Book Review – The Names of God Bible

“Yahweh is my Roeh.”  Do you know what scripture that is?

Ann Spangler, the General Editor of the Names of God Bible, opens the door to a more intimate relationship with God.  She takes your everyday reading of God’s word to a new level. Spangler is an award-winning writer whose fascination with the Bible has resulted in books that have opened the Bible to a wide range of readers. She is the author or co-author of several bestselling books, including Praying the Names of God, Praying the Names of Jesus, Women of the Bible, and Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus.

The Names of God Bible is written in the God’s Word Translation.  This is a relatively new translation from 1995 which uses the method known as “closest natural equivalence” to express the meaning of the original text.  This allows for clear readability.  The structure is common to our everyday day English, using grammar and punctuation we are most familiar with.  For more information about the God’s Word Translation please visit here.


My first impression of the Bible was it's beautiful layout.  I like the colours used and the pleasing look of the pages. The Bible would make a beautiful gift.

I found the Names of God Bible very easy to read with the added eloquence of the proper Hebrew names of God within the text.  It took away the common, overused titles we use for our Lord and replaced them with words that now hold greater meaning.  I also enjoyed the prayer prompts throughout to give me a handle on what God's name means to me in my life today.  A nice touch.

The Name pages interspersed throughout the Bible are well written and share some great insights.  An added bonus of the Bible is the ability to travel through on a verse by verse trail following the same name.  This is a useful aspect should the reader want to study the names of God deeper. (Which is perhaps the Bible's main purpose.)  


One aspect I wished I could have had in the Bible is a link back to where the Name was taught - a.k.a. the Name page.  Due to the style of my daily devotions at this particular time, I read a scripture set each day - not in sequential order.  So when I came along a new name in the scriptures I had to resort to the index to find out what page the Name description was on.  It was not difficult - just time consuming.  A small page link in the margins would have been helpful.


Overall, I find the Names of God a good reference.  I enjoyed using it alongside my other Bible.  I would recommend it to others.


By the way, the verse at the top is Psalm 23.

"Yahweh is my Roeh.  I am never in need.  

He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside peaceful waters.  He renews my soul.  He guides me along the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name.  

Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no harm.  Your rod and your staff give me courage."

If I have intrigued you and you want to know more, please check out this video about how the Bible is set up with all its added features that I couldn't touch on here.  

Bible has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.