The Oxford Annotated Bible (OAB), also published as the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB), is a Study Bible published by the Oxford University Press. The notes and the study material feature in-depth academic research from nondenominational perspectives, specifically secular perspectives for "Bible-as-literature" with a focus on the most recent advances in historical criticism and related disciplines, with contributors from mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and nonreligious interpretative traditions.
The first edition of the OAB, edited by Rev. Dr. Herbert G. May and Dr. Bruce M. Metzger was published in 1962, based on the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible.[1][2][3] In 1965, OUP published a matching edition of the deuterocanonical as well as a version of the OAB including them.[2] Some of the deuterocanonical books are used by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. In the same year, the OAB received the official imprimatur of Cardinal Richard Cushing for use by Roman Catholics as a Study Bible.[4][3][5] Later, the NOAB was also welcomed by Orthodox leaders.[6]
The first edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) was published in 1973, employing the RSV text.[2][3] After the release of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible in 1989, OUP published a second edition of the NOAB based on that translation. The NRSV was also the basis of the third edition (2001), edited by Dr. Michael Coogan, which is considered to be more ecumenical in approach. For example, it calls the Old Testament the "Hebrew Bible" out of consideration for Jewish readers.[7]
In addition to the NRSV editions, the OUP continues to print May & Metzger's 1977 Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, Expanded edition.[8]
A revised Fourth Edition was released in May 2010. It contains new color maps along with updated essays and commentaries. Versions with and without the Apocrypha were made available.
A revised Fifth Edition was released in April 2018 with similar improvements.[9]
In keeping with the general desire to take account of the diversity of the users of this study Bible, the editors have adopted two widely‐accepted conventions: referring to the first portion of the text as 'the Hebrew Bible,' since it is a collection preserved by the Jewish community and that is how Jews regard it; and citing all dates in the notes as BCE or CE ('Before the Common Era' and 'Common Era') instead of BC or AD ('Before Christ' and 'Anno Domini' ['in the year of the Lord']), which imply a Christian view of the status of Jesus of Nazareth. Use of the title 'Old Testament' for those books here designated as 'the Hebrew Bible' is confined to instances expressing the historical view of various Christian interpreters.
