Thanks to James for pointing out in the comments that pre-orders for the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (ICSB) are now publicly available on the Ignatius Press website. The hardcover edition is listed for $64.95, and the leather edition is listed for $79.95. The release date is expected to be November 15th.
It appears that anyone who signed up for email updates on the promotional website for the ICSB received a 15% discount for pre-orders. If you signed up for updates already, be sure to check your email before processing a pre-order to take advantage of the discount.
The pre-order page on the Ignatius Press website lists a very different thickness for the Bible than is listed on the St. Paul Center website. Here are a few details:
*St. Paul Center
9-point type size
7” x 2 ⅜” x 10” trim size
2,320 pages printed on standard Bible stock
*Ignatius Press
Format: Hardback
Length: 3.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10 x 7 (in)
Pages: 2320
Weight: 95 oz
Format: Leather
Length: 4 (in)
Size (HxW): 10 x 7 (in)
Pages: 2320
Weight: 97 oz
3.5 / 4.0 inches appears inaccurate. A weight of 6 pounds also seems inaccurate.
I’m now thinking that the Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print might be a good comparison. The height and width dimensions are similar to those listed for the Ignatius Study Bible, and the number of pages is very close. It reinforces my thought that the St. Paul Center length (thickness) of 2 3/8 inches is the more accurate one. However, considering how heavy the Ignatius Bible Large Print is, it leads me to believe that the weight listed for the Study Bible is accurate after all, which means this will be a pretty heavy Bible.
Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print – Hardback
Length: 2.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10.25 x 7.13 (in)
Pages: 2158
Weight: 90.4 oz
Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print – Leather
Length: 2.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10.25 x 7.38 (in)
Pages: 2158
Weight: 85.6 oz
I wonder if the leather binding will be as poor as that used for the NT. I don’t just mean the quality of the leather but the tight binding means it won’t lie flat. Too much “spring back”. Perhaps the hardcover will be the best option. Incidentally, I think the hardcover is the best option for the Word on Fire Bible. There’s no reinforcement on the leather bound volumes. One of mine is already showing signs that it will not last the course.
There’s something to be said anyway for a good hardback. You can easily find a hardback Confraternity / Douay Bible from the early-mid 19th century on eBay in excellent binding condition!
I preordered the hardback.
Sorry, I obviously meant **20th** century
I was going to say that I hope you weren’t scammed for those 19th century Confraternity New Testaments given they weren’t published until 1941!
FrJT,
I agree 100%. If I can’t get it in premium leather (or at least genuine), I go for the hardback. They’re built to last. I have hardback theology books from the early 20th century (some nearly 100 years old!) in fantastic condition!
I’m too deep in on leather WOF Bibles to switch to the hardcovers now, though I agree in retrospect I might’ve gone the hardcover route, but I also like them in their own right. My WOF Bibles do lay flat, so I guess I just worked them right. WOF’s gilding is probably the best I’ve ever seen. If my WOF Bibles’ bindings start coming apart, good ol’ bookbinder’s tape will probably be my solution. Or maybe I’ll one day learn rebinding myself and convert all (eventual) 7 volumes at great expense.
As for this, I always knew I would go hardcover because Ignatius’s bonded stuff has always been pretty iffy, though they have solid textblocks. And I’ve always thought study Bibles, as a rule, make more sense with bindings suitable for textbooks rather than high-end leather. A rebound leather RSV-2CE regular Bible and a hardcover ICSB makes sense, at least for me.
I only just barely got volume 1 of word on fire and y’all saying it’s not going to last?
Anyone know if the corresponding Ignatius Study Bible app from Ignatius Press Augustine Institute will be updated to include the remaining Old Testament commentaries so it can also have the complete set? The app is works really well, with links to specific commentary, by verse. How awesome it would be to have the complete Bible study in app form!
[Sigh]
Fine.
I went ahead and ordered my copy after all.
Hardcover, though. Not leather.
Oddly, it wasn’t just the study Bible elements that swayed me.
Since I’ve been doing morning prayer from the RSV, I’ve been paying closer attention to the different renderings in the -2CE over the original RSV and -CE.
The changes strike me now as far more artful than merely “eliminating archaic verbs and pronouns.”
Some recent examples that come to mind:
-2Co 5:14 – For the love of Christ urges us on (CE: “controls us”), because we are convinced that one has died for all…
-Eph 6:14 – Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist (CE: “having girded your loins with truth”)…
-2Sam 24:17 – Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down (CE: “smiting”) the people, and said, “Behold (CE: ‘Lo’), I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your (CE: ‘thy’) hand, I pray you (CE: ‘thee’), be against me and against my father’s house.”
Rather than just an in-house “search and replace” effort, the -2CE now impresses me as a valuable “final evolution” of the 1952 – 1966 – 1971 editorial lineage before switching tracks into the NRSV lane.