The Voice, the Work, the Books; the sacred Scriptures of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims

The Voice, the Work, the Books; the sacred Scriptures of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims

"Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe that their Scriptures preserve God's words to humanity, and that those words were spoken uniquely to them. In The Voice, the Word, the Books, F.E. Peters leads readers on an extraordinary journey through centuries of written tradition to uncover the human fingerprints on the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran, sacred texts that have enriched millions or lives." "Bringing the latest Biblical and Quranic scholarship to a general audience, Peters explains how these three powerfully influential books passed from God's mouth, so to speak, to become the Scriptures that we possess today. He reveals new insights into their origins, contents, canonization, and the important roles they have played in the lives of their communities. He explores how they evolved through time from oral to written texts, who composed them and who wrote them, as well as the theological commonalities and points of disagreement among their adherents. Writing in the comparative style for which he is renowned, Peters charts the transmission of faith from the spoken word to the printed page, from the revelations on Sinai and Mount Hira to Mamluk ateliers in Cairo and Gutenberg's press in Mainz."--Jacket.

F.E. Peters

Princeton : Princeton University Press

2007

Introduction: the voice from Sinai -- Sacred words, sacred book -- Book shaping: the making of a canon -- Reciters, rhapsodes, and scribes: how the Bible reached us -- The reporters: the good news and how we got it -- The poet in performance: the composition of the Quran -- The book in mortal hands -- In other words -- Picturing the Word -- Giving voice to the Word -- Epilogue: three books, side by side.

Introduction: the voice from Sinai -- Sacred words, sacred book -- Book shaping: the making of a canon -- Reciters, rhapsodes, and scribes: how the Bible reached us -- The reporters: the good news and how we got it -- The poet in performance: the composition of the Quran -- The book in mortal hands -- In other words -- Picturing the Word -- Giving voice to the Word -- Epilogue: three books side by side.

Book