Customer Reviews

The Origin of the Bible

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Some are concerned for theologians who supposedly no longer can or will with certainty assert historical pronouncements of right and wrong. The divide caused by broad evangelicalism has steadily developed into a theological Grand Canyon, through mass appeal to indifference to the truth. The modern church is no longer recognizable by an appeal to historical doctrinal truth, but by its ability to master relationship advice, enhance work ethics and promote psychology - and by its power to muster finance.

This genre of authors did not capitulate to revisionist biblical history, but with adept insight gave us a timely reminder of how the authority of the Bible came to be.

FF Bruce surveyed the introduction to general canonics, stating that 'the NT records the final word which He spoke in His Son, in which all the earlier revelation was summed up, confirmed, and transcended.' p 8 He also stipulated the taxonomical canonization of the NT: 'Whereas the writing of the OT books was spread over a thousand years or more, the NT books were written in a century.' p 9 Bearing upon the redemptive nature of the Bible, Bruce declared 'the heirs of salvation, the covenant people, are the Israel of God, the church of God.' p 11 As to the Mediator's work, Bruce stated 'Jesus provides in Himself the vital continuity between the old Israel and the new, and His faithful followers were both the righteous remnant of the old and the nucleus of the new.' p 12

Carl F H Henry arrived at the nexus of modern inquiry and debate: 'The Authority Of The Bible'. He re-hashed the modern tendency toward all forms of authority in that all are deeply questioned. 'In the context of universal human involvement in Adamic sin, the Bible utters a merciful divine call to redemptive renewal through the mediatorial Person and work of Christ.' pp. 15-16 As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, Christians that are committed to the truths of Scripture must again restate that redemptive purposes have their origination with God as 'a disclosure exists of the living God that penetrates into the mind of every human being (Rom 1:18-20; 2:12-15). Yet it is the Bible as 'special revelation' that most clearly confronts our spiritually rebellious race with the reality and authority of God.'

Acknowledging his indebtedness to BB Warfield, JI Packer relinquished no ground to liberal tradition when re-stating old Princeton orthodoxy: 'The biblical record of God's self-disclosure in redemptive history is not merely human testimony to revelation, but is itself revelation. The inspiration of Scripture was an integral part of the revelatory process.' p 31 Packer left for posterity a enlightening distinction on inspiration : 'Inspiredness is not a quality attaching to corruptions that intrude in the course of the transmission of the text, but only to the text as originally produced by the inspired writers.' p 36

Inerrancy and infallibility are not biblical doctrines, so Harold OJ Brown correctly adduces that 'The concepts of inerrancy and infallibility arose in theological discussions concerning the inspiration of the Scripture.' p 38 He goes on to list a number of patristic fathers whom all held to the doctrine of verbal or plenary inspiration of Scripture 'as extending to every word of Scripture'. He posed a problem unique to inerrantists in that we 'must share the concern to acknowledge and cope with textual problems in the existing copies.' p 42 The doctrine of verbal inspiration, however, is definitely not a new idea, and to claim differently would be to deny the involvement of the Holy Spirit in creating the Scriptures. 'Amongst Reformed statements, the The Belgic Confession and The Westminster Confession of Faith both affirm the perfection of Scripture.' p 44

'It is not right, therefore, to speak of the Spirit or the Word, but rather of the Spirit and the Word - and especially the Spirit through the Word.' D Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Authority p 64

Milton Fisher did an extensive inquiry into the canon and its historical origins in 'The Canon Of The New Testament': 'The church's concept of canon, derived first of all from the reverence given the OT Scriptures, rested in the conviction that the apostles were uniquely authorized to speak in the name of the One who possessed all authority - the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, the believers (the church) did not establish the canon, but simply bore witness to its extent by recognizing the authority of the word of Christ.' pp. 76-77 This pre-supposition, the a priori of the Christian faith, agrees with Herman Ridderbos' brilliant work on redemptive history and how the Scriptures came to be canonized. Full authority was awarded it again by the Reformation through the clear meaning in the attendant 'only rule of faith and life'.

In fact, all matters pertaining to the Word of God are given a thorough presentation by these faithful theologians.

Remarking on the perfection of Scripture, Bishop JC Ryle quipped in his Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of John: 'Give me the plenary verbal theory, with all its difficulties, rather than this. I accept the difficulties of that theory, and humbly wait for their solution. But while I wait, I feel that I am standing on a rock.'

This book was amazing... it is full of concise scholarly information about so much concerning the origin of the Bible, its transmission, translation and inspiration.

This book is well worth reading. The only thing I disagree with is that the more dynamic equivalent translations of the Bible (e.g., NLT, NIV, GNB, etc.) are not always as faithful to the original text as the more literal versions (e.g., NASB, NKJV, ESV, etc.). I think they are worth reading, but it must be kept in mind that they often paraphrase sections of Scripture that the literal versions preserve, even if the reading is more difficult in its more literal rendering. There is certainly no perfect translation, and this book will give you a great and awe inspiring appreciation for the blessing of Biblical translation.

So buy it and read it, whether you are just a normal Christian, pastor, student, or a curious individual!

Looking to Jesus...

This book is a must have for anyone interested in an introduction to the Bible's origin. I would say it's a must have for any Christian's library. Excellent for beginning Christian's who really want some solid introductory answers as to the Bible's origin. Very easy read if you have some familiarity with the material. I especially enjoyed the section on the Biblical languages. It really gives those who are just learning that the Bible was written in Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) a picture as to the importance of each language. Give it a try, you'll enjoy it!

One would expect, from the various contributors to this book, both excellent scholarship and conservative presentations. Both of these are true. What is unexpected is the easy readability of the materials covered. The contributors have bypassed the theological jargon for understandability. Whether the discussion is authority, inspiration, or infallibility, on the one hand, or the issues of canonicity on the other, the material is covered in brief, well written, understandable language. The section on English translations is every helpful in both critiquing the various translations and explaining the types of translations available. All together, this is an excellent resource for understanding the conservative perspective on the origins of the Bible.

This book will be enjoyed by those who come to it already interested in its subject matter. I fall into that category, and rather enjoyed the book. However, if you are looking for a book to pique your interest in the history and development of the texts as we have them today, this is not it. Although all of the information is well presented and well organized, it is dryly written. It is not necessarily a criticism to the authors to say so. Scholars are not very often entertaining.

I find it striking that the essay I enjoyed least in this collection was the one written by the book's namesake, Philip Comfort. It was a rambling mess, in my opinion. It appears that Mr. Comfort broke out the thesaurus and selected the word with the most syllables for each of the points he was trying to make. I prefer a style with a concise brevity.

However, I still recommend this work for those interested in learning more about this subject. I found it particularly enjoyable to read the essay surveying the biblical languages. Overall, this is a worthwhile book for those with interests similar to my own. Happy reading!

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.