Contact: Trinity McFadden, 616-698-3514
 
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 19, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- On August 23, decades of historical and cultural research on the ancient world will reach the Christian trade market in Zondervan's NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Notes and resources handpicked by respected biblical backgrounds scholars John H. Walton (Old Testament) and Craig S. Keener (New Testament) now complement the New International Version of the Bible, the world's most read and most trusted modern-English Bible translation. Newcomers to Bible study and veteran students of the Bible alike will find surprising insights into ancient culture on every page of the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.

"There is no such thing as a story or a teaching that doesn't have a cultural setting," say Keener and Walton in the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible's author introduction. "That is not to
say that a story or teaching is not relevant for another setting, but to remember that it comes to us from a particular place and in a particular language. . . . This Bible's notes are meant to help readers hear and visualize the story closer to the way it was originally written, so they can get to know the people and places in the Bible more on their own terms."

The robust study tools and features provided in the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible stand apart from other study Bibles by focusing on the cultural context of each passage. Notes, book introductions, and articles totaling approximately 15 volumes of content ground an additional 375 vivid full-color photos, illustrations, and maps, which draw readers in and bring the ancient world of Scripture to life. The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible includes a concordance, cross-references, endnotes, glossary, index to articles, and the words of Christ in red. The new project includes nearly 400,000 more words of study tools than Zondervan's groundbreaking 2005 NIV Archaeological Study Bible and dozens more maps, charts, illustrations, and graphics.

N.T. Wright, Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and author of many scholarly and lay-oriented books of biblical studies, says of the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, "How I wish someone had put a book like this into my hands 50 years ago."

The notes of the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible are taken from the very best resources on Bible backgrounds, including the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. This superb scholarship provides added dimension to Bible study by explaining subtle nuances, idiosyncrasies, wordplays, and cultural references that we often miss but that the original audience would have understood instinctively.

The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible will help readers understand, at a deeper level than they ever have, stories and passages that they've read perhaps hundreds of times before. More information is available at www.ContextChangesEverything.com.

For more information or to request review copies or interviews, please contact Trinity McFadden at trinity.mcfadden@harpercollins.com or 616-698-3514.

About Zondervan: Zondervan is a world-leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. Zondervan, as 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, MI. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.