Exploring the Origins of the Bible

This looks like an interesting textbook for Bible students.

Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective
Craig A. Evans and Emanuel Tov


Craig A. Evans (PhD, Claremont Graduate University) is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including Mark, vol. 2 (Word Biblical Commentary), Jesus and His Contemporaries, and Noncanonical Writings and the New Testament.
Emanuel Tov (PhD, Hebrew University) is J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project.
Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective

"The eight essays in this volume form a very worthwhile set of considerations of the emerging canons of the Jewish and Christian Bibles. A veritable ark full of expert analysis to enable any reader to navigate the flood of recent writing on canon."--George J. Brooke, University of Manchester

For those who want to go deeper in their understanding of the canon of Scripture, leading international scholars provide cutting-edge perspectives on various facets of the biblical writings, how those writings became canonical Scripture, and why canon matters. Craig Evans begins by helping those new to the field understand the different versions of the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic Text, Septuagint, Targum, Vulgate, etc.) as well as the books of the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. Later essays also help beginners by explaining "canon" and the development of canons in various Jewish and Christian communities, the much-debated tripartite canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, and questions of authority. The book also includes insightful explorations and perspectives to challenge more advanced readers, including an essay on the complexities of biblical writing, a critical investigation of the usefulness of extracanonical Gospels for historical Jesus research, and an exploration of the relationship of Paul to the canonization process. The result is a thought-provoking book that concludes with discussion of an issue at the fore today--the theological implications of canon.

Contributors
Emanuel Tov
James H. Charlesworth
Stephen G. Dempster
R. Glenn Wooden
Craig A. Evans
Stanley E. Porter
Lee Martin McDonald
Jonathan R. Wilson
Endorsements

"The eight essays in this volume form a very worthwhile set of considerations of the emerging canons of the Jewish and Christian Bibles. The complexity of the processes of canonization is refreshingly tackled on the basis of both internal and external evidence. Two essays cover some of the implications of the evidence of the Septuagint, two review especially the internal data of the Old Testament and Paul, two put in their places the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament Apocrypha, and two consider the theological bases of the authority that lies behind the text of Scripture. This two-by-two collection is a veritable ark full of expert analysis to enable any reader to navigate the flood of recent writing on canon. Some studies rescue old theories for a new generation; others provide polychromatic perspectives for a fresh start."--George J. Brooke, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, University of Manchester