A History of the Bible

April 1, 2019
A sweeping examination of the development of the Bible. Barton (Emeritus, Interpretation of Holy Scripture/Univ. of Oxford; The Theology of the Book of Amos, 2012, etc.), an ordained and serving priest in the Church of England for more than 40 years, provides an exhaustive look at the creation of today's Bible. He takes a largely thematic approach to his work; rather than a linear history of the Scriptures, he offers a collection of essays exploring facets of the book's story. The author always looks at the Bible with a critical eye, and he questions larger concepts that are too often taken for granted. For instance, he dismisses the well-worn belief that the New Testament canon was formed slowly and deliberately through church councils that took the time to exclude numerous other texts. Instead, he argues that the Christian Bible books coalesced organically and there was little conscious debate over what was or was not "official" Scripture. Though the author respects the role of the Bible in the Jewish and Christian faiths, he examines the texts more as cultural literature than as works strictly tied to the holy or supernatural. For instance, he bluntly concludes, "the prophets were not helpful people, and their books are not helpful texts." One benefit of Barton's aloofness from the Scriptures is his ability to thoroughly delineate the different ways in which the Hebrew Bible is viewed and valued by Jews and Christians. In fact, he carefully notes throughout that there is an inherent difficulty in viewing the Bible as a "book" with a single history or theme, given that it is instead a compendium of works representing different eras, languages, cultures, genres, and faiths. Barton's work is accessible to lay readers, but many readers of faith may not receive it enthusiastically, as the author's tone about the Bible, though not hostile, skews toward the secular and is occasionally skeptical. A useful religious history that is critical in approach and wide in scope.

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Starred review from April 15, 2019
Barton (The Bible: The Basics), editor-in-chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, provides a clear, comprehensive look at “the story of the Bible from its remote beginnings in folklore and myth to its reception and interpretation in the present day.” Barton writes with a jargon-free style, surveying in simple language what is known and not known about when the Hebrew Bible was written. He adopts a non-fundamentalist position that concludes that the account of the origins of the Israelites “was, at best, folk-memory,” given that they were recorded centuries after the events they describe. He offers a similar scholarly look at the dating of the writing of the Gospels and at how those texts have been interpreted over the centuries. That analysis supports his contention that no versions of either Judaism or Christianity “correspond point by point to the contents of the Bible,” despite fundamentalists’ claims to the contrary. Barton notes, for example, that observant Judaism’s dietary restrictions and Christianity’s doctrine of the Trinity go far beyond what the texts of the Bible state. He concludes that freedom of interpretation and commitment to religious faith are complementary, rather than antithetical. Barton’s rigorous, accessible history will appeal to academics and general readers alike.

May 1, 2019

Anglican priest and biblical scholar Barton (Univ. of Oxford; The Bible: The Basics) offers a lucid account of the history of the Bible, considering the origin of the various books, the process of canonization (i.e., how the choice was made as to which writings to include), the history of biblical translation and editions and of biblical interpretation, and how these differing analyses were influenced by doctrine. Although the Bible in part is claimed by Jews and Christians, there are significant differences to consider if one is to avoid superficial comparisons. Barton adeptly accounts for the structure of the Hebrew Scriptures, which is different from the Christian Old Testament, even though they comprise basically the same books. He argues convincingly against the idea that the non-canonical Gospels were suppressed by the church. While accepting the Bible as a source of religious teaching, Barton shows that a full understanding must include a knowledge of the circumstances under which it was composed and handed on from scribe to scribe. VERDICT A scholarly yet accessible history of the Bible as a work of literature and a sacred text that, while shared by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants, means something different for each.--Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ

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Starred review from May 1, 2019
Surrounding the volume Christians and Jews revere as God's Book, Barton discerns human confusion. He finds that confusion especially intense among religionists who claim their credo, worship, and ecclesiastical organization all come straight out of the Bible. Such naive claims lose their credibility as Barton surveys the long history of the Bible's diverse chronicles, poems, prophecies, legal codes, and theological reflections, so confronting the reader with sharply contrasting, even contradictory, voices. Readers see the difficulties that have emerged whenever editors, interpreters, and exegetes have sought to unify the entire Bible as a solid foundation for their own orthodoxy. Barton particularly highlights the way Christians reinterpreted Hebrew scripture regarded by Jews as commentary on the Torah as prophetic anticipation of Christ. Readers also consider how English-speaking Catholics responded to the Protestant King James Bible with their doctrinally defensive Douay-Rheims Bible. But in the clash that Barton recognizes as most fundamental, readers see skeptics mocking believers' belief in the Bible as God's truth as they dismiss the entire book as incoherent superstition. Many?not all?believers will applaud Barton's concluding appeal for a balanced perspective, acknowledging flaws in the Bible yet still affirming its indispensable status in sustaining religious faith. An impressive analysis of a knotty but irreplaceable book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)