Personal: My first exposure to the Thompson Chain Reference Bible (TCR) was back in the mid-1980s. I was privileged to be good friends with a gentleman who owned and operated a Christian bookstore for several years and the NIV Thompson Chain Reference was one of his favorite Study Bibles. I remember him going over this edition with customers, he would go through every section page by page explaining the features. Although he sold numerous other study editions in his store this is the only one that I recall him recommending. According to him, this was the only source he used to teach Sunday School.
History: The Thompson Chain Reference Bible was first published around 1908. Dr. Frank Charles Thompson first began his work on this edition in 1890.
Revision: The basic layout of the Thompson Chain has pretty much remained the same over the past 100 years, giving it an outdated look. A few years ago, Kirkbride decided to sell the rights to the Thompson Chain Reference edition, and Zondervan apparently seeing the need for the Thompson Chain to remain in publication, purchased the rights. Not long after, Zondervan published the Kirkbride editions in all translations making them still available for purchase. Zondervan at some point, or their plan all along, announced that they were going to update the setting using the new Comfort Print Typefaces currently available in Zondervan and Thomas Nelson editions. The Comfort Print typefaces are designed by 2k Denmark and utilize a different typeface for each translation.
Various editions: This edition is available in various binding options ranging from the hardcover edition, bonded leather, LeatherSoft, cowhide, and a leather-lined goatskin option in the regular size only. There are three sizes, handy size with 8pt font, regular size with 9.5 font, and the large print has a 10.5 font. Not only were the fonts updated and enlarged, but the following features have been updated:
Updates:
◽The primary indexes have been renamed.
◽Incomplete chains have been expanded to include verses from both Old and New Testaments.
◽All marginal references and topics are now included in the Numerical Index.
◽Topic names have been made more consistent and book introductions have been placed at the beginning of each book.
◽Printed in the Comfort Print font and in a two-color page design.
◽Charts, maps, and illustrations have been updated.
In general: The Bible is one of those books that I never found hard to read but difficult to understand, and to be fair some parts are easily understood but just difficult to put into practice, which reminds me of the words of Mark Twain,
“It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.”
So, the Bible is a book that really needs to be studied to be better understood, and you can spend the rest of your life studying, yet you will always gain deeper insights. The Bible, although timeless, was written for an audience over 2000 years ago, so there are many aspects regarding the Bible to consider when reading, such as context, historical and cultural significance, what parts are poetry, what parts are prophetic, and target audience, etc., etc. Whatever the need, there are various types of study Bibles on the market, so what really sets the Thompson Chain Reference Bible apart? The short answer, there is no commentary. The main emphasis of the TCR, by use of the topical chain references, is placed primarily on the text, which basically allows you to focus more on context by allowing scripture to interpret scripture.
Description: The Thompson Chain Reference is described as a mini library combining different methods of study. The TCR has over 8,000 topics and over 100,000 references. The topics and forward references are found in the inner and outer margins alongside the relevant verses. The topic titles are printed in black print and the topic numbers are printed in red. The topics are listed numerically in the Numerical index and the complete verses for the topics are also included in the Numerical Index. The topics are listed alphabetically in the Alphabetical Index, that way you can look them up by topic which will give you the topic number.
Click the following link for a tutorial on how to navigate the TCR topic chains: How it works:
Methods of Study:
◽Study by topic/theme by utilizing the topic chains listed in the margins and indexes.
◽Focus on each book through the book introductions, subheads, and running heads.
◽Navigate chapter and verse through subheadings throughout the text and running heads found at the top of the page.
◽Study a passage or verse through expository topics found in the margins.
◽Bible Character Studies section focuses on prominent Bible characters.
◽And of course, read your Bible. A study was taken a few years ago and people who didn’t read their Bibles on a regular basis, at least four days a week, experienced little benefit.
Review: This is the Hardcover edition of the new setting with updated features using the Comfort Print Type as designed by 2k Denmark.
The hardcover edition: ISBN:9780310459804, the textblock is sewn and it lies nice and flat. It’s a standard hardcover with a dust jacket and it has a rounded spine. The book boards are covered with glossy paper like found on college textbooks, the boards are of a substantial thickness, and are not flimsy.
Inside: there’s a single Presentation page with single decorative end sheets, one in the front and one in the back. The page edges are not colored, just plain white. There are two 3/8” double-sided satin ribbon markers, one gold, and one dark blue. The ribbons are of good quality and are long enough to move to the corner of the page and turn the pages.
The outer dimensions of the regular-sized edition are approximate “9.5 X 6.5” X 1-5/8”.
Page count: 2,014 pages
Frontmatter: decorative endsheet◽Presentation page◽Title page◽Publisher page◽Copyright page◽Table of Contents◽NIV Preface◽TCR Intro◽TCR Revision page◽Understanding Margins◽Indexes, and other Helps◽Abbreviations and Special Markings◽How to Use The TCR◽A Century of Tradition◽OT Title page◽Page 1.
The paper: is around 30 gsm but opaque enough where print show-through is not overly distracting. The paper is bright white, flat with no sheen, and it has a good feel, not overly thin. I really like this paper.
The print: is in two colors, the main text is black letter with the words of Christ printed in red. Headings and sub-headings are also printed in red with verse numbers in black. The NIV TCR is not line matched and in certain places you do have some ghosting, as a result, you do notice some shading from the print from the other side of the page. The black print appears consistently dark throughout, however, there is some variation regarding the words of Christ. There appear to be 2-3 different shades of red print in this edition. For instance, some of the page titles throughout the book are printed in a very dark brick red, and the subheadings appear slightly less dark, with the words of Christ being printed in a slightly lighter and brighter shade of red, at times approaching pink.
The font: for the main text is listed as 9.5, the topic titles and numbers in the side margins are about 6pt, and the material found in the indexes in the back are around 7pt. Compared to the older setting found in the original edition, the main text appears twice the size of the original. Just to clarify, I do wear bifocals and I have no issues using this edition, I find it all very readable.
The Layout: two-column paragraph layout with reference material set in the inner and outer margins with translation notes located at the bottom of the page.
Backmatter: Table of Weights and Measures◽Alphabetical Index of Topics◽Numerical Index of Topics◽Condensed Outline of the Bible◽Bible Character Studies◽Bible Harmonies and Illustrated Studies◽Hebrew Times, Seasons, and Festivals◽NIV Concordance ◽Map Index ◽lined note paper ◽14 Colored Maps printed on glossy paper, and a single end sheet.
Missing: is the Archeological section and most of the illustrations, the information from most of the illustrations have been absorbed into charts giving a much more updated and modern look, making that information more assessable. The border lines found at the top of the margin, the outer margins, and between the two columns of text have been removed. Personally, I find the lack of border lines provides a much cleaner look, however, some may prefer a little more delineation.
Oddities: In some of the poetry settings, for instance, on page 85, some of the columns are narrower than normal. And, in some instances the bold red subheadings blend in with the red text, for example see page 1466. Also, when there are no translations notes at the bottom of the page the height of the bottom margin is reduced, at around 5/16″.
Suggestions:
◽For those of us that prefer study editions in hardcover, I wouldn’t mind seeing a nicer hardcover, a decorative edition covered in cloth or imitation leather, with gold or colored page edges.
◽For the inside, include at least 2-3 more end-sheets in the front and back and add a third ribbon marker and make the ribbons a little longer.
◽As for the print, line matching would be an improvement, also, either make the verse numbers bolder or print them in red.
◽At this time, the only option for black-letter-only text is the premium goatskin edition, so a more affordable option would be much appreciated.
◽I do like the two-colorway print, I’m just not a fan of always using red as the secondary color, maybe a nice blue or turquoise like found in the MacArthur Study Bible and the Maclaren series by Thomas Nelson publishers.
◽The red print of the words of Christ in this edition should be made darker, I would like to see them use the darkest print possible, like some of the titles in the intro material, which are very dark.
Conclusion: I really like the updated edition and I could see myself using this as my main reference Bible, the print is easy on the eyes, the study system is easy to use, and it’s available in different sizes, print sizes, and bindings, so there’s something for everyone. And, if you prefer the old layout, Zondervan still has those available as well.
Up and coming: The TCR in the King James Version is scheduled for release in November 2022, and the NKJV in April of 2023.
Thanks: If you made it this far, thank you for reading the review, you can purchase the editions from the following vendors below.
2 Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, which also were committed unto thee, seeing thou knowest of whom thou hast learned them, 15 and forasmuch also as thou hast known holy scripture of a child, which is able to make thee wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 For all scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable to teach, to improve, to amend, and to instruct in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be perfect and prepared unto all good works. (William Tyndale 1534 NT USE)
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