Commentaries on Genesis

Various Authors

I've had a great opportunity in recent years to put a lot of time into a study of the book of Genesis. One of the side-effects of this is becoming familiar with several of commentaries which have been written about this book. Here, I will offer some brief thoughts on the ones which I have read (or, am currently reading).

But first, a note about the use of commentaries: There are two great fallacies (and one lesser fallacy) in the way many people approach the use of commentaries. The first is perhaps the most heinous: people who rely totally on commentaries as a substitute for careful Bible study. A commentary should never be consulted until one conducts his own thorough study of the text. Only after one reaches his own conclusions should he ever pick up a commentary.
The second fallacy can be almost as dangerous to those who have done their own study, and is detrimental to those who haven't: choosing one commentary—either one for each book of the Bible, or a favorite set—and only using that one. There is no sure way to be led down the ideology and theology of a certain writer than not balancing his thoughts out with other thinkers. Scholars have a way of making things sound convincing, and you may be easily swayed out of the results of your study by consulting only one scholar. Surveying a range of scholarship will give you an idea of the variety of interpretations and prevent you from being led by the hand down another's thinking.
The third fallacy—admittedly, a lesser one—is the outright rejection of all thought other than your own (i.e., "all commentaries are evil"). I certainly don't want to say that one cannot study the Bible on their own in order to come to the correct conclusions. However, there are great things that can be learned through the proper use of commentaries (i.e., after you study on your own and with a minimum of two or [preferably] three). Notes on the culture and times of the people involved in the narrative (or the audience), notes on the linguistic information (Hebrew or Greek), notes on the structure or literary style of the passage—all of these are things of great value which few of us can bring to the table of study on our own, and most of which are found in good commentaries.

Now, stepping off that soapbox, let me turn to the commentaries on Genesis with which I am familiar. If it is part of a series, I have placed the series in italics next to the author's name. Everything not otherwise noted is one volume.

Group 1
Bruce Waltke, with Cathi J. Fredricks.
Victor Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 v.
Kenneth Matthews, The New American Commentary, 2 v.
Gordon Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary, 2 v.

These four are probably the most scholarly that I have studied, yet they are all relatively readable for a scholarly work. My favorite of these—my favorite commentary on Genesis, period—is Waltke's work. Each section of the text begins with a literary analysis of the text in question. This is followed by his comments on the text (exegetical notes, he calls them). Then, each section is capped off with theological reflections. So many commentaries—even my own notes—are a jumble of all of these, which makes it hard to know where one begins and the next ends. Waltke is easy to follow and you always know what to expect—literary analysis, comments, or theology.
      My next preferred one is a toss up between Matthews and Hamilton, depending on what day you ask me. As I write this, I'm leaning toward Hamilton, but last week, I was thinking Matthews. Either is a valuable resource that one would do well in consulting. Wenham is also a solid commentary, but I haven't found him as helpful as the other two.

Group 2
H.C. Leupold, 2 v.
C.F. Keil, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

Any of these, if used with one of the above group, would be valuable and an excellent way to temper one author's theology against the other's. Leupold and Keil are the more scholarly two of this group, though Leupold seems heavily focused on arguing against the liberal-critical scholars. Leupold can be of great benefit, because he offers more theological reflections (though not titled under that heading as with Waltke) than most of the other commentators; however, his staunch devotion to Luther can blind him in occasions whether Luther missed the mark on interpretation.
      Keil is, as this set always is, an excellent foundational resource to the study of any Old Testament book when it comes to a conservative, knowledgeable treatment of the Hebrew text. One downside of Keil is that his work is dated, and it shows in many places, where recent archaeological excavations have shed light on customs or language (Leupold is also slightly dated, though not so much as Keil). The other downside is that the Hebrew characters are used in the Hebrew words. And so, the average reader won't have any idea of what Hebrew word Keil is talking if he wanted to do further research in a Bible dictionary—unless he's really good at matching shapes.
      Kidner's volume is as most of the Tyndale series is: not the best commentary you'll find on a particular book, but a good and useful read. This is the simplest of the commentaries listed so far, but not so simple to be in the next group. The scope of his work is lacking, as is necessary for the format of TOTC, but where his comments are offered, they are never lacking thought.

If I were to recommend commentaries for study on Genesis, and could recommend only two from each of the above groups, it would be Waltke and either Matthews or Hamilton (see which one you can get cheaper?) from group one and Leupold and Kidner from group 2 (if you're more familiar with the Hebrew, you may want to substitute Keil for Leupold). If you're on a tight budget and can't afford two of the more scholarly (read: better) ones, Waltke, Leupold and Kidner would give you a solid background to do a serious study of Genesis.

Group 3
Howard Vos, Everyman's Bible Commentary
Leon Wood, Bible Study Commentary
John Davis, Paradise to Prison (Title of book, not series)
Charles Erdman
Robert Alter, Translation and Commentary (Title)

I hesitate at even mentioning this last group, because they are so scant in their comments that they are barely worth reading. Most of what they say, you should be able to figure out on your own. I would read these through as a primer to reading the more scholarly commentaries. On occasion, I found something useful in them. Rarely did I find that what was useful in them wasn't stated more clearly and expounded upon more fully in one of the above commentaries. If you can find one for a dollar or two, it might not hurt to pick it up and use it that way, but don't go out of your way looking for it. Vos is probably the best of the bunch, but that isn't saying much. All of these books are more exposition than commentary and will offer you the least help in anything of consequence.
Alter’s translation and commentary is helpful in places, but it can be skipped without losing too much. Alter is one of the foremost experts on Hebrew narrative structure, and from time to time offers good thoughts in that regard. However, there is little room for that in this volume. It is primarily his translation of Genesis with footnoted comments throughout—certainly not a great deal of detail to anything. Also, be warned that Alter is a believer in the liberal-critical documentary hypothesis, so his reading is colored by that interpretive paradigm.

See also, How to Read Genesis and Genesis and Us.

Editors
Standing-Alone.com

The Editors do not advocate everything taught by the authors of the books we review. Like us, these authors are fallible humans and those who choose to read these books should measure them by the bible, the one true standard.