From the Vault: ESV Personal Reference Bible
A fun story about the Deep Brown Lambskin edition of one of my favorite Bibles.
Note: Becca and I are making our way back to the United States from England this week, so I’m releasing a video review that I recorded in the EARLY days of Bible Review Blog (complete with my own name spelled wrong in the credits). I am not writing a full written review this week because this Bible is not currently in print, but I will tell you the story of how it came into my life. Enjoy!
A Personal Favorite
A few years ago at Fuller Theological Seminary, my friend Caleb sat down next to me in class one day and placed his Bible on the table. I remember that moment quite vividly, because it was one of the coolest Bibles I had ever seen (this was long before I had even heard of R.L. Allan, Schuyler, Cambridge, or any other “premium” Bibles). I quickly snatched it up and began flipping through it. Not only was the cover soft and floppy, but the interior page layout was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
That Bible was the ESV Personal Size Reference Bible from Crossway in Deep Brown Lambskin.
It was long out of print by the time I discovered it,* but the simple realization that a Bible like this existed sent me on a quest to find the perfect small Bible. That quest, as many of you know, is what inspired me to create Bible Review Blog earlier this year.
I sent Caleb an email when I was creating those early reviews to see if he would send me some photos of his Bible for the blog, and that’s when Caleb told me that he had LOST HIS BIBLE. I could tell he was really bummed out, so I made my way over to the Buy, Sell, Trade groups on Facebook and found someone who had an “New In Box” copy of this Bible for sale.
And that is the Bible you see here.
After I took these photos and recorded this video (see below), I sent it to Caleb.
I think I paid double what it sold for new back in the day, but that’s because these Bibles have become a rare find. It was well worth it to be able to help my friend reunite with his favorite Bible.
Maybe one day I’ll find another one for myself.**
*Crossway continued to release this Bible over the years, but they never made it again with this Deep Brown Lambskin cover.
**I was actually able to get my hands on an R.L. Allan binding of this 2007 print (the Chant edition in brown goatskin with multi-colored ribbons) a few months ago. It’s awesome, but I still have a special place in my heart for the lambskin edition from Crossway.
For those of you who like to see the features listed out, here’s the rundown on this Bible.
FEATURES
• 5.0” x 7.25” trim size
• 1.25” thick
• 7.5pt type size
• Smyth-sewn binding
• Edge-lined lambskin cover
• Raised spine hubs
• Two ribbon markers
• Single-column format
• Book Introductions
• Cross-references
• Concordance
