A History of the Bible

The Book and Its Faiths

By: John Barton

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 21 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

WINNER OF THE 2019 DUFF COOPER PRIZE

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A History of the Bible by John Barton, read by Ralph Lister.

The Bible is the central book in Western culture, yet extraordinarily there is no proper history of it. This exceptional work, by one of the world's leading Biblical scholars, provides a full account of how the different parts of the Bible came to be written; how some writings which were regarded as holy became canonical and were included in the Bible, and others were not; what the relationship is of the different parts of the Bible to each other; and how, once it became a stable text, the Bible has been disseminated and interpreted around the world. It gives full weight to discussion of the importance of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Judaism as in Christianity. It also demonstrates the degree to which, contrary to widespread belief, both Judaism and Christianity are not faiths drawn from the Bible texts but from other sources and traditions. It shows that if we are to regard the Bible as 'authoritative' it cannot be as believers have so often done in the past.

©2019 John Barton (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

As eminently readable as the best of travelogues, it floods with light a subject too often regarded by many as a closed book. ... With emotional and psychological insight, Barton unlocks this sleeping giant of our culture. In the process, he has produced a masterpiece. ... If it can only be liberated from such a straitjacket and allowed to become its full self, the Bible might just chime once more in a sceptical age. Barton's extraordinary tour de force is the first book I have ever read that makes that feel possible. (Peter Stanford)

A superb overview ... Barton wears his erudition lightly, but even for those deeply familiar with the Bible there is much here to be learnt (Bart D Ehrman)

John Barton has written a wise and eminently sane book about a book which has inspired both insanity and wisdom. It is a landmark in the field, and it will do great good (Diarmaid MacCulloch)

fascinating in depth review of Bible and its times

listened twice. brilliant narrator with clarity and feeling. balanced study of what constitutes the bible

Profoundly important new account of the Bible

This book is a tour de force. The fruit of the author's many years of Biblical study, it approaches the Bible with deep respect, addressing the many different groups (from theologians to historians) for whom the Bible is important foundation material and showing special sensitivity toward those in various faith communities for whom the Bible is a precious and definitive source of revelation.

But at the same time, and despite its gentleness of touch, it is intellectually rigorous and does not shy away from drawing the conclusions mandated by evidence, even when these are uncomfortable for some. For instance, it must be acknowledged that there is not perfect symmetry between what most Christians believe and what the Bible actually says. Barton deals with this respectfully, showing how this disjunction came about and how it is resolved in various traditions: but he does not attempt to sweep it under the carpet, and recognises it as an ongoing difficulty.

This is not merely a study of texts, but of the different societies that gave rise to them, and the order in which they probably came into being. This last topic alone is deeply interesting, as it suggests that many of our assumptions about the relative ages of different Biblical books is probably wrong, and that some which 'appear' to be older, were actually composed more recently and therefore reflect a later view of the past, rather than being genuine documents from that past time.

But the book, although immensely detailed, is never dry. Barton manages to include both a scholar's fascination with the diverse and engaging collection of documents contained in the Bible, and a theologian's sensitivity to the significance that such texts have acquired, even if that is different from what their original authors intended.

This is the kind of book that is inherently easier to read than to listen to (and indeed I have already bought the printed version so I can go back to look at many sections again) so the narrator is exceptionally important. Ralph Lister does a very good job with a text that could, if poorly read, appear quite dry. His voice is pleasant, his diction is clear, and his pacing is excellent. However, I found he sometimes tries too hard to inject 'feeling' into the text when it was neither required nor appropriate; and more annoyingly, he very often places the emphasis on the wrong word, so that unless you are listening carefully you miss the point of the sentence. For instance, 'this was true of many Christian BOOKS' (the implication being that it was true of books but not, say of, plays) while the true meaning of the sentence would be 'this was true of many CHRISTIAN books' (but not of equivalent Jewish books). However, while I found this a frequent niggle, it should not distract from this otherwise excellent book.

Wonderful

An extremely erudite study of the relationship between faith and Scripture. The narration does justice to the clear thinking and the fairness of the author.

informative, kinda balanced with liberal leanings

I have to admit I chose the book at random. Didn't really know what to expect. I wanted something larger, though not exhaustive. I would consider myself a conservative protestant willing to listen to a huge variety of christian faiths. The first half was a bit harder to listen to. On occasion I felt my beloved Bible is scarcely more than scraps which fell on the ground from the severe fights of different jewish and christian parties and that many events didn't really happen, but are set up afterwards to be a justificaton for certain rites and customs. This is where I considered the liberal bias to be too heavy, though I encountered lots if new and useful pieces of information. To the second half I could connect more, I found less conjecture, and was more intriguing to me.
Overall I enjoyed the narration, the numerous references to ancient scholars, fathers of faith, jewish and christians alike. It was refreshing to listen to the long and frequent quotations from the Bible and other works as well.
I think the author is respectful, trying to be just to the different denominations and I have gotta say that both protestants and catholics will be in for a ride who give this one a shot.

Absolutely Rubbish- Lazy Historical Facts

When the Scriptures mention that they “suppress the truth” well this book goes to show that you can sound smart if nobody challenges or fact-check the wannabe historians. The information provided as “history” is most definitely atrocious rubbish of a concoction. John Barton should leave history writing to the historians and possibly venture to writing fiction. Hopeless piece of work!

A comprehensive and succinct account

Should be read by everyone approaching a study of the Bible. Balanced and authoritative it gives background from Jewish and various Christian perspectives. I have purchased a hard copy. Highly recommended.

Tour de Force

Exceptionally well written and well read. A remarkably easy to understand exposition of the history of the Bible as used by the Christian and Jewish faiths. Challenging many firmly held precepts, it is sure to upset many, yet, while it attempts (with a high degree of success in my opinion) to be agnostic and rationalist in its approach, the book successfully expounds the massive contribution of the bible to those of faith, and those of none. A wonderful read.

Life Changing

It is challenging for those who can bear the challenge, I think it needs revisiting

Difficult to understand

Really liked the conclusion but unless you are at degree level in theology most of this was inaccessible to your average reader.

Fascinating scholarly work

Well researched and very accessible account of the collection of writings we call The Bible

How the Bible came to be

I enjoyed learning about how the Bible came to be, from the Hebrew books of the Old Testament to the Greek of the New Testament. It’s a history of transmission through scrolls, manuscripts, codices, and translations. There is still so much we don’t know and will never know about its authorship. I’m particularly interested in the humanness of the book: its inconsistencies, changes of genre, slippages of meaning in translation; its role in the religions of Judaism and Christianity, and their many sects. The narration by Ralph Lister is clear and easy to follow.