The Bible has been the most influential text in all of Western culture. It's difficult to understand medieval or early modern or much of modern literature without knowing it...
Prof. Barbara Newman, Northwestern University
from 2006 Bible Literary project
It's not that it's impossible to read some writers without a Biblical background, but that you would miss a whole dimension to their work.
Prof. Steven Goldsmith, University of California at Berkeley
from 2006 Bible Literary Project
I can only say that if a student doesn't know any Bible literature, he or she will simply not understand whole elements of Shakespeare, Sidney, Spenser, Milton, Pope, Wordsworth
Prof. Robert Kiely, Harvard University
from 2006 Bible Literary Project
...there is truth in the remark. "without Tyndale[Bible translator], no Shakespeare"...
Prof. David Daniell, University College London
from The Bible in English
You can't really study Western literature intelligently or coherently without starting with the Bible.
Prof. Gerald L. Bruns, University of Notre Dame
from 2006 Bible Literary Project
...a familiar understanding of Christian doctrine in historical perspective thus contributes to a fuller appreciation of Shakespeare's art, but Shakespeare's art
Prof. Roland M. Frye
from Shakespeare and the Christian Doctrine
In English tradition and also for an American tradition begun by Puritan writers, a knowledge of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament is even more crucial than classical references.
Prof. Ulrich Knoefplmacher, Princeton University
from 2006 Bible Literary Project
There is no book more important for our culture than the Bible, and it is fundametal to the study of English literature and language.
Prof. David Jasper and Prof. Stephen Prickett
from the Bible and literature
Picture description: Godfrey Kneller’s 1689 portrait of Isaac Newton
Picture copyright: http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/art/portrait.html
Genesis 17:19
The name was derived from the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq), meaning “he will laugh”. In the Old Testament, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah when they were aged a hundred and ninety respectively. Isaac was given the name because Sarah had laughed at the messengers of God when they told her she would bear a child regardless of her old age. In the Book of Genesis, God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obeyed but God’s angel prevented him from killing Isaac at the last moment. When Isaac was forty, he married Rebecca, and twenty years later his twin sons Esau and Jacob were born. Isaac Newton, an English physicist, was a famous bearer of the name. He viewed the existence of God undeniable before the grandeur of all creation.
Male
Abraham Esau faith Isaac Jacob Rebecca sacrifice Sarah
NIV official site
Chinese Bible (???)
A lot of phrases, such as "two-edged sword" and " an eye for an eye", are taken from the English Bible. Learning the stories behind these idioms is fun, and can help boost your vocabulary. Click here to find out now!
This website is your perfect companion for looking up idioms and names originated from the Bible. You can sort it by alphabetical order or by the book in the Bible.
