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Rare THE JOURNEY FROM TEXTS TO TRANSLATIONS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIBLE [Paperback] Paul D. Wegner
This rare and vintage book is a perfect addition to any bibliophile's collection
233 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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719 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 17, 2011
In my opinion this is the best book on the subject of the canon and its development. Incredibly thorough in all areas, the only thing missing is a chapter on inspiration. Regardless, if you want to really understand this subject - this is your book.
May 25, 2008
This book is an excellent resource on the canon of Scripture. Taking the reader through five sections:
-Preliminary Matters Regarding the Bible
-Canonization of the Bible
-Transmission of the Bible
-Early Translations of the Bible
-English Translations of the Bible
It is very readable and has a vast amount of tables, pictures, etc. It also contains a "For Further Reading" section at the end of each chapter.
It is not the only great resource on the canon of Scripture. There are certainly others like "The Canon of Scripture" (F.F. Bruce) and "A General Introduction to the Bible" (Norman Geisler and William Nix). However, this book does a great job of being scholarly yet readable. I'm sure there are things he mentions that I do not completely agree with; but overall he gives a great overview of how the Bible came about from a conservative evangelical point of view.
Truly a great resource!
-Preliminary Matters Regarding the Bible
-Canonization of the Bible
-Transmission of the Bible
-Early Translations of the Bible
-English Translations of the Bible
It is very readable and has a vast amount of tables, pictures, etc. It also contains a "For Further Reading" section at the end of each chapter.
It is not the only great resource on the canon of Scripture. There are certainly others like "The Canon of Scripture" (F.F. Bruce) and "A General Introduction to the Bible" (Norman Geisler and William Nix). However, this book does a great job of being scholarly yet readable. I'm sure there are things he mentions that I do not completely agree with; but overall he gives a great overview of how the Bible came about from a conservative evangelical point of view.
Truly a great resource!
Want to read
May 3, 2016Ch. 2: Description of the Bible
Initially, early Christians and Jews worshiped together in the temple and in synagogues (Acts 3:1; 4:1; 5:42; 6:9-10; 13:14-15, 42; 14:1; 17:1-20, using the same book of Scripture (34).
The reference [Matt. 15:2] is to oral laws as recorded later in the Babylonian Talmud (e.g., Hag. 18b; Sabb. 13b-14a; Yoma 87b), and Jesus' response was to cite an instance when the Pharisees routinely broke the written law of God (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16).
Following A.D. 70, when the temple was destroyed, the Jews could no longer follow explicit regulations concerning sacrifices, the Jewish nation had to rethink its religion. In time they decided that doing good works was an adequate sacrifice to God, and the basis of Judaism shifted to offering sacrifices of 'good works' (35).
Hebrews 1:1-2 makes it clear that both the Old and New Testaments are considered God's revelation (35).
According to A.E. Hill, approximately 32 percent (nearly one-third) of the New Testament is composed of Old Testament quotations and allusions.^29 Also 2 Peter 3:15-16 equates Paul's letters with the rest of Scripture, indicating that Peter believed that these New Testament letters are on par with the OLd Testament (35-6).
Contents of the Mishnah (Table 2.2) (36)
Ch. 3: The Old Testament
The Old Testament forms roughly three-fourths of the entire Bible (39).
English translations of the Old Testament mainly follow the order and divisions of the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate:
1. Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy; 5 books)
2. Historical Books (Joshua-Esther; 12 books)
3. Poetic and Wisdom Literature (Job-Song of Songs; 5 books)
4. Prophets (Isaiah-Malachi; 17 books) (39-40)
G.F. Hasel underscores this theme [prospering in obedience & disaster in disobedience] in Chronicles: 'The fact that of 822 verses in 2 Chronicles, 480 deal with four pious kings (Solomon, chs. 1-9; Jehoshaphat, chs. 17-21; Hezekiah, chs. 29-32; Josiah, chs. 34f.) and 342 with seventeen others, shows that the emphasis is placed on those characteristics that bring God's blessing'^2 (40-1).
The third section, which comprises Poetic and Wisdom Literature, is a part of the Old Testament that teaches precepts and guiding principles. Poetry uses all of our senses to communicate concepts, create interest, and cause the reader to reflect.
The fourth section contains the writings of the prophets arranged on order of Major Prophets (Isa., Jer., Ezek., Dan.) and Minor Prophets (Hos., Joel, Amos, Obad., Jon., Mic., Nah., Hab., Zeph., Hag., Zech., Mal., sometimes called the Book of the Twelve). The terms MAJOR and MINOR refer only to length, not content or importance. (41)
Table 3.2: The Five Scrolls (Megillot)
Book
Song of Songs=Passover
Ruth=The feast of Pentecost
Lamentations=The ninth of Ab
Ecclesiastes=The feast of Tabernacles
Esther=The feast of Purim
An apocryphal book 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra) states that there are twenty-four books in the Old Testament canon (2 Esd. 14:44-48), but Josephus clearly indicates that there were twenty-two (Josephus Contra Apion 1.7-8 SS 37-39). The problem is further compounded by the fact that the modern Hebrew Bible contains thirty-six books whereas most English translations include thirty-nine. So how many Old Testament books are there? In reality each of these sources includes the same Old Testament books but divides them differently (see Table 3.3).
[39=separates books into 2: Example of 1-2 Chronicles; Samuel; Kings]
[36=combines those books mentioned above]
[24=Jerome and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra combines the Book of the Twelve into 1]
[22=Josephus joins Ruth with Judges & Lamentations with Jeremiah]. (44-5)
The order of the English Bible derives from the Latin Vulgate, which is probably dependent upon the Septuagint. However, there is significant variation in the order of the Septuagint among different manuscripts (see appendix 1).
The Hebrew Bible
There is little difference in order of the books of the Law, presumably because they successfully record historical events. This is also true of the Former Prophets (Josh.-Kings), though the Syriac Peshitta places Job between the Pentateuch and Joshua because of its presumed authorship of Moses.^12 (46)
The Septuagint
F.F. Bruce suggests that the order of the Septuagint may reflect earlier tradition: 'The Septuagint arrangement may not have been new; it was possibly one of the arrangements current among the Jews at the time, but it was not the arrangement which prevailed among the Jews of Palestine and Babylonia, where the Hebrew Bible was preserved and edited.'^15 (47)
It is possible that in the Septuagint the books were arranged more chronologically than in the Hebrew order (cf. placement of Ruth; Chron.-Ezra-Neh.). Another major difference between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible arises in the Book of Jeremiah--in the Septuagint this book is about one-eighth shorter and follows a significantly different order after 25:13. There are no clear reasons for these differences, and scholars can only speculate concerning them.^16
The English Bible
...the Latin Vulgate, which became the standard translation of the church for more than a thousand years. The Latin Vulgate drew mainly from the Septuagint, though the books of Samuel and Kings are collectively called the Books of Kingdoms in the Septuagint (i.e., 1-2 Sam. + 1-2 Kings=1-4 Kingdoms). (47)
Initially, early Christians and Jews worshiped together in the temple and in synagogues (Acts 3:1; 4:1; 5:42; 6:9-10; 13:14-15, 42; 14:1; 17:1-20, using the same book of Scripture (34).
The reference [Matt. 15:2] is to oral laws as recorded later in the Babylonian Talmud (e.g., Hag. 18b; Sabb. 13b-14a; Yoma 87b), and Jesus' response was to cite an instance when the Pharisees routinely broke the written law of God (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16).
Following A.D. 70, when the temple was destroyed, the Jews could no longer follow explicit regulations concerning sacrifices, the Jewish nation had to rethink its religion. In time they decided that doing good works was an adequate sacrifice to God, and the basis of Judaism shifted to offering sacrifices of 'good works' (35).
Hebrews 1:1-2 makes it clear that both the Old and New Testaments are considered God's revelation (35).
According to A.E. Hill, approximately 32 percent (nearly one-third) of the New Testament is composed of Old Testament quotations and allusions.^29 Also 2 Peter 3:15-16 equates Paul's letters with the rest of Scripture, indicating that Peter believed that these New Testament letters are on par with the OLd Testament (35-6).
Contents of the Mishnah (Table 2.2) (36)
Ch. 3: The Old Testament
The Old Testament forms roughly three-fourths of the entire Bible (39).
English translations of the Old Testament mainly follow the order and divisions of the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate:
1. Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy; 5 books)
2. Historical Books (Joshua-Esther; 12 books)
3. Poetic and Wisdom Literature (Job-Song of Songs; 5 books)
4. Prophets (Isaiah-Malachi; 17 books) (39-40)
G.F. Hasel underscores this theme [prospering in obedience & disaster in disobedience] in Chronicles: 'The fact that of 822 verses in 2 Chronicles, 480 deal with four pious kings (Solomon, chs. 1-9; Jehoshaphat, chs. 17-21; Hezekiah, chs. 29-32; Josiah, chs. 34f.) and 342 with seventeen others, shows that the emphasis is placed on those characteristics that bring God's blessing'^2 (40-1).
The third section, which comprises Poetic and Wisdom Literature, is a part of the Old Testament that teaches precepts and guiding principles. Poetry uses all of our senses to communicate concepts, create interest, and cause the reader to reflect.
The fourth section contains the writings of the prophets arranged on order of Major Prophets (Isa., Jer., Ezek., Dan.) and Minor Prophets (Hos., Joel, Amos, Obad., Jon., Mic., Nah., Hab., Zeph., Hag., Zech., Mal., sometimes called the Book of the Twelve). The terms MAJOR and MINOR refer only to length, not content or importance. (41)
Table 3.2: The Five Scrolls (Megillot)
Book
Song of Songs=Passover
Ruth=The feast of Pentecost
Lamentations=The ninth of Ab
Ecclesiastes=The feast of Tabernacles
Esther=The feast of Purim
An apocryphal book 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra) states that there are twenty-four books in the Old Testament canon (2 Esd. 14:44-48), but Josephus clearly indicates that there were twenty-two (Josephus Contra Apion 1.7-8 SS 37-39). The problem is further compounded by the fact that the modern Hebrew Bible contains thirty-six books whereas most English translations include thirty-nine. So how many Old Testament books are there? In reality each of these sources includes the same Old Testament books but divides them differently (see Table 3.3).
[39=separates books into 2: Example of 1-2 Chronicles; Samuel; Kings]
[36=combines those books mentioned above]
[24=Jerome and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra combines the Book of the Twelve into 1]
[22=Josephus joins Ruth with Judges & Lamentations with Jeremiah]. (44-5)
The order of the English Bible derives from the Latin Vulgate, which is probably dependent upon the Septuagint. However, there is significant variation in the order of the Septuagint among different manuscripts (see appendix 1).
The Hebrew Bible
There is little difference in order of the books of the Law, presumably because they successfully record historical events. This is also true of the Former Prophets (Josh.-Kings), though the Syriac Peshitta places Job between the Pentateuch and Joshua because of its presumed authorship of Moses.^12 (46)
The Septuagint
F.F. Bruce suggests that the order of the Septuagint may reflect earlier tradition: 'The Septuagint arrangement may not have been new; it was possibly one of the arrangements current among the Jews at the time, but it was not the arrangement which prevailed among the Jews of Palestine and Babylonia, where the Hebrew Bible was preserved and edited.'^15 (47)
It is possible that in the Septuagint the books were arranged more chronologically than in the Hebrew order (cf. placement of Ruth; Chron.-Ezra-Neh.). Another major difference between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible arises in the Book of Jeremiah--in the Septuagint this book is about one-eighth shorter and follows a significantly different order after 25:13. There are no clear reasons for these differences, and scholars can only speculate concerning them.^16
The English Bible
...the Latin Vulgate, which became the standard translation of the church for more than a thousand years. The Latin Vulgate drew mainly from the Septuagint, though the books of Samuel and Kings are collectively called the Books of Kingdoms in the Septuagint (i.e., 1-2 Sam. + 1-2 Kings=1-4 Kingdoms). (47)
November 22, 2019
Superb information. This book has exceeded absolutely every expectation I had. Unfortunately, the two-column format is unhelpful. That aside, this is a thorough reading on the subject.
January 2, 2019
IMHO this is the best one-volume book on the history of the Bible. It covers the original texts with the major mss witnesses. It also goes into detail on the biblical canon, the early translations, the early English versions and finally a long section on the major 20th century English translations. Worth every penny.
November 29, 2024
A ton of material on how we have the Scriptures today. Very helpful resource to anyone serious about understanding the history of the Bible.
May 6, 2025
This was thorough- I will probably reference it a lot when I need to remember something! Reading it all the way thru was not the move though
August 30, 2021
This was really thorough and helpful. I used this textbook, among others, for my course on the history of the Bible with Dr. Timothy Paul Jones at SBTS. Wegner starts with the autographs of scripture and works his way up until the present - which was 1999 at the time. While it is clear that Wegner is a Critical Text advocate, I was able to look past that and really drank in the historical information here. I dropped it a star because 22 years have passed and there has been much more updates since, especially in terms of published translations.
April 23, 2023
This is a thorough textbook about the history of the Bible. It gives the readers the differences from the manuscripts that have been found through history and explains why we reject some and accept others. It also gives the history of the canonicity of the Bible, and most important translations of the Bible and their method of translation. This is book is easy to read but very complete and at some points dry which made it hard to read from cover to cove, but will definitely be helpful as a reference book through my life.
September 2, 2021
It took me a while to read through this book but I did enjoy it greatly. No one enjoys reading college texts at the speed necessitated by college timelines, but to be able to spend some time meaningfully absorbing this book was a process I appreciated. This book is clear, well organized, and answered my questions about the development and production of the Bible. I almost didn’t read the section on translations but I’m glad I did.
December 21, 2022
Super informative and a great launching off point for anyone like me who didn’t go to a Christian school and knows literally nothing about the history of how the Bible took its present form. The thing that stood out the most to me as I read was God’s providence throughout: shaping history in a way that brings him glory and brings his people closer to him.
September 12, 2025
My favorite part of this book was the little historical contexts surrounding the development of the Bible. This textbook was super readable and not too technical - except in the sections breaking down Greek and Hebrew.
July 23, 2017
Wegner's book is a comprehensive and strongly organized text book that can be a great addition for future references to textual criticism topics and research.
April 15, 2019
Informative, but a slog to get through.
July 26, 2019
Interview, related to the book, with Wegner here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VCg....
October 26, 2019
Excellent facts and information—almost encyclopedic. However, like an encyclopedia, a little tedious in its writing style.
June 6, 2020
This book is very helpful but in a bit of an exhaustive way. It covers more than enough ground for the reader.
March 20, 2023
Read for seminary. Dry but an informative and helpful tool.
May 30, 2024
bible intro required reading 💃💃💃
February 21, 2025
If you’re an absolute nerd, you’ll love this book. It feels more like a reference book than one any person would need to read all the way through.
February 28, 2024
Solid textbook on biblical textual criticism and transmission. It’s an easy read, and something that I think should find a space on every Christian’s bookshelf.
September 18, 2014
This book is an excellent informational and resource book. Loaded with pictures, charts, and diagrams, Mr. Wegner has done a fine job of compiling a massive amount of history and information into a highly readable format. He takes us on the journey from the original manuscripts of the Bible, to the transmission of the Bible (how it was passed down through the ages), and finally reviewing how the Bible has been translated from the original languages into various languages.
Reading this book can at once alarm and reassure a Bible-believer. It is alarming to think about how many potential errors there could be in the Bible we read today, but thanks to Mr. Wegner's extensive research the reader is reassured that the Bible we read today is essentially the same Bible as was recorded by the Biblical writers of old.
Casual and serious Bible scholars alike will find this book usable, readable, and interesting.
Reading this book can at once alarm and reassure a Bible-believer. It is alarming to think about how many potential errors there could be in the Bible we read today, but thanks to Mr. Wegner's extensive research the reader is reassured that the Bible we read today is essentially the same Bible as was recorded by the Biblical writers of old.
Casual and serious Bible scholars alike will find this book usable, readable, and interesting.
September 17, 2015
The book is good for an introduction, I think the author is weak in arguing on how the deuterocanonical / apocrypha was rejected by the early Church mainly because the OT apocrypha was indeed used by the Early Church, but the way the argument is put the person in the introductory level would not be able to catch the bias. The same with the LXX. By the time it gets into the English translations the content improves since it starts surveying the different translations from 1611 to about 1996.
June 20, 2020
First, the book is meant for an undergraduate student, which means it assumes several things without actually arguing. This is not bad per se, but I did not enjoy it. Second, the sections about Bible translations can be good for a reference book, but they are really boring for reading a book from cover to cover. I tried to skin through most of them and read more carefully about the ones I've heard about before.
March 12, 2009
Great overview of how how our Bible gained its present form. It contains wonderful insights for defending the Bible as the more historically trustworthy text in existence. It also deals with the philosophy behind most modern translations to help you find the English Bible that is right for you.
January 18, 2013
While this is a rather boring read it is very organized and thorough. It is a very good book for anyone who is interested about how the Bible came about, answering questions about inspiration vs. a work of man, is the King James the only legitimate translation, etc.
Read
July 31, 2011It's perhaps the best overall, indepth, and balanced presentation of the general history of Bible translations that's available.
Read
October 30, 2011Call Number: 220.09 WEG
Available.
Available.
February 16, 2012
If you ever wanted to learn the value of God's Word, this is the perfect book for you. There was much people had to endure to translate the Word of God.
March 11, 2012
It was a really good and helpful read on an important topic. I had to cruise through it for class and found it to fairly dense.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews