November 8, 2014 – Snyder's Soapbox

Holman sent this Bible packaged in a cardboard box with some paper padding it.

The retail box was inside.

I had no idea which Bible they had sent me. I didn’t remember requesting one for review. I was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the KJV Minister’s Bible. When I had originally requested it they were out of stock. It seems that Holman remembered and sent it when it became available.

When I opened the shipping box I found the retail packaging inside. Keep the two piece gift-box to store your Bible. This Bible is so supple that it will need to be laid flat for storage. When I opened the retail box I could see that the Bible was wrapped in a dark colored construction paper to keep it safe from being deformed.

I like this better than being, “shrink wrapped” with plastic wrap. Plastic wrap has the tendency to pull the corners down and deform the cover and text block. If the Bible arrives damaged or during use develops premature wear rest assured, Holman has a lifetime warranty on this product.

I was impressed by the feel of the genuine cowhide leather cover. It was soft and supple.

The Bible is edge lined not case bound.

The edges of the outer cover are rolled over and sewn down. The spine of the Bible has decorative spine hubs. They used to be where the signature tapes or ribbons were sewn to the signatures. The cover would have to be fitted over them which produced the raised hubs. Now it isn’t an indicator of a sewn binding or not. You’ll be glad to know this one does have a very flexible sewn binding. It allows this Bible to do some pretty amazing things and come out unscathed. It lays flat right out of the box and can even curl back under the spine with both covers at the same time.

I wouldn’t make a practice of that, but it can do it. When held open with one hand it drapes over your hand.

The spine of the Bible is imprinted with, “KJV” at the top, “Holy Bible” in the Middle, and Holman’s logo at the bottom.

The pages are edge gild with gold colored foil.

There are two very nice quality ribbon markers in this Bible, one is red and the other is black.

The pages are opaque, but could be a little more so. They have a generous inch wide margin for adding your own notes.

Wide margins are quite helpful for Pastors. The opacity of the paper is important so that text doesn’t show through the page.

While preaching and looking down at this Bible you should be able to focus on the text and not what is behind it. The font is equally conducive to preaching. It is a neat and clean 12 point font that is consistently inked throughout the Bible in this black text edition. The text is arranged in a double column verse format making it easy to quickly locate verses. Book names, chapter, and verse are printed on the top of the page along with headings.

There are many aids for Pastors included in this Bible. Here is a list of some of them; Sixty-six page KJV concordance, eight maps, Where to Turn When, Plan of Salvation, color presentation page, Various wedding and funeral outlines by Jim Henry, “Why Read the King James Version?” by Calvin Miller, “8 Traits of Effective Church Leaders” by Thom S. Rainer, “21 Essentials of Authentic Ministry” by James T. Draper, “Four Kinds of Expositional Preaching” by Ed Stetzer, “30 Keys to Giving an Invitation” by O. S. Hawkins, “Leading a Child to Christ” by Bill Emeott, “Reaching Students with the Gospel” by Lynn H. Pryor, “The Importance of Baptism and Communion” by Rick White, Commitment Counseling, The Christian Year and Church Calendar, The Apostles and Their History, and Table of Weights and Measures. With all that this Bible offers it would be a wonderful blessing for your Pastor as a gift, even if the Pastor is your Dad. Pastors shouldn’t feel bad about buying such a nice Bible. It is money well spent on a product that should last for a long time.

You can purchase it on Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from Holman.