paging Polycarp
Specifically, a book about how all the bits and pieces from various sources were put together into a single entity.
(This is for my boss and her bf – so think intelligent laypeople/open-minded churchgoers, not academics or Bible-beaters.)
TIA!
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart D. Ehrman is an excellent look into the history of how the Bible came to be the way it is today.
Ehrman looks at the progression of translations of the Bible through four routes to the wording used in the most famous versions. While he doesn’t focus on the internal battles over which books would comprise the bible, he does cover that in passing.
And I’m sure he goes into that in more detail in one of his 50 other books on Biblical history.
Try Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (available at Amazon).
I read it years ago in two parts; I recently bought the Omnibus (Old and New Testaments) edition and am re-reading. He gives a balanced, historical perspective to the matter. It doesn’t include recent thoughts on Bible scholarship, of course, but it’s a good place to start.
AJ
Who Wrote the Bible sounds very much like what you’re looking for, for the Old Testament. And seconding “Misquoting Jesus” for the New.
Don’t Know Much about the Bible is pretty good. Lots of depth, but readable by the layman, and interesting!
Excellent, folks, thanks. I’ll pass on the info.