bibles this size. I find the typeface quite readable. The paper is translucent enough that the text on the opposite side of each page is quite noticable, but the size of the text and the good typeface make up for this.

The "Top Grain Cowhide" cover is thin and flexible but appears to be quite durable - I've been using this Bible daily for about a year and the cover still looks new. The cover has a partial yapp (overlap beyond the paper) with a gold "chain" printed on the inside edge. The inside of the cover is lined with leather. The outside of the cover has a medium-large, "pebbly" grain.

The paper binding is quite good - pages lie fairly flat with just a little buckling near the binding. The printing is quite consistent with only a few pages showing light text. The ribbon used in the two markers is rather stiff. The surface of the paper is quite smooth.

I highly recommend this Bible to anyone looking for a mid-size text-only KJV. This Bible is one of two I am using for my Genesis-to-Revelation reading this year [2004] (I find I absorb more if I read passages twice using Bibles with different sizes of text) and after almost a year of use it still looks new. At $37.00 plus donation, this Bible is a remarkable value.

Bearing Precious Seed Hand Size Wide Margin KJV

This is a wide-margin text-only Bible with no references, notes or chapter summaries. Page headings with topics are included (ex.: "Christ the Branch is promised").

To accommodate the 1 1/4"+ margins for notes, the text of this Bible is small but not tiny. The typeface is of medium weight and I find it quite readable. The paper is slightly translucent and text from the other side of each page is moderately noticable but not (to me) a significant distraction.

The genuine leather cover is flexible but a bit thicker and stiffer than the cover of the BPS Hand Size Text KJV reviewed above. I have not used this Bible extensively, but the cover feels quite durable. The cover has a partial yapp (overlap beyond the paper) and is lined on the inside with genuine leather. The outside of the cover has a moderately bold, skin-type grain.

I haven't used this Bible enough to evaluate its binding, but given the quality of the BPS Bible above I would expect it to be quite good. Some pages are slightly wrinkled near the binding. The printing is quite consistent with only a few pages showing light text. The ribbon used in the two markers is rather stiff. The surface of the paper is somewhat rough, a deficit for those who prefer smooth paper but easier for writing notes and for grasping and turning pages.

Although I have not used this Bible extensively (I use the binder-bound files from this site for my note-taking!), I recommend this Bible to anyone looking for a mid-size, leather-bound, wide-margin KJV. At $37.00 plus donation, I find this Bible an excellent value.

"I have been wanting a wide margin Bible for some time and finally purchased one. I dicovered Bearing Precious Seed by accident on Bible Believers' Bookstore. I was please to be able to purchase from and support a Church Ministry, obtain a nice Bible for a reasonable price, plus it is made in the USA.

The quality on first examination appears quite good. The Moroccan Leather cover is quite flexible and appears durable. There is a nice amount of yapp. The cover is entirely black, save for the gold printing on the spine, no other decoration.

The binding appears solid anf the Bible lays relativly flat when opened.

The pages are not especially thin, but the following page text can been seen, although not a big distraction. The print in clear and legible. There are a couple of pages where the printing is a bit lighter (in areas) than other pages. I have noticed in thumbing through the pages, that there is one or two spots where some smudging occurs on the page.

As I like to make notes in my Bible and have them with me, I tend to only carry one bible with me (I have a standard margin Scofield now), apart from having one on my desk at work and one in the car just in case. This Bible is a little large, but for the extra room to make notes, I consider it well worth it, and the overall quality to be very good."

Old Scofield Bibles

The Old Scofield Study Bible had been a standard for fundamental Bible-believers since the early 20th Century. There are many reviews of this Bible and of C. I. Scofield's doctrinal positions on the Internet and readers are encouraged to look elsewhere for more detailed information than is given here. Following is a brief summary of Scofield Bibles in general and reviews of these Bibles from two different publishers.

C. I. Scofield's first study Bible was published in 1909 and a revision with additional material was published in 1917. The term "Old Scofield" refers to the 1917 edition (and the 1909 is referred to as the "First Scofield"). In later years, and after Scofield's death, Oxford Press released a new edition of the Scofield Bible with revised notes and significantly revised KJV text. It should be noted that while the 1909 and 1917 Scofield Bibles faithfully render the text of the 1769 KJV, Scofield dispensed with the traditional KJV paragraph divisions and introduced his own section headings within chapters.

Notes and commentary are at the bottoms of pages and cross-references and alternate readings are shown in a center column. The number of cross-references is moderate compared to more recent reference and study Bibles, and while Scofield's notes are thorough in content, the quantity of notes seems almost spartan. In use, however, I find myself enjoying the substance of the notes that are there while being grateful that I don't have to wade through pages that are half-filled with notes and commentary.

The text of the Old Scofield Bible with its study notes and references is in the public domain, and this Bible is available from several publishers. Following are reviews of Scofield Bibles from Oxford and Stonehaven Press.

Oxford Press, the original publisher of Scofield Bibles, currently offers Scofields printed in two different styles. The "standard" Old Scofield KJV Study Bible is a facsimile printing, i.e., the pages are direct reproductions of an earlier 20th Century printing (the 1917?). Rather than being typeset in a modern, computer-based printing system and with a contemporary typeface, each page is essentially a picture of a decades-old printing. This provides a pleasing, "old-fashioned" look to the text and the knowledge that a newly-printed Scofield matches page-for-page those used by Scofield fans for many years.

In contrast, other Oxford editions of the Old Scofield, such as the current "Reader's Edition" and the discontinued "Pocket Edition", have been typeset from scratch in a more modern typeface. Some may find the newer typeface more readable and if local bookstores offer both styles a comparison may be in order before buying.

Reviewed here is "standard" edition of the Oxford Old Scofield Bible with a cowhide leather cover. This is a mid-size Bible with the readable, medium-sized text of the "facsimile" style mentioned above. The print quality is very good and I see very little variation in print density from page to page. The paper is reasonably opaque and, while not rough, "grips" well for turning. Each pair of pages has notations for the first or last verse for that pair printed in the upper corners. For example, a left-hand page which starts with Chapter 14, verse 6 would show "14 6" in the upper left corner, eliminating the need to search the page for the "Chapter 15" heading and subtracting a chapter from there. This is a small feature, but I wish more Bibles had these notations.

Following the Scripture text are an index of Scofield's notes, a dictionary of proper names, a general subject index, a moderately complete confordance and an indexed set of handsomely-printed maps. All of these other than the Scofield index notes are copyrighted and therefore (to my knowledge) not included in Scofields printed by other publishers.

The cowhide leather cover is moderately flexible and very shiny with a large, "skin-type" grain. Unlike most of the bonded and standard genuine leather Oxford Bibles I've seen, which have poorly cut and glued corners, the corners of the cowhide binding on this Bible are smooth and well made. The inside of the cover is lined with leather. The cover has a very small yapp (overlap beyond the paper), but has a bold gold line printed on the inside edge. The paper binding is quite good - pages lie fairly flat with almost no buckling near the binding.

Stonehaven Press 1917 Scofield Study Bible
(see addendum below)

Reviewed here is the "Old Scofield" edition published by Stonehaven Press and sold by Hyles Publications. Like the standard Oxford Scofield above, this is a facsimile printing of an earlier Scofield printing and therefore the content (of the non-copyrighted portions) matches it page-for page. The printing is slightly darker overall than in the Oxford, but there is somewhat more varability in print density from one page to another or from one part of a page to another. The paper is more opaque than in the Oxford and less text from the opposite side of each sheet shows through. Paper smoothness is similar to the Oxford.

This Scofield omits the Oxford-copyrighted dictionary of proper names, general subject index, confordance and maps and in lieu of these includes a very brief combination dictionary/concordance and a different set of maps, all of which focus on the Life of Christ.

The cover of this Bible is a disappointment. When I purchased this Scofield, Hyles Publications advertised it as a "genuine leather" Bible, but in fact the cover is paper-lined bonded leather (the ad has since been changed to say "Leather", but the fact that it is bonded leather is still not indicated). [Note: The description was later revised to say "Bonded Leather".] The leather has a typical bonded leather gloss and a medium, skin-type grain.

The paper binding has the usual new-Bible stiffness and I haven't used this Bible enough to evaluate its performance over time. The printing is quite good overall, but a cursory examination reveals several pages with slightly lighter text. The surface of the paper is of medium smoothness and the pages easy to grip and turn. The printing on the inside of each page is quite close to the binding, making it a bit difficult to read the inside columns.

A quick check on the Internet shows bonded leather-bound Old Scofield Bibles from Oxford selling for less than the $29.95 sale price of this Stonehaven Scofield. Genuine-leather bound Oxford Scofields may also be found for only a little more. Given this, it's hard to recommend this Bible over an Oxford Scofield except to support Hyles Publications.

Addendum, February 2006: The Hyles Publication web site now lists a "Genuine Leather" Stonehaven Press Scofield KJV and the price has been raised to $45.00. Given the price I'm assuming this is genuine leather as opposed to bonded, but I have not confirmed this. Hyles Publications also offers the Anchor Classic Note Bible (a bound interleaf, i.e., every other page blank KJV) for $69.95, the lowest price I'm currently aware of for this Bible.

R. L. Allan Pitt Minion Text KJV

Cambridge recently re-issued their Pitt Minion Reference Bible which is larger than "pocket" Bibles but smaller and thinner than "thinline" Bibles. This edition from R. L. Allan of Scotland is similar to the Cambridge offering but is text-only and has no references, notes, chapter summaries or page headings. To my knowledge, R. L. Allan is the only source of text-only Pitt Minion Bibles.

To keep this Bible thin (3/4"), the text is quite small, perhaps even smaller than one would expect for its size. The lines of text also "feel" close together. Crisp printing and the Minion typeface help offset the effect of small text. I have not yet used this Bible other than to examine it after its purchase, but I expect I would find the "cramped" pages tiring after extensive reading. The paper is fairly opaque and text visibility from the other side of each page is not distracting.

The "Finest natural Morocco goatskin leather" cover (as R. L. Allan describes it) is moderately flexible and has a thick and luxurious feel with with a soft sheen and a mild skin-type grain. I have not used this Bible enough to see how it will hold up over time, but Allan claims high durability for its finer Bible leathers. I expect that this leather would wear well, but its soft surface would likely scratch easily. The cover has a small yapp (overlap beyond the paper) and is lined on the inside with leather.

I also haven't used this Bible enough to evaluate its binding. Out of the box it feels quite stiff and as it is quite thin I would expect that it would require some use before it would lay flat. A few pages at the front are wrinkled. The printing is very crisp and consistent. The ribbon used in the single marker is of medium stiffness. The surface of the India paper is slightly rough, a deficit for those who prefer smooth paper but easier for grasping and turning pages. The paper edging is a handsome red-under-gold.

This is a specialized Bible and not recommended for most users given its size, small text and price (30 Pounds UK, or about $54 US at this writing). Those seeking a thin (but not pocketable) text-only KJV Bible made from superior materials will appreciate this fine example of R. L. Allan's work.

Addendum, February 2006: I have been using this Allan Pitt Minion for this year's Genesis-to-Revelation reading and I am very pleased. Although the spine of this slim edition is too stiff to allow the Bible to lie open by itself (so far), the effort to hold it far enough open to read is minimal. Although many would find the small text a challenge, I prefer fairly small text for reading long passages and I have been averaging five chapters in one sitting with no difficulty. The lack of notes and summary information is a plus for this type of reading. I use a second, loose ribbon marker as I read from two different books each day; two permanent ribbons would be a nice addition. Overall, however, I am greatly enjoying this Bible.

Thompson Chain Reference KJV Handy Size, Genuine Leather

February 26, 2006:
- Added Mike Jones' review of Bearing Precious Seed Wide Margin Scofield KJV.
- Added note re genuine leather Stonehaven Press Scofield Bible availablility from Hyles Publications.
- Added addendum to Allan Pitt Minion KJV description.

October 1, 2004: Added Old Scofield summary and Oxford Old Scofield review; revised page layout.

September 20, 2004: Revised review of Stonehaven Press Scofield Bible.

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