I'm sorry if this question has been asked to death or something and I missed it (did not see anything come up with the search function though).
I currently have the NIV "Archaeological Study Bible" from Zondervan publishing, and there is a lot about it that I like, but it is edited and published from a religious perspective and that colors the commentary and study aids, etc.
I wondered if anyone could provide a recommendation for a similar publication which is intended as a secular/non-religious study bible for the purpose of helping to understand the bible as a historical source. As it stands, I like the Zondervan archaeology bible, but I feel like every point where it says something about "Nearly all scholars agree that..." I need to investigate the specific debate further to get a more balanced understanding of the topics.
Additionally, I have considerable familiarity with Koine Greek, and a bit of familiarity with Aramaic/Syriac, but no Hebrew, though I am interested in study of that language at some point as well.
Thank you!
I have noticed that it can be difficult to find a study Bible without some kind of religious bias, which makes sense, as many people who study the Bible for a living would either be Christian or Jewish. The first thing you should look for is definitely the company that has published the study Bible, Zondervan, as you have mentioned, is a good Christian perspective on the Bible, but it is going to have biases as a result.
There are not too many secular study Bibles I can think of, but there is at least one I would really recommend. A large focus of my undergraduate major is going to be studying the Bible through a secular lens, and the specific version we are using is the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible with the Apocrypha. The Oxford Study Bible uses the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, which is the preferred English academic translation. Aside from the fact the translation itself is considered a very reliable non-denominational translation, there are plenty of detailed annotations throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it also contains the Apocryphal books (including the Catholic deuterocanonical books, as well as books recognized only by Orthodox Christians). There have been no religious biases I could find, the formation and compiling of each book is explained secularly (for example, the multiple authors theory for the Pentateuch is described).
Though I can't really say anything for other study Bibles, I would highly recommend the Oxford Study Bible for a secular study Bible.