Dake Study Bible

I would like some help concerning the Dake Study Bible. Some friends tell me that it is a fine study Bible and is well worth owning.
Others have warned me not to purchase it because it is full of false teaching in the study notes.
Could someone please give me their insights into this Bible?

Hey Moonfruit-

Dakes Study Bible has some wonderful positives and a few negatives to be weighed out before investing in one- imho.

The notes are excellent for the most part. Many on the board here will dislike some of them because they have a full gospel/pentecostal perspective. However, they would also largely like the rest of the study notes and agree with many of them. Maybe that is the question...are we looking for tools and aids that merely agree with our opinions, which we believe to be Biblical, or are we looking for something to challenge us . Do we really want to see if what we cling to the dearest will actually hold water if put to the test. Perhaps the best feature of Dake's is the "Lists" which pull together a vast array of scripture onto topics that many may have never considered. The "lists" are the greatest strength and study aid of the Dake Study Bible. Many people purchase one for the value of those alone.

On the negative considerations.... it is only available in the KJV. Not necessarily the most accurate or understandable version at this point in history. It does make it somewhat prohibitive for the average person who does not know or speak variations of ancient Elizabethan English. I know some here are KJV only..so don't hijack the thread to that discussion..I am just saying it is a consideration you need to think through before investing in a Dake's Study Bible. If you do lots of word studies, comparisons with original languages on your own, and perhaps know at least enough Greek to use high end study tools then it may be just your cup of tea in the KJV.

-A FINAL NOTE- Dake was a guy who studied the scriptures for hours a day and believed them whole heartedly. Of course a person might not always agree with Dake's conclusions. Concerning Dake's Biblical knowledge-- I had a professor that was a personal friend of Dake's before his death. He told us that, "I don't always agree with every outcome or belief Dake arrives at... BUT..it is useless to debate it with him. He has at least 20 scriptures to back any position he has for every one scripture you will ever find to back yours!".

That pretty much sums it up. It is a good study tool that has almost insurmountable mountains of scripture to support his positions... you may or may not ultimately agree with them... but at the very least it will give you much to consider, pray on, and thereby grow from. If that is your goal then it is a good investment in my view.

Blessings!

Solomon101

Dake has so many notes, the print in a normal Bible of his is small to get everything in it. I recently bought a NKJV Large Print Dake and that Bible weighs 6 pounds (I'm not exaggerating)!

Dake was Spirit-filled believer but what I had to look over that I considered false teaching was his pre-tribulational notes on the subject but I still bought it!

His notes are wonderful and even though I don't believe in pre-trib, that 6 pound Bible sits on my shelf because I know the other 95% of the notes are excellent.

And I have always believed reading the opposite opinion is always good for me (example: the pre-trib areas). The Spirit-Filled areas may be good for you too!

It's up to you. It's an excellent Bible all the way around.

God bless you!
Lisa

If you are up for buying 2 Study Bibles, I recommend buying John MacArthur's study Bible as a companion to the Dake. You will get to immediately see the counterarguments that MacArthur gives. I also have lots of commentary from the 17th century onward, just so I can get some historical perspective.

Moonfruit,

This thread came up again for some reason so I will share this story with you. A man I worked years ago always like to talk "religion" with me. He did not believe in the gifts in the church (actively today) and he brought me a small booklet for me to read of what his church believed.

I asked him, "out of 1600 pages of the Bible, you guys have condensed it down to this small booklet?" And he said yes. I went over to my locker, took my Bible out it and said, "This is what I my church believes. If it's in here, we believe it." He looked disgusted and walked away.

"YOU" have to prayerfully and carefully read your Bible. I learned to read with a Reference Bible (not any study bible) and with a Strong's Concordance and the Holy Spirit and paper and color pencils!!!

The sad thing is today, many read man's opinions on any given topic in the Bible and believe it is gospel.

Have an awesome day!
Lisa

https://learntheology.com/dake_bible/dake_life_heresy.html

As I worked in the christian bookshop
I think it was charles surgeon I would need the exact source where he said that the text of the bible would make shine a light on the heresies in the notes

It is always smart to check the study bibles against the bible. There are cults that use a standard bible with notes to lead you astray.

To me it is Dake doctrine on the trinity

The only issue I have would not be with Dake's study Bible in particular, but with study Bibles in general. I think some care needs to be taken in this area. We will tend to read the scriptures through the eyes of the man who wrote the study Bible. Sometimes we, unknowingly, read his notes and get locked into His understanding of scripture and then have difficulty seeing beyond his revelation. I am more in favor of simply reading the Bible from a well respected verse by verse translation. I know a lot of people respect the KJV, NKJV, NASB and a few others.

I do use commentaries on occasion as I study. They have value for sure. Many very learned men wrote some great things in commentaries. But I am always aware that I am getting a particular person's denominational interpretation when I do so.

I agree Travis.

When I turned 15 my grandma gave me a Ryrie study Bible because she knew I wanted one. It was very popular and I think my youth pastor had one.

It really "locked me in” to a dispensational mindset until I was well in my 40s and I discovered non-dispensational teaching.

There were other areas of doctrine where it did the same thing but not as pronounced.

I didn’t use it regularly for a long time, but this year I have been using it to read through the Bible in a year. It’s amazing how many of the notes I now take issue with, and how many of my own margin notes I now question. I used to take the notes as gospel truth.

But I wouldn’t trade it for anything because it is the first Bible I really read and studied and marked up. It’s sort of like having a spiritual history.

And of course because my beloved godly grandma gifted it to me with a Proverbs 3:5-6 dedication.

While I have the Dake's and several other "study Bibles," I hardly ever look at them anymore. I only liked the Dake's because of the lists that gather related passages together. Those lists were very helpful.

However, personally, I'm not a fan of study Bibles that are filled with doctrinal opinions (even if I agree with them). Most of the time, those opinions aren't presented as opinions but as truths.

Unfortunately, it's becoming difficult to find a study Bible that leaves out the opinions or, at the very least, presents all of the viable opinions on a doctrinal issue. Of the study Bibles, I feel that the Thompson Chain Reference is my favorite. It is simply the linking of passages and references together that makes it so helpful.

Then again, I suppose that the best study Bible is the one that we use to study the Bible.

Lately, my wife and I each prefer just a good, easy-to-read (with clear font) single-column Bible and then use a good concordance and Bible dictionary (either online or in book format). We use highlighters, micron pens and book marks as we go.