The Making of the Bible

Many common assumptions about Israel’s history and the origins of the Bible have been revised by the last decades of historical research. Events like the exodus from Egypt and the building of the temple under King Solomon are no longer regarded as historical facts. This new situation only renders more urgent the question of the origin of the great stories of the Old Testatment and when they become part of ‘holy scripture’. On the basis of current research, Schmid and Schröter’s book gives us the story of a long and gradual development, from early narratives of ancient Israel via key texts of Jewish monotheism and early Christianity to the holy books of the world religions Judaism and Christianity. To know how this miracle of textual tradition came about, read this biography of the most famous book in the world.