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KNOW Series
Know How We Got Our Bible
The easy accessibility of the Bible in most of the world's major languages can obscure a dramatic and sometimes unexpected story. In Know How We Got Our Bible, scholars Ryan Reeves and Charles Hill trace the history of the Bible from its beginnings to the present day, highlighting key figures and demonstrating overall the reliability of Scripture.
Reeves and Hill begin with the writing of the Bible's books (including authorship and dating), move into the formation of the Old and New Testaments (including early transmission and the development of the canon), and conclude with several chapters on Bible translation from the Latin Vulgate to the ongoing work of translation around the world today.
Written simply and focused on the overarching story of how the Bible came to us today, Know How We Got Our Bible is an excellent introduction for formal students and lay learners alike. Each chapter includes reflection questions and recommended readings for further learning.
Reeves and Hill begin with the writing of the Bible's books (including authorship and dating), move into the formation of the Old and New Testaments (including early transmission and the development of the canon), and conclude with several chapters on Bible translation from the Latin Vulgate to the ongoing work of translation around the world today.
Written simply and focused on the overarching story of how the Bible came to us today, Know How We Got Our Bible is an excellent introduction for formal students and lay learners alike. Each chapter includes reflection questions and recommended readings for further learning.
208 pages, Paperback
Published August 7, 2018
108 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Ryan M. Reeves
7 books15 followersRyan Reeves is Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also serves as Dean of the Jacksonville campus. He and his wife Charlotte have three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 24, 2022
How did we get our Bible and what is the history of the transmission of the Christian Bible? Christians who love God and the Bible should care about this question! So here is a great resource for general readers by two authors that are qualified to teach us about this matter. The first author is Ryan Reeves, an Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the second author is Charles E. Hill Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity. Charles Hill has also written and edited books related to text of Scripture and manuscripts. Yet they wrote in a way that was accessible for the general Christian audience to understand all the while being informative and narrating the history and contexts of Bible editions.
After an introductory chapter, the second chapter is on the Old Testament that also talked about Dead Sea Scroll. Chapter three was on the Septuagint. Here I thought it was interesting that the order of the books was changed and the grouping is largely based upon literary forms and our Christian canonical order is largely influenced by the Septuagint. Chapter four is on the New Testament. Chapter five is on the early Christians. Chapter six is on the Vulgate. Chapter seven is on the Medieval Bible. Chapter eight is on John Wycliffe’s Bible then the next chapter is on the Reformation. Chapter ten is on the Protestant Bible in English and chapter eleven is on the King James Bible. Chapter twelve is on the modern Bible and chapter thirteen is on the Bible Today and Tomorrow.
I like the format. After each chapter are study questions based upon the reading along with recommended readings.
One of the chapters I learned a lot about is on Medieval Bible. I guess I never appreciated the medieval contribution before. As Europe was transitioning away from Latin we see the impact in this is felt in other ways: the name Bible is coined during this time from the Latin word meaning book, the effort to reform Latin copies of manuscripts we see better handwriting to lower chance of copy errors and also standardizing verses for the Bible. Copying Bibles was hard work and took a lot of time and involved a high cost. A good pace for a monastery would produce two to four Bibles annually. It is so costly Bibles were never sold commercially and also people’s illiteracy. I think this chapter also cover how there was few who could afford buying the whole Bible too since the economy then didn’t have a middle class and this was before the Printing Press allowing mass printing of the Bible. Chapter five on the early Christians was also of interests to me since it does touch on the Canon. I learned here the early church leader Justin Martyr shared the Jewish canon and didn’t embrace Apocrypha. Likewise Melito of Sardis did not hold to the Apocrypha. I also appreciate learning about the Geneva Bible in contrast to King James Bible. Geneva Bible was used by those who were more non-conformists than those who were tolerating of the official Church of England. It was seen as a politically subversive Bible throughout history. The final chapter’s discussion about the role of Bible Society to help spread the Gospel through Bible translations and distribution was also very informative and fascinating; I’m grateful for Christians in the past work here.
This is a book I recommend. Even if one does know about Bible editions in history one will find this book enjoyable and one might still learn something from this book.
After an introductory chapter, the second chapter is on the Old Testament that also talked about Dead Sea Scroll. Chapter three was on the Septuagint. Here I thought it was interesting that the order of the books was changed and the grouping is largely based upon literary forms and our Christian canonical order is largely influenced by the Septuagint. Chapter four is on the New Testament. Chapter five is on the early Christians. Chapter six is on the Vulgate. Chapter seven is on the Medieval Bible. Chapter eight is on John Wycliffe’s Bible then the next chapter is on the Reformation. Chapter ten is on the Protestant Bible in English and chapter eleven is on the King James Bible. Chapter twelve is on the modern Bible and chapter thirteen is on the Bible Today and Tomorrow.
I like the format. After each chapter are study questions based upon the reading along with recommended readings.
One of the chapters I learned a lot about is on Medieval Bible. I guess I never appreciated the medieval contribution before. As Europe was transitioning away from Latin we see the impact in this is felt in other ways: the name Bible is coined during this time from the Latin word meaning book, the effort to reform Latin copies of manuscripts we see better handwriting to lower chance of copy errors and also standardizing verses for the Bible. Copying Bibles was hard work and took a lot of time and involved a high cost. A good pace for a monastery would produce two to four Bibles annually. It is so costly Bibles were never sold commercially and also people’s illiteracy. I think this chapter also cover how there was few who could afford buying the whole Bible too since the economy then didn’t have a middle class and this was before the Printing Press allowing mass printing of the Bible. Chapter five on the early Christians was also of interests to me since it does touch on the Canon. I learned here the early church leader Justin Martyr shared the Jewish canon and didn’t embrace Apocrypha. Likewise Melito of Sardis did not hold to the Apocrypha. I also appreciate learning about the Geneva Bible in contrast to King James Bible. Geneva Bible was used by those who were more non-conformists than those who were tolerating of the official Church of England. It was seen as a politically subversive Bible throughout history. The final chapter’s discussion about the role of Bible Society to help spread the Gospel through Bible translations and distribution was also very informative and fascinating; I’m grateful for Christians in the past work here.
This is a book I recommend. Even if one does know about Bible editions in history one will find this book enjoyable and one might still learn something from this book.
September 20, 2018
Excellent book on the the subject. I am going to require it in my Hermeneutics class. Concise, thorough, engaging writing style. It is important that Christians understand how we got our Bible. This book is a great introduction to the topic.
March 4, 2019
I love Zondervan's “Know” series, and was very excited when they announced a book on the formation of the Bible. I teach a class on the history of the Bible and hoped this would make a great textbook for lay readers who are looking for accessible resources. This book was not the book I hoped it would be. Only the first four chapters cover the formation of the Greek and Hebrew texts, and that is done with little attention to primary sources. The remaining seven chapters, the bulk of the book, focus on the theological disputes between Catholics and Protestants before, during, and following the generation of the Reformation, and this is clearly the focus and interest of the authors.
Much of the history of the Bible is framed here as a war between Catholics and Protestants. The authors refer to pre-Reformation Christians as "Catholics" when those Christians' efforts oppose the authors’ narrative (88, 106). The Old Latin translation didn’t “go down without a fight,” the Catholic church could not “stanch the bleeding” of Protestant Bible production, etc. etc.
Paradigm changing events like the publication of the Codex Sinaiticus (itself described only as a “valuable tool for modern research”) are given only a couple sentences (in the chapter on "the Medieval Bible" no less). Relatively marginal subjects (such as John Wycliffe or the Avignon Papacy) have entire sections and chapters dedicated to their times and theological disputes, much of which bears no relation to the formation of the Bible.
The book is rife with poor prose. The book's claim that "The most critical challenge in the Middle Ages was the cost of producing a Bible" (97) would probably be disputed by a 12th century dairy farmer. The book suggests “One wonders if Alcuin truly understood that Latin would never again be spoken as it was in the classical age of Rome” (94) but one does not wonder such things for one can assume Alcuin was not a fortune teller, nor a fool.
For an accessible introduction to the formation of the biblical canon, John Sailhamer's "How We Got The Bible" is still the best available. For an introduction to the transmission of the Hebrew and Greek texts, Anderson and Widder's "Textual Criticism of the Bible" (Revised Edition) is excellent.
Much of the history of the Bible is framed here as a war between Catholics and Protestants. The authors refer to pre-Reformation Christians as "Catholics" when those Christians' efforts oppose the authors’ narrative (88, 106). The Old Latin translation didn’t “go down without a fight,” the Catholic church could not “stanch the bleeding” of Protestant Bible production, etc. etc.
Paradigm changing events like the publication of the Codex Sinaiticus (itself described only as a “valuable tool for modern research”) are given only a couple sentences (in the chapter on "the Medieval Bible" no less). Relatively marginal subjects (such as John Wycliffe or the Avignon Papacy) have entire sections and chapters dedicated to their times and theological disputes, much of which bears no relation to the formation of the Bible.
The book is rife with poor prose. The book's claim that "The most critical challenge in the Middle Ages was the cost of producing a Bible" (97) would probably be disputed by a 12th century dairy farmer. The book suggests “One wonders if Alcuin truly understood that Latin would never again be spoken as it was in the classical age of Rome” (94) but one does not wonder such things for one can assume Alcuin was not a fortune teller, nor a fool.
For an accessible introduction to the formation of the biblical canon, John Sailhamer's "How We Got The Bible" is still the best available. For an introduction to the transmission of the Hebrew and Greek texts, Anderson and Widder's "Textual Criticism of the Bible" (Revised Edition) is excellent.
July 3, 2020
The first chapters provide a foundational discussion of how scriptural texts came to be collected into what we know as the Bible. These chapters provide, I think, a satisfactory introduction for a study on the origins of the bible. The latter chapters are more focused on the conflict between Catholic and Protestant approaches to acceptance of available bible texts, ancient and otherwise. My reading of this book didn't add much to my understanding of the origins of biblical texts, a subject I have considered a few times over the years, but rather it supported what little I already understood.
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November 15, 2019If you are interested in how we got the Bible...this is a book about it.
September 18, 2018
Informative, but biased
The book does an impressive job of explaining the issues involved in translation in general, and specific issues involved in Biblical translation. It also does a good job of relating the basic historical events from just before the Reformation to modern times. While I would argue a more detailed examination of the theology of the persons involved in the pre and post Reformation era is vital to understanding the historical context of their actions, that is neither the stated focus of this book nor a subject the target audience--the average Protestant layman--would understand. Those readers interested in learning more can check out the author's (mostly excellent) videos on YouTube.
The problem with this book is its overtly Protestant depiction of the early, pre-Constantinian Church and the formation of the Canon of Scripture; particularly where the so-called Apocrypha is concerned. Like all Protestants he focuses on the objections raised by some early Fathers to these writings, ignoring the fact that similar objections were raised against what eventually became Canonical books of the New Testament (Martin Luther used these same objections to try to discredit St James' epistle). He also stresses the cannon of the post AD 70 revolution as the set cannon of the Jews in the time of Christ, when the Dead Sea Scrolls and late first/early second century rabbinical correspondence suggest otherwise (this is noted, but downplayed instead of examined in an intellectually honest way).
That Reeves takes this path is not surprising: from his YouTube videos his view of the Early Church, though factual, is retrofit to post Reformation standards of Christianity. What disappoints me greatly is that Charles Hill, author of the excellent REGNUM CAELORUM: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity (a re-editing of his doctoral dissertation) would allow this in a book listing him as co-author. Professor Hill has shown himself an unbiased scholar of the Early Church. Reeves' questionable representation of the proto-canonical era, while appropriate to Reeves, seems far beneath Hill.
The negative aside this book has many strengths, particularly in writing clarity. I do recommend it for its later historical content, though I would encourage those who read it to also read supplemental materials on the Early Church and the process of Scriptural cannonization. Specifically I recommend Craig D Allert's excellent A HIGH VIEW OF SCRIPTURE? and Jaroslav Pelikan's WHOSE BIBLE IS IT? (or anything by Professor Pelikan, really). Be advised that Pelikan, though a clear and concise author, was a distinguished Yale professor. His books have the factual density one would expect from a scholar of his caliber.
To anyone who actually read this review to the end, I am most grateful!
The book does an impressive job of explaining the issues involved in translation in general, and specific issues involved in Biblical translation. It also does a good job of relating the basic historical events from just before the Reformation to modern times. While I would argue a more detailed examination of the theology of the persons involved in the pre and post Reformation era is vital to understanding the historical context of their actions, that is neither the stated focus of this book nor a subject the target audience--the average Protestant layman--would understand. Those readers interested in learning more can check out the author's (mostly excellent) videos on YouTube.
The problem with this book is its overtly Protestant depiction of the early, pre-Constantinian Church and the formation of the Canon of Scripture; particularly where the so-called Apocrypha is concerned. Like all Protestants he focuses on the objections raised by some early Fathers to these writings, ignoring the fact that similar objections were raised against what eventually became Canonical books of the New Testament (Martin Luther used these same objections to try to discredit St James' epistle). He also stresses the cannon of the post AD 70 revolution as the set cannon of the Jews in the time of Christ, when the Dead Sea Scrolls and late first/early second century rabbinical correspondence suggest otherwise (this is noted, but downplayed instead of examined in an intellectually honest way).
That Reeves takes this path is not surprising: from his YouTube videos his view of the Early Church, though factual, is retrofit to post Reformation standards of Christianity. What disappoints me greatly is that Charles Hill, author of the excellent REGNUM CAELORUM: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity (a re-editing of his doctoral dissertation) would allow this in a book listing him as co-author. Professor Hill has shown himself an unbiased scholar of the Early Church. Reeves' questionable representation of the proto-canonical era, while appropriate to Reeves, seems far beneath Hill.
The negative aside this book has many strengths, particularly in writing clarity. I do recommend it for its later historical content, though I would encourage those who read it to also read supplemental materials on the Early Church and the process of Scriptural cannonization. Specifically I recommend Craig D Allert's excellent A HIGH VIEW OF SCRIPTURE? and Jaroslav Pelikan's WHOSE BIBLE IS IT? (or anything by Professor Pelikan, really). Be advised that Pelikan, though a clear and concise author, was a distinguished Yale professor. His books have the factual density one would expect from a scholar of his caliber.
To anyone who actually read this review to the end, I am most grateful!
September 18, 2018
Super useful, honest, and pleasant read!
A solid overview of how we got the Scriptures with an emphasis on the history (as opposed to the theology of any doctrine of Scripture). The writing is clear and lightly playful, and its use of history is honest and forthright instead of weaponizing historical knowledge to further a view.
The history of English Bible translations is included, and that alone is fascinating. Had no idea how important Tyndale was.
A solid overview of how we got the Scriptures with an emphasis on the history (as opposed to the theology of any doctrine of Scripture). The writing is clear and lightly playful, and its use of history is honest and forthright instead of weaponizing historical knowledge to further a view.
The history of English Bible translations is included, and that alone is fascinating. Had no idea how important Tyndale was.
January 25, 2019
If you're looking for an in-depth book on manuscript transmission, this is not the way to go. Reeves and Hill instead give us a very readable book on how we come to hold a Bible in English in our hands. The chapters are brief and don't go too in-depth, but the story is clear and informative. Short bibliographies accompany each chapter, which offer natural next steps for additional reading and inquiry. A very enjoyable read!
February 10, 2021
Good, clear overview of the origins of the early translations of the Bible into secondary languages, including English. It touched very lightly on some issues that I wish had been covered in more depth (for example, the manuscripts used for the KJV vs. newer translations), but I understand that was probably beyond the scope of what this book was intended to do.
I listened to this as an audiobook.
I listened to this as an audiobook.
July 17, 2022
My wife and I have watched a lot of Ryan Reeves' videos on YouTube. He is an excellent teacher and his videos on Church history are fascinating.
He carries that ability over into this book where he gives a great overview of the history of the Bible.
If you can get the accompanying audio lectures you should listen to those too. Great info.
Oh, and go watch his YouTube channel as well.
He carries that ability over into this book where he gives a great overview of the history of the Bible.
If you can get the accompanying audio lectures you should listen to those too. Great info.
Oh, and go watch his YouTube channel as well.
April 15, 2025
Good overview of Biblical transmission from a Protestant perspective. Gives a fair treatment of the Vulgate, which was intended to be a vernacular translation when it was first written. Acknowledges the titanic influence of the KJV over all modern English Bible translations, and the KJV's own immense debt of gratitude to William Tyndale. I would recommend this book to any reader as an introduction to the subject!
November 14, 2025
This is a good introductory work on "how" we got the Bible we have today. However, there were times when this felt more like a history of the Reformation (with an obvious protestant slant) rather than a story of the Bible itself. Not the strongest read as far as getting all the information one may be after, but the "Recommended Reading" at the end of each chapter was a helpful inclusion to help offset that.
December 8, 2021
I used this a the grid for my High School Sunday School class on How we got the Bible. It's fairly well done; a bit selective at times, but gives a good survey. Easily leads to discussion of the Apocrypha, canon, reliability of manuscripts and text transmission, use of the Bible by different groups throughout history, and modern translations.
February 22, 2022
Some really helpful sections of this book. I read this book with a Catholic and because of his perspective I wish they had bridged the gap some, but it’s written by Protestants for Protestants.
A very helpful introduction to canonicity and even helps brings up questions on interpretation but all from a well-written historical analysis.
A very helpful introduction to canonicity and even helps brings up questions on interpretation but all from a well-written historical analysis.
November 19, 2022
A reasonable story of how we came to have the Bible. It is lighter on canon and textual criticism than I would prefer, but it does a good job of telling the story through the centuries down to our modern translations. While I don't think it is the most helpful in the early period, it is definitely useful in getting a big picture of the Bible in history.
February 14, 2023
Informative and helpful in many areas of a Christians life.
The timeline of the bible and its transformation was by far the most intriguing, I was not surprised how many lives were lost creating, revising, and protecting the Holy Scriptures. Everyone who loves our creator should know the history.
The timeline of the bible and its transformation was by far the most intriguing, I was not surprised how many lives were lost creating, revising, and protecting the Holy Scriptures. Everyone who loves our creator should know the history.
September 15, 2018
Excellent overview of history of the Bible from beginning to various versions today. Written for the laity. Should be on the shelf of evey pastor, Sunday school teacher, youth leader, small group leader, etc.
November 15, 2018
Fantastic accessible history of the Bible
This book is recommended reading for anyone who wants to know how we got the Bible we have today. The authors have done a great job of creating an easily accessible and historically accurate treatment of the topic.
This book is recommended reading for anyone who wants to know how we got the Bible we have today. The authors have done a great job of creating an easily accessible and historically accurate treatment of the topic.
December 11, 2019
Reeves has a great voice that evokes trust and nuanced understanding. He zeroes in on the history of the English/Latin Bibles in a way that tells a cohesive narrative with empathy for the architects. The parts about Jerome's Vulgate were particularly insightful and colorful.
March 7, 2024
Complete overview of how The Bible came into existence throughout the centuries from ancient biblical times to present
quite an impressive history of translations given here although brief because of the vast scope of history it's attention to detail is impressive and certainly a must read
quite an impressive history of translations given here although brief because of the vast scope of history it's attention to detail is impressive and certainly a must read
November 28, 2024
I've read a few of these type of books but it was still enjoyable and it gave me a few insights especially into the King James Bible. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to get too deep into things I think is very approachable for beginners.
January 15, 2019
Very accessible language. This is not exhaustive but a great overview.
November 14, 2019
Really good book for layman to read! Easy to understand and engaging.
January 12, 2020
Reeves and Hill are very articulate in this quick and not-too-complicated summary of how our bible came to be, history and some textual criticism.
December 21, 2020
A decent review of how the Bible arrived at its present state.
March 29, 2022
wonderful and approachable
I really enjoyed this book. A wonderful overview with tons of extra resources for added study …in areas of reader interest.
I really enjoyed this book. A wonderful overview with tons of extra resources for added study …in areas of reader interest.
January 22, 2019
Perfect overview of an important subject. My dd (she is 15 yo) and I read it together and really liked how clear and concise this book is.
After reading this book, my daughter and I read the introduction to the different bible translations that we could possible find in our home. It was an interesting exercise.
After reading this book, my daughter and I read the introduction to the different bible translations that we could possible find in our home. It was an interesting exercise.
December 30, 2020
Good intro. Helpfully answers a lot of questions without getting too bogged down in endless details.
July 18, 2024
Very easy to understand book about how the Scripture came into being.
I learned a lot from this book and it strengthened my confidence in how we got the Bible and the authority of the Bible itself.
I learned a lot from this book and it strengthened my confidence in how we got the Bible and the authority of the Bible itself.
January 4, 2020
“The story of the Bible is a story of change. First in Hebrew, then Greek and Latin — from hand-copied papyrus sheets to the Gutenberg press. The Bible has been a tool for conformity and a firebrand in the hand of reformers. It has been tightly controlled and smuggled into countries under the noses of government officials. But in all these contexts, it is the Word of God.”
What an amazing book packed with information. In about 200 pages, the authors take you on a journey of how the Bible we hold in our hands came to be. This book has only strengthened my faith in the Scriptures. If you are a new believer, or would like to get an overview of the how we got our Bible, definitely check this out!
What an amazing book packed with information. In about 200 pages, the authors take you on a journey of how the Bible we hold in our hands came to be. This book has only strengthened my faith in the Scriptures. If you are a new believer, or would like to get an overview of the how we got our Bible, definitely check this out!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews