Working at a Christian publishing house definitely has its perks. Besides the wonderful feeling that comes with being part of a team that makes books for a living, sometimes certain projects come along that really feel special. The Complete Jewish Study Bible is one of those projects.

What is The Complete Jewish Study Bible?

It’s a study Bible that includes notes and articles alongside the Scriptures to help you understand (or learn about) the inherent Jewishness of the Bible. Personally, I think this is pretty enlightening, considering the fact that Jesus was Jewish. So, might having a deeper understanding of the Bible’s Jewish roots help us as we study his words and actions? I think so.

We’re doing a Bible book club!

Unwilling to let this opportunity slip by, some of us in the office are going to be reading through the book of Matthew in The Complete Jewish Study Bible at the same time. It’s a little Bible book club of sorts. Now, all of us have read the book of Matthew before. Many times. But some of us have never read it with a Jewish perspective in hand.

So I can’t wait to dive in and learn more from the text and from my coworkers. Seriously, in our office we have seminarians, Harvard biblical studies grads, poets, writers, and readers of all stripes; we have folks from little seaside churches and some from big city churches; we’re a beautiful mess of different denominations, ages, and backgrounds, and for the next four weeks we’re diving together into the Bible’s Jewish heritage.

Why Matthew?

Why are we starting with this book? It’s written from a deeply informed Jewish perspective, and therefore it draws heavily on the Hebrew Scriptures and on first-century Jewish customs and thought to portray Yeshua (Jesus) as the promised Messiah. For those of us just getting into this Jewish reading of Scripture, it seems like a good place to start.

Won’t you join us?

I also can’t wait to learn from YOU. Will you join us in reading through Matthew in The Complete Jewish Study Bible? It’s okay if you don’t have a copy yet. We’ll gladly give you the whole book of Matthew for free! Just sign up here and then follow along with us.

Reading The Complete Jewish Study Bible will…

• Open your eyes to the Bible as never before.
• Increase your understanding of the biblical text: This study Bible contains notes and articles from Jewish sources to help explain this thoroughly Jewish book.
• Help you learn some Hebrew: Most of the names and places in this Bible are referred to using the transliteration of the original Hebrew. For example, instead of the Greek translation of Jesus, the CJSB refers to him as Yeshua, the Hebrew name meaning “salvation.” After all, his friends, family, and followers knew him as Yeshua, and since the meanings of Hebrew names were quite significant in their culture, what better name could he have?

Mattityahu in four weeks

Since Matthew—Mattityahu (another Hebrew word for your expanding collection!)—is comprised of 28 chapters, we can conveniently split it up into four sections:

• First week: Matthew 1–7
• Second week: Matthew 8–14
• Third week: Matthew 15–21
• Fourth week: Matthew 22–28

That’s seven chapters a week. Only one chapter a day!

So join us! Sign up here to download your free e-book of Matthew. And as you read, make sure to share what you learn with us and others on Twitter and Facebook! Tag us using #CompleteJewishStudyBible or #CJSBible.