A Biblical paraphrase is a literary work that has as its goal not the translation of the Bible but, rather, the rendering of the Bible into a work that retells all or part of the Bible in a manner that accords with a particular set of theological or political doctrines. Such works "weave with ease and without self-consciousness, in and out of material from the volume we know between hard covers as the Bible...(bringing it) into play with disparate sources, religious practices, and (prayers.)

Such works were the most common form of Biblical literature in Medieval Europe. The Historia Scholastica

Historia scholastica

The Historia Scholastica is a twelfth-century Biblical paraphrase written in Medieval Latin by Petrus Comestor. Sometimes called the "Medieval Popular Bible", it draws on the Bible and other sources, including the works of classical scholars and the Fathers of the Church, to present a universal...

 was the most successful Biblical paraphrase. The Paraphrases of Erasmus

Paraphrases of Erasmus

The Paraphrases were Latin Biblical paraphrases, rewritings of the Gospels by Desiderius Erasmus. They were composed between 1517 and 1524 and occasionally revised by Erasmus during the remaining years of his life....

 are another notable work. Paraphrases could take the form of poetry, prose, or be written as the lyrics of songs such as the Presbyterian paraphrases.