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Title details for The Voice, the Word, the Books by F. E. Peters - Available

The Voice, the Word, the Books

The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims

by F. E. Peters
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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 of 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.
Peters is an acknowledged expert who has written extensively on these three great world religions, each of them an inheritor of the faith of Abraham. Published in conjunction with an exhibit at the British Library, this illustrated book includes beautiful images of the rare editions on exhibit and constitutes Peters's most ambitious and illuminating examination yet of the sacred texts that so inform civilization both East and West.

  • Creators

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  • Release date

    June 26, 2018

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

      • ISBN: 9780691190471

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780691190471

    • PDF ebook

      • ISBN: 9780691190471
      • File size: 5565 KB
    Kindle restrictions

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 26, 2007
      Peters, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at NYU and author of The Children of Abraham
      , lucidly explains how Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities understand and interact with their sacred texts—the Tanakh, the Bible and the Qur'an. Unsurprisingly, he opens with discussions of authorship and canonization: who wrote the books, how did the sacred texts achieve their final form, and how do religious authorities discern what counts as "the Word of God"? He also takes up the question of translation, elucidating the theology that underlies the Islamic belief that "a translated Qur'an is not really a Qur'an." But the truly fascinating sections of the book investigate quirkier topics, such as the different religions' regulations about the conditions under which people are allowed to handle sacred books. One of the most interesting chapters addresses the relationship between art and text, examining how various scribes and calligraphers have illustrated holy books; Peters makes an intriguing claim about the Qur'an, suggesting that despite Islamic insistence that the meaning of the text lies solely in the words, "Qur'anic decoration"—geometric and floral imagery—may "add another layer of meaning." This is undoubtedly one of the best single volumes on the history of sacred text in the Abrahamic faiths, and many readers will find it an invaluable resource.

    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2007
      At a time when books like Stephen Prothero's "Religious Literacy" challenge contemporary Americans to learn more about other faiths in our post-9/11 world, Peters (Middle Eastern & Islamic studies, NYU; "The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam") examines the similarities and differences in the function of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran as scripture for each respective religious community. Addressing a broad general audience, he employs a historical critical methodology to try to determine how each faith developed, canonized, and passed on its version of God's revelation to humanity. In nine chapters, he details, e.g., the human composition of each collection of scripture, its transmission through different versions, and its use and application in each religious community. He further traces its historical development from its origin on Mount Sinai to the invention of the printing press in 1454, by which time the collection of sacred scripture for all three religions had become stabilized. In its important comparative analysis of the historical development, role, and function of sacred scripture in the three major monotheistic religions, Peters's book helps promote interfaith understanding. Highly recommended.Charles Murray, Boston Univ. Sch. of Theology Lib.

      Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

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Kindle restrictions

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  • English

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