The Books of the Bible : Volume 1 Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Volume 2 New Testament

The editor has drawn together noted theologians and biblical scholars from the United States, England and Germany to produce a unique reference work on the Bible and on the inspired Jews and Christians who recorded, wrote and arranged it. In original essays, the contributors explore the history, style, meaning and influence of each book of the Bible.

While there is considerable discussion of such historical questions as authorship, chronology, translation, and the early religious leaders' debates over which writings should be included as books of the Bible, the emphasis is on reading the scriptures as literature.