Whose Bible Is It?: A Short History of the Scriptures

Publication Data: New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2005
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: xii + 274
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.4 cm × 14.0 cm × 1.6 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations
ISBN: 0‒14‒303677‒7

   
Jaroslav Pelikan

“In a sense, Whose Bible Is It? may be said to use the ‘history of the Scriptures through the ages’ to tell how[...]various Bibles are the same, but also how and why each of them is different—not only initially in what it contains but also in how it has been read and understood, and to explain why that is still important. The history of Jewish–Christian relations, and then the history of the divisions within Christendom, is at one level the history of biblical interpretation. The parties have faced each other across a sacred page that they held in common but that only served to emphasize their separation. [...]It is essential to recognize the importance—but also the limitations—of these issues of doctrine and biblical interpretation in our understanding of how Christians and Jews have viewed each other, and of how Christians have viewed other Christians.”
—“Introduction: The Bible, the Whole Bible, and Nothing but the Bible?”

CONTENTS

Preface
INTRODUCTION. The Bible, the Whole Bible, and Nothing but the Bible?
ONE. The God Who Speaks
TWO. The Truth in Hebrew
THREE. Moses Speaking Greek
FOUR. Beyond Written Torah: Talmud and Continuing Revelation
FIVE. The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled
SIX. Formation of a Second Testament
SEVEN. The Peoples of the Book
EIGHT. Back to the Sources
NINE. The Bible Only
TEN. The Canon and the Critics
ELEVEN. A Message for the Whole Human Race
TWELVE. The Strange New World Within the Bible
Afterword
Appendix I: Alternative Canons of the Tanakh/Old Testament
Appendix II: The New Testament
Notes and Further Reading