The Origin of the Bible

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction. Not overly academic.
Review: A well written introduction to the history of the Bible as we have it today -- written by some outstanding scholars of our day. If you're looking for the nitty-gritty details, try one of Bruce Metzger's numerous books -- all very good, but highly academic.

More than just a straight look at the transmission of manuscripts, this book looks at translation issues (including questions translators need to address when translating from Greek into languages other than English, a nice touch).

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Origin of the Bible
Review: Back in August while on vacation in Pennsylvania, I "stumbled" across a sizeable Christian bookstore. (Those who know me realize that happenstances don't exist with me and bookstores.) To my delight, one of the books being carried was _The Origin of the Bible_. This book is a compilation of essays from writers, some of whom I would classify as modern stalwarts of the evangelical stream within Protestantism. Notable contributors include F.F. Bruce, J.I. Packer, R.K. Harrison, and R.T. Beckwith to name a few.

In providing a brief review of _The Origin of the Bible_, I feel it necessary to state a couple of important observations upfront: Firstly, this book is written from a perspective which assumes an evangelical readership. Secondly, and consequently, this book is not an apologetic for, say, the divine origin of Sacred Scripture; this belief is assumed a priori. Thirdly, _The Origin of the Bible_ is not overly ecumenical. It is a Protestant presentation of the Bible's origin. While this is not an overt emphasis in the book, the scattered references to Roman Catholicism, for example, are not always flattering, though I would not say they are acerbic or malicious either.

The content of the book is subsumed under five sections, the first of which deals with two prominent characteristics of the Bible, namely, its authority and inspiration. This treatment is followed by sections on canonicity, the Bible as literature, textual criticism and manuscript evidence, and translational theory/biblical languages/history of the Bible.

Admittedly, this breakdown is, to all appearances, pedantic and prosaic (a nice way of saying, "Boooooring"). However, the authors write in a popular and accessible style. (There are next to no footnotes.) This makes the material palatable even to the reader who has nothing more than an inkling of interest in the origin of that Book, which has had the greatest influence on the world in general and on western civilization in particular, not to mention western literature.

_The Origin of the Bible_ is a general treatment of a subject for which a huge corpus of material exists. It will whet the appetite of the neophyte just beginning to embark upon a journey of discovery of the Bible's origin and transmission through time. For those of us with a little knowledge in the area, _The Origin of the Bible_ serves as a well-written summary of what we already know, while also solidifying some things that we didn't catch from other sources the first time around.

One particular section with which I was pleasantly surprised was Section Three on the Bible as literature. From my own church experience, I have found that the Bible is more often manipulated and treated as a "magic" book than viewed for what it really is: A literary text, albeit with God as author. Nonetheless, this section reinforced what I had heard elsewhere: "The Bible is more than mere literature, but it is literature."

I commend this book to the evangelical Christian reader. For those coming from other perspectives, unless you're a glutton for frustration and/or have a genuine interest in the evangelical understanding of the Bible, I recommend you look elsewhere for a book on the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, hype-free, but dry Biblical origins starting point
Review: Recent works of fiction have regenerated interest in the Bible's origin. Many new best-sellers and best-seller hopefuls have been rushed to market in an attempt to capitalize on the interest to prove or disprove the "facts" behind the fictional "Da Vinci Code." Although I must be one of the last people not to read the Code (I read one of Brown's other books and it was so bad I didn't feel the need to torture myself with another) I wanted to start my own journey of understanding of Biblical origins. I turned to a couple of seminary students I know for book recommendations but unfortunately they had none so I struck out on my own. My main criteria was to read something that was written by a Christian Biblical expert or experts, that it was written prior to Brown's novel so it isn't a reactionary book, and that it cover a range of issues regarding Biblical origins and the authority or lack thereof of individual books that are or aren't included in the modern standard Bible.

This book fit all of these criteria. It is a collected work (some of the chapters appear to be articles from scholarly publications). The positives I gained from it are a good foundation to allow me to understand other books on the topic. I think having read this I can now arm myself with the questions to read and analyze books more specific to apocryphal works and the accuracy of our current translations relative to original writings.

The problems I faced in reading this are that parts of it were redundant from article to article and author to author. Parts of it were also well over my head as a lay person, introducing scholarly terms that were never explained or defined. In general, I was able to follow most of it by context. The writing is also extremely dry, and I believe it was never intended for a general audience. This paperback edition was probably released (following the original hardcover 10+ years ago) in reaction to seeing the new found interest for other books.

Fortunately, it's also easy to skip around in, and doesn't require a complete front-to-back read. I'd recommend it for you if you have a real interest in starting a solid understanding of Biblical origins and translations and you are looking to avoid the books being turned out by the current hype machine. But, it isn't an easy read, so prepare yourself for some work.


Rating:
Summary: Useless
Review: The first section is on the divine inspiration and infallability of the Bible. Need I say more?

Rating:
Summary: More posturing than substance
Review: The first thing anyone who reads this book needs to realize is that all of its contributors are recognized in evangelical circles, but do not reflect more widespread scholarly opinion. Few academics today will tell you that the Bible is infallible, and even fewer will point to statements from the Bible as proof.

Also, a lot of statements in the book were made without adequate factual backing. Most of the opinions expressed were supported only by rhetoric, making me even more wary of a book that is already questionable. Refutations of common beliefs in Biblical scholarship, including multiple authorship of the Old Testament, were dismissed with cursory arguments that lacked real depth.

Overall, "The Origin of the Bible" failed to be convincing. This book was clearly designed for those who are already Christian fundamentalists, and not for someone searching for well-developed answers to tough biblical questions.

Rating:
Summary: Superb accomplishment
Review: This book is a well written, moderately concise overview of the history of the Biblical texts. The authors and editor perform a superb job of making the book easily understood, while remaining scholarly in their approach.

This work not only reviews the early history of the Bible, but also the recent revisions. The book also objectively presents the orthodox approach to Biblical inspiration, along with the more liberal approaches that are rife in today's society.

The authors then review the development of the Biblical canon, including a survey of the Old Testament and New Testament. Next, a review of the Bible as literature is presented succintly. Then, a review of the ancient manuscripts is performed.

Lastly, the authors review the methods of translating the Bible. I found this section to be the most interesting of all, as it reveals insights into the nuances of the Greek and Hebrew languages.

Overall, this is an excellent work of scholarship, upholding the authority and validity of the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: All you ought to know about the bible
Review: What is the Bible:
The Koran calls Christians and Jews': The people of the Book 'F.F.Bruce, Rylands professor of biblical Criticism tells you all about it: the scriptures old and new, in the few first pages.

The contributors:
The editor: P. W. Comfort,a leading authority on the subject orchestrates the effort of a dozen scholars in the field, to an up-to-date, well balanced, concise introduction to the subject: definition, history, theology, and translation of the bible.

The articles: scholarly essays in plain English
The book displays the information in five sections: I. Authority, II. Canon, III.Literature, IV. Manuscripts, V.Translation. There can be no better "Bible Study 101," in English, only that it is offered by some of the finest Anglo-American scholarship. In almost all the articles, a great deal of attention is given to definitions of bible study terminology:
higher criticism, inerrancy, inspiration, autographs,Mauratorian Canon, hagiographa, Rylands papyrus, apocrypha, Gospel of Thomas, wisdom of Amenemope, etc.

A History of the recovery of the original text of the new Testament:
Philip Comfort takes you on an enlightening tour of Oxyrynchus, Beatty, Bodmer papyri to the great Alexandrine codices. "The Alexandrine scribes, associated with the scriptorium of the great Alexandrian library and/or members of the Didaskelion of its catechtical school were trained philologists, grammarians, and textual critics"; this is the quality of information you get reading this book, unless you have access to books By K. Aland, B.Metzger, E.Nestle among few others.

Biblical languages and translation:
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and Hebrew as a changing Semitic language, difficult to translate requiring twice as much English words. How did Ptolemy Philadelphius start its translation into the Septuagint for the Jews of Alexandria, who soon appropriated some expressions beyond the scope of Hebrew terminology?
L. Walker takes the mantle to shows how St. John used Logos in reference to Christ, while apostle Paul style was influenced by lexical and grammatical parallels used by the Greek speaking Alexandrines.

English Bible and versions
Now you come to perceive the conclusion to this great drama that started by Origen's Hexapla, but not terminated by the Complete bible versions of Christendom. Devoted efforts by translators in affirmation of Biblical truth explains R. Elliott, "translate without interpreting"

Conclusion:
Around 260 AD, Dionysius of Alexandria found that the stylistic and lexical features of the book of revelation could not come from the same author of the fourth Gospel! All the eastern 'Orthodox' Churches do not include readings from the Apocalypse to this moment, thus was the honest and scholarly pursue of biblical truth.