‘Lee McDonald is widely perceived
to be in the front ranks of specialists on the origin of the Bible and the
evolution of the canon. In this book, in a lucid engaging fashion, McDonald guides
those who are perplexed about such origins. Jews and Christians find the
revelation of God’s Will in the Bible and thereby establish a deeper
self-identity. These, and all interested in Bible and canon, will find out from
a luminary how the texts and words in the biblical canon were defined and
deemed inspired. How did we get our Bible? This book gives you answers. It is
superb for classes. I recommend it enthusiastically.’ - J.H.
Charlesworth, George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and
Literature and Director of the PTS Dead Sea Scrolls Project, Princeton
Theological Seminary, USA.
J.H. Charlesworth,
‘In
this ‘Guide for the Perplexed’, Lee McDonald has unravelled the intricacies of
canon research for the scholar, student and interested public. Writing in a bracingly accessible style,
McDonald clarifies how the Christian Bible of the Old and New Testaments came to
be formed and finally fixed. Including numerous extracts from primary sources,
McDonald achieves the near impossible in discussing texts ranging from the
Hebrew Bible to patristic literature.’ - Timothy H. Lim, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Timothy H. Lim,
‘Professor
Lee McDonald is an expert in the field of the history of the biblical canon.
His contribution to the Guides for the
Perplexed series is a helpful summary of what can be gathered from the
often scattered remarks in the ancient sources. One of the strengths of the
book is that it quotes most of the relevant sources at length. The author
rightly emphasizes that the ancient data are often open to various interpretations.
His own reconstruction of the origin of the Bible is well argued, clear and
readable; yet the author honestly warns the reader that there remain open
questions, and there are areas in this history where other reconstructions may
still be possible.’ – Péter Balla, Head of the New Testament Department at the Faculty of Theology, Károli
Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
Péter Balla,