Work on the 1,100 page Bible began in 1998 when it was commissioned by the Benedictine monks at Saint John's University, and was completely finished in December 2011 at a total cost of over $8 million.

The book is written on vellum by quill, containing 160 illuminations across its seven volumes, and uses the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE) of the Bible.

[1] Beginning in 1970, master calligrapher Donald Jackson—the official scribe in the Crown Office at the House of Lords of the United Kingdom—expressed in media interviews his lifelong desire to create a completely handwritten illuminated Bible.

[2][3] Between 1996 and 1997, Saint John's University explored the feasibility of the Bible project, with Jackson creating first samples and theologians developing the initial illumination schema.

"[6] Donald Jackson and his team also outlined during the production of the Bible six core values for its readers to apply to their lives: igniting spiritual imagination, glorifying God's word, reviving tradition, discovering history through manuscript exploration, fostering the arts, and giving a voice to the underprivileged.

The creators of The Saint John's Bible used a mixture of modern technology (computers used to plan the layout of the Bible and line-breaks for the text) and older techniques used in the creation of ancient illuminated manuscripts (handwritten with turkey, goose, and swan quills on calf-skin vellum; gold and platinum leaf and hand-ground pigments; Chinese stick ink).

This Bible reflects Saint John's commitment to Scripture and to the Book Arts, as well as to spiritual, artistic, educational and scholarly programming.

The meetings of the Committee on Illuminations and Text took place in Collegeville, Minnesota and much of the artwork was produced in Wales, resulting in a transatlantic collaboration as drafts were passed between the two groups.

"Seeing the Word," co-produced by Liturgical Press, is a collection of resources which intends to promote guided reflection and meditation on The Saint John's Bible and its illuminations.

Some of these are drawn from ancient and medieval Christian art, such as fish and trees, while others are more modern: a double helix DNA strand, Buddhist mandalas, and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

[23] The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University has one of the Heritage Editions on display in its Special Collections department as do various other academic institutions.