In celebration of Greater Lebanon’s centennial anniversary and the Bible Society’s bicentennial presence in the region, the Bible Society – Lebanon published a new edition of the Bible entitled: “The Lebanon Bible.” An event celebrating this release was held in Bkerke on the 5th of December 2020, under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant; Abbot Nehmatallah El Hachem, the Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order; Fr. Claude Nadra, Secretary General of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon (APECL); Fr. Pierre Najem, Middle East Coordinator of the Biblical Federation; the co-authors of the Lebanon Bible, Bishop Joseph Naffah and Rev. Dr. Issa Diab along with Bible Society Board member Bishop Antoine Awkar and General Secretary Dr. Mike Bassous. The event was broadcasted live on Tele Lumiere, Nour Sat and Nour Shabeb and on Bible Society’s Facebook page. Click here to watch.
Several words were shared on this occasion, summarized as follows:
This Bible is unique and touches every Lebanese heart who will get to know Lebanon through the Bible, and the Bible through Lebanon. It includes the full Bible text, both in its old and new testaments, using the Good News Arabic interconfessional translation. Throughout the book, there are many notes and inserts including pictures about Lebanon intertwined with the Biblical text and referencing specific verses or passages. At the end of the book is a unique informative section with colored pictures about Lebanon in relation to topics mentioned directly or indirectly in the Bible. Some topics covered in this section are history, geography, cities, towns, mountains, rivers, plains, forests, castles, archeology sites, tourism sites, shrines and religious sites of Biblical personalities, wildlife reserves, and popular customs and traditions, religious occasions, dishes, sweets, and many more.
The reader of this book is not only reading the Bible, but wanders in the mountains, plains and rivers of Lebanon. The reader discovers its wild animals, and meets women preparing delicious Lebanese dishes, or attends a traditional Lebanese wedding. Readers may find themselves in one of the ancient cities of Lebanon that has drowned in the sea of history, and in it, they will meet with the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, Esarhaddon the Assyrian, or Chaldean. However, the most important part of the reader’s journey will be meeting God in his Word.
In conclusion, His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai said that when he looked through the Lebanon Bible, he was amazed at the connection to our homeland in nearly every chapter. He felt as if the pages of the Bible were inhaling the breath of the Cedars and drinking from the waters of Lebanon. He added that this book combines the sanctity of the text and the spirituality of contemplation, with the history, nature and culture of Lebanon.
Plans to translate the study notes to languages used by Lebanese Diaspora are underway.
The Bible Society’s vision is to holistically meet the needs of communities through the transforming Word of God. As a Christian inter-confessional, ecumenical, non-profit organization, it works to spread the Holy Bible’s message and culture to all generations through translating, publishing, and distributing the Scriptures using visual, audio-visual, readable, and digital formats, encouraging people to read and engage with God’s Word, advocating the Bible cause to uphold human dignity, and partnering with all Churches and Christian institutions.
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