No book has been the subject of as much study or controversy as the Bible. Undoubtedly, it is the most read book of all time. Many believers consider it a work of divine inspiration; Hence the feeling that it has always existed as we know it today. However, the Bible is the work of many authors, was written over the course of a very long period of time and owes its current versions to people of different faiths. How did this happen?

In this superbly written story, Jaroslav Pelikan offers a fascinating study of the evolution of the Bible, from its first incarnation as an oral tradition to its modern existence in a mosaic of configurations and languages. Beginning with the early Hebrew texts, continuing with the appearance of the New Testament in Greek and, later, the first translation into Latin, Pelikan follows step by step the development of the Jewish and Christian Bibles and, with his admirable method of textual study, explores the canonization of the different Bibles and the reason why some books were adopted by certain religions and sects. as well as the translation of the Bible into contemporary languages and their interpretations according to the various schools of theological criticism.

With a career spanning more than half a century, Jaroslav Pelikan brings the strength of his masterful knowledge to this engaging and accessible story of the Big Book. It is a work of erudition that will endure, and whose reading is, for its amenity and clarity, a real pleasure.