The Bible in the Early Church
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
A concise history of the Bible: its creation, use, and interpretation.
What is the Bible? To answer this question we must understand the Bible’s origins in the early church. In this book, celebrated church historian Justo González introduces the reader to some important features of the earliest Bibles—for instance, the Bible’s original languages, its division into chapters and verses, and even its physical appearance in its first forms. González also explores the use of the Bible in the early church (such as in worship or in private reading) and the interpretation of the Bible throughout the ensuing centuries, giving readers a holistic sense of the Bible’s emergence as the keystone of Christian life, from its beginnings to present times.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historical theologian González (The Story of Christianity) examines the earliest forms and uses of the Bible in this brisk and fluidly written chronicle. The author explores how material and cultural factors influenced the text over centuries when literacy was uncommon, books didn't exist, and manuscripts were painstakingly copied by hand. He covers considerable ground, including the historic relationship of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the physical materials of early Bibles, the slow evolution of the biblical canon of accepted texts ("It was necessary both to declare some books to be authoritative and to disavow others"), and the use of the Bible in collective worship and private devotional reading. González wears his considerable erudition lightly and shares it with readers all along the way, diving into etymology (the Greek word for broken pottery gave English the word ostracism), the development of biblical verse numbering, and the differences between parchment and papyrus. The result is a short work ideally suited for classrooms, whether in congregations or seminaries, but equally suited to anyone interested in the development of the Bible within the context of Christianity's earliest days.
