The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 2, The West from the Fathers to the Reformation [Paperback]

G. W. H. Lampe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1975 | ISBN-10: 0521290171 | ISBN-13: 978-0521290173

The Cambridge History treats the Bible as a central document of Western civilization, a source of exegesis and of doctrine, an influence on education, on the growth of scholarship, on art and literature, as well as on the liturgy and the life of the Christian church and its members. This volume commences the study of the Bible in the West. It begins with Jerome and the Fathers and goes on to the time of Erasmus. Introductory chapters look back and rapidly survey the growth of the biblical canon in the pre-Christian period and the early church, and early Christian book-production. The central portion of the volume discusses exposition and exegesis of the Scriptures: in the hands of the Fathers, in the Medieval Schools, in the Liturgy and in the tradition of medieval Jewish scholarship. The permeation of European culture by the Scriptures is illustrated by themes in art and manuscript illustration, and by separate sections on each of the main vernacular languages, giving special attention to English. Each chapter is written by a scholar and expert on the subject, who summarizes existing knowledge and, in many cases, advances it by reporting his own research.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This volume of The Cambridge History commences the study of the Bible in the West. It begins with Jerome and the Fathers and goes on to the time of Erasmus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 628 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 31, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521290171
• ISBN-13: 978-0521290173
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Scholarship / Essential Subject / Great Read!, October 26, 2007

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cvairag (Allan Hancock College) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 2, The West from the Fathers to the Reformation (Paperback)

Believer or non-believer, if one aspires to a knowledge of any of the humanities, or even, the development of the sciences, in the West, but also to a significant degree in the East, what could be more de riguer than to know a bit about the massive history of the Bible? Without question, from the standpoint of our contemporary world, the Bible is, by far, the most influential cultural statement. Knowledge, not only of its contents, but of their transmission, is indispensible to knowledge of our selves. We could say that Biblical literacy is pre-requisite to cultural literacy - and cultural literacy is pre-requisite to self-knowledge in any verifiable sense.
This landmark study, handsomely produced by Cambridge University Press, which may, on initial inspection, appear to be a daunting read, consisting of three encyclopediac and rather imposing tomes, turns out to be surprisingly accessible. In fact, once one starts reading (a journey here really does begin with the first step), it's tough to put down! These books are filled with the most curious revelations and all sorts of arcane facts. Moreover, knowing this history may change the way one looks at the world. For instance, I was always under the impression that Luther was the first to translate the Gospels into the vernacular German, and that this innovation was one of the primary causes of the success of the Reformation. Right? Wrong. The Vulgate was translated as early as the 7th century by the Goths. A Goth named Ulfilas taught Christianity in as early as the 4th century and a Goth Bible was produced on purple parchment (I suppose these were the original purple pages) penned in gold and silver ink. I'm sure their contemporary descendents would much approve. Renaissance scholars believe this Bible, the Codex Argenteus, was extant at least as early as 795 A.D. Further, there were a number of Bibles floating around Germany and the Lowlands when Luther produced his. Nor did Luther do it alone. He had help from two other guys who knew more Latin than he did. But, his introduction, the widespread literature he had created leading up to its publication, and, ironically, the fact that he had Fredrick's printing presses cranking out copy by the minute, were the great compensating factors in making his version the earth-shaking bestseller that it became. Kudos to Team Luther, eh?

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent textbook!, February 15, 2011

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Beukeboom (Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 2, The West from the Fathers to the Reformation (Paperback)

I'm not going to get into great academic detail on this volume of the 3-volume Cambridge History of the Bible but suffice to say the set is arguably the best academic resource currently available on the topic. Extremely detailed but easily understood (kind of a rarity in academic textbooks). This is a must-have for Christian scholars as well as Christian laity alike.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Scholarly work., December 22, 2010

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Granny10 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 2, The West from the Fathers to the Reformation (Paperback)

This is a fantastic reference if you want deep information about how the Chritian church and writers sought to form canon. The first edition is good too but very scholarly and some of it is over my head. In general though I enjoyed it and learned much.