I'm looking for an academic and historically based study bible. I was hoping for a text that could accompany my studies into the historical Jesus of Nazareth. I know there is a ton of study bibles, but I cannot find one is not for the purpose of Christian understanding. Again, I'm looking for historical understanding. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Most of my Classics courses used the Oxford Study Bible, which I found to be rather useful.
I have two primary suggestions: first, you could look at the Harper Collins study Bible. This is a fine translation with really good footnotes. Second, you could go with the new Oxford annotated Bible. This is the same translation (NRSV - i.e., The new revised standard version). The latter is in its fourth revised edition. The HarperCollins edition, however, has slightly better annotations and footnotes.