Select Commentaries and Monographs on the Book of Genesis

    Here is a select list of texts, translations, commentaries, monographs, and articles in the languages mentioned in the preceding post – Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, and German – with scholarship in English thrown in for good measure. The first six entries are fundamental. Start with them and go from there: the doors of many worlds will open to you.

 1) מקראות גדולות הכתר׃ ספר בראשית חלק א׳, חלק ב׳׃ נוסח המקרא על־פי ׳כתר ארם צובה׳, תרגום אונקלוס על־פי כתבי יד תימניים, עם הפרושים׃ רש״י, רשב״ם, ר׳ אברהם אבן עזרא, ר׳ אברהם אבן עזרא שיטה אחרת, רמב״ן, רד״ק, ר׳ יוסף בכור שור, רלב״ג, על־פי מיטב כתבי היד של ימי־הביניים, עם ׳עין המסורה׳ ־ ביאור ומראי־מקומות להערות המסורה  Mikra’ot Gedolot ‘HaKeter’ Genesis Parts I-II: A Revised and Augmented Scientific Edition of ‘Mikra’ot Gedolot’ Based on the Aleppo Codex and Early Medieval MSS. Menachem Cohen, ed. [presentation and item-by-item explanation of the Tiberian Masorah is without peer; edition of T supersedes that of Sperber, but lacks a textual apparatus]. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan Univ. Press, 1997, 1999. To read alongside of 2) and Leibowitz. 

2) מדרש בראשית רבתי :נוסד על ספרו של ר’ משה הדרשן׃ יוצא לאור על פי כתב היד הנמצא בפראג עם תיקונים והערות ומבוא ומפתחות. Chanoch Albeck, ed.ירושלים׃ מקיצי נרדמים, בסיוע מוסד הרב קוק שעל-יד המזרחי העולמי, 1940 and reprints. To read alongside of 1) and Leibowitz. 

3) Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis editum vol. I Genesis. John William Wevers, ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1974. To read alongside of 4). 

4) La Bible d'Alexandrie: La Genèse. Traduction du texte grec de la Septante, introduction et notes par Marguerite Harl avec la collaboration de Monique Alexandre, Cécile Dogniez, Gilles Dorival, Alain Le Boulluec, Olivier Munnich, Pierre Sandevoir, et Françoise Vinel. Paris: Éd. du Cerf, 2010 (1986). To read alongside of Philo’s treatises, Didymus’s commentary, Origen’s Homilies, and Chrysostom’s sermons. For a summary presentation of La Bible d'Alexandrie, go here. 

5) Biblia Latina Cum Glossa Ordinaria. With an introduction by Karlfried Froehlich and Margaret T. Gibson. Facsimile Reprint of the Editio Princeps Adolph Rusch of Strassborg 1480/81. Turnhout: Brepols, 1992. Out of print. The introduction is sold separately. An electronic edition of the Glossa is in preparation by Mark A. Zier. The 1480/81 edition also contains the Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra. 

6) Die Schrift. Verdeutscht von Martin Buber gemeinsam mit Franz Rosenzweig - mit Bildern von Marc Chagall.  Berlin: GVH Wissenschaft & Gemeindepraxis, 2007. 

7) Robert Alter, Genesis. Translation and Commentary. New York: Norton, 1996. 

8) Erich Auerbach, “Die Narbe des Odysseus,” in idem, Mimesis: dargestellte Wirklichkeit in der abendländischen Literatur. 10th ed.; Bern: Francke, 2001 (1946) 3-23. ET “Odysseus’ Scar,” chapter 1 of Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Willard R. Trask, trans.; 50th anniversary ed. with a new introd. by Edward W. Said; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003 [1953]. 

9) Walter Brueggemann, Genesis. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Atlanta: John Knox, 1982; Italian translation, Genesi. Strumenti e commentari; Torino: Claudiana, 2002. To read alongside of Fretheim. 

10) David Carr, Reading the Fractures of Genesis. Historical and Literary Approaches. Louisville: Westminster/ John Knox Press, 1996. 

11) Moshe David [Umberto] Cassuto, פירוש על ספר בראשית: סדר בראשית, סדר נח וחלק מסדר לך לך Jerusalem: Magnes, 1996 [1944]. ET A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, vol. 1, From Adam to Noah (trans. Israel Abrahams; 1961; repr., Jerusalem: Magnes, 1998), A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, vol. 2, From Noah to Abraham (trans. Israel Abrahams; 1964; repr., Jerusalem: Magnes, 1992). 

12) Jean Chrysostome. Sermons sur la Genèse. Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par Laurence Brottier. Sources Chrétiennes 433. Paris: Éd. du Cerf, 1998. To read alongside of 4), Philo’s treatises, Didymus’s commentary, and Origen’s Homilies. 

13) Frank Crüsemann, “Abraham und die Bewohner des Landes. Beobachtungen zum kanonischen Abrahambild,” EvTh 62 (2002) 334-347; repr. in idem, Kanon und Sozialgeschichte: Beiträge zum Alten Testament (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2003) 66-79; “Herrschaft, Schuld und Versöhnung. Der Beitrag der Jakobgeschichte der Genesis zur politischen Ethik,” in idem, Kanon und Sozialgeschichte: Beiträge zum Alten Testament (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2003) 80-87; ET “Dominion, Guilt, and Reconciliation: The Contribution of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis to Political Ethics,” Semeia 66 (1994) 67-77; “Gott aller Menschen - Gott Israels. Beobachtungen zur Konzeption des Gebrauchs von Elohim und Jhwh zwischen Genesis 1 und Exodus 18,” in "Eine Grenze hast du gesetzt": Edna Brocke zum 60. Geburtstag (Judentum und Christentum; Ekkehard W. Stegemann and Klaus Wengst, eds.; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2003) 131-144; “Damit ‘Kain nicht Kain wird’: Die Wurzeln der Gewalt und ihre Überwindung in biblischer Sicht,” in idem, Maßstab: Tora: Israels Weisung für christliche Ethik (2nd ed.; Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2004) 88-104; ET available here; “Texte mit Widersprüchen: Beobachtungen zu ihrem Selbstverständnis am Beispiel der Flutgeschichte,” in Was ist ein Text? Alttestamentliche, ägyptologische und altorientalistische Perspektiven (Ludwig Morenz and Stefan Schorch, eds.; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2007) 197–206. Full bibliography here. To read alongside of Ebach. 

14) Didyme l'Aveugle. Sur la Genèse, I. Texte inédit d'après un papyrus de Toura. Introduction, édition, traduction et notes par Pierre Nautin avec la collaboration de Louis Doutreleau. Sources Chrétiennes 233. Paris: Éd. du Cerf, 1976. Sur la Genèse, II. Texte inédit d'après un papyrus de Toura. Introduction, édition, traduction et notes par Pierre Nautin avec la collaboration de Louis Doutreleau. Sources Chrétiennes 244. Paris: Éd. du Cerf, 1978. To read alongside of 4), Philo’s treatises, Origen’s Homilies, and Chrysostom’s Homilies. 

15) Jürgen Ebach, “’Wir sind ein Volk.’ Die Erzählung vom ‘Turmbau zu Babel,’” in Weltdorf Babel. Globalisierung als theologische Herausforderung (Giancarlo Collet, ed.; Theologie und Praxis / B, 11; Münster: Lit, 2001) 20-43; “’Der Kampf am Jabboq.’ Gen 32,23–33,” in Leget Anmut in das Geben – zum Verhältnis von Ökonomie und Theologie (Jürgen Ebach, Hans-Martin Gutmann, Magdalene L. Frettlöh, and Michael Weinrich, eds.; Jabboq 1; Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlag, 2001) 13-43; Genesis 37‑50. HTKAT; Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2007. Full bibliography here. 

16) Terence E. Fretheim, “The Book of Genesis: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Leander E. Keck et al., eds.; Nashville: Abingdon, 1994. 1: 319-674. 

17) Jan P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis. Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis. Studia Semitica Neerlandica 17; Assen: van Gorcum, 1975. = Biblical Seminar 12; Sheffield: Academic Press, 1991. [Gen 11,1-9; 25.27-35]. 

18) Hermann Gunkel, Genesis. GHAT; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1901, 31910, 1969. ET Genesis. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. Mercer Library of Biblical Studies. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1997). The German of the 1901 edition is available online through www.archive.org beginning here. Also: Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit: eine religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung über Gen 1 und Ap Joh 12 mit Beiträgen von Heinrich Zimmern. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1895, 21921. The German is available online through www.archive.org beginning here. As Pieter G. R. de Villiers demonstrated, the available ET is irrevocably flawed. 

19) Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis. 1-17. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990, The Book of Genesis. 18-50. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. To read alongside of Wenham. 

20) Ronald S. Hendel, [Introduction and Commentary on Genesis], HarperCollins Study Bible Fully Revised and Updated. Harold W. Attridge, general editor, revised edition; Wayne A. Meeks, general editor, original edition; Jouette M. Bassler, Werner E. Lemke, Susan Niditch, and Eileen M. Schuller, associate editors; James Luther Mays, consulting editor; New Revised Standard Version with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books. New York: HarperSanFrancisco [a division of HarperCollins] 2006. 3-82. To read alongside of Levenson. Also: Reading Genesis: Ten Methods. Ronald S. Hendel, ed., New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. See his forthcoming Yale Anchor Bible commentary on Genesis 1-11. 

21) Benno Jacob, Das erste Buch der Tora. Genesis. Übersetzt und erklärt. Berlin: Shocken Verlag, 1934; repr. Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 2000. 

22) Nehama Leibowitz,לימוד פרשני התורה ודרכים להוראתם: ספר בראשית, המחלקה לחינוך ולתרבות תורניים בגולה, ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית, תשל"ה (מהדורה חדשה ע"י ספריית אלינר, תשס"ג). ET Studies in Bereshit (Genesis): in the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary. 4^th revised ed. Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1981 [1975]. New Studies in Genesis (Bereshit). Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization. 2010. To read alongside of 1) and 2). 

22) Jon D. Levenson, [Introduction and Commentary on Genesis], in The Jewish Study Bible. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds.; Michael Fishbane, consulting ed.; Jewish Publication Society TANAKH translation; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 8-101. To read alongside of Hendel. 

23) R. W[alter]. L. Moberly, The Theology of the Book of Genesis. Old Testament Theology; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. For a review, go here. 

24) Nicholas of Lyra, Postilla super totam bibliam. Unveränd. Nachdr. [d. Ausg.] Strassburg 1492. Frankfurt: Minerva, 1971. 4 volumes. See also: Biblia: Cum postillis Nicolai de Lyra et expositionibus Guillelmi Britonis in omnes prologos S. Hieronymi et additionibus Pauli Burgensis replicisque Matthiae Doering. Nürnberg: Anton Koberger, 1485. Digitalisierte Ausgabe der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf. Illustrated edition. Background: here and here. For a taste, go here. 

25) Origène, Homélies sur la Genèse. Sources Chrétiennes 7bis. Texte latin de W. A. Baehrens (GCS). Introduction par Henri de Lubac et Louis Doutreleau. Traduction et notes par Louis Doutreleau; Paris: Éd. du Cerf, 2003 (1944). Presentation by Marie-Laure Chaieb-Bourgueil. 

26) Menakhem Perry, עזר כנגדו: רבקה וחתנה העבד, והקואליציה של אלוהים עם הנשים בסיפור המקראי, אלפיים  29 (2006) 193-253 “A Help Against Him: Rebekah and her Bridegroom, Abraham’s Servant: The Coalition of God with Women in Biblical Literature” = available in English in truncated form “Counter-Stories in the Bible: Rebekah and her Bridegroom, Abraham's Servant,” Prooftexts 27 [in the special issue: Before and After The Art of Biblical Narrative] (2007) 275-323. 

27) Philon d'Alexandrie, De opificio mundi. Introduction générale, introduction, traduction et notes par Roger Arnaldez. Œuvres de Philon d'Alexandrie 1. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1961. De Abrahamo. Introduction, traduction et notes par Jean Gorez. Œuvres de Philon d'Alexandrie 20. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1966. Quaestiones in Genesim et in Exodum. Introduction, texte critique et notes par Françoise Petit. Œuvres de Philon d'Alexandrie 33. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1978. For a complete listing, go here. 

28) Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis. Heritage of Biblical Israel 1. Melton Research Center of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. New York: Shocken, 1966. Genesis. בראשית. The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation [and] Commentary. The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. 

29) Andreas Schüle, Die Urgeschichte (Genesis 1-11). ZB AT 1.1. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 2009. 

30) John Skinner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis (2nd ed.; ICC; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1930 [1910]). 1910 edition available online here. 

31) Meir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985. 

32) Gerhard von Rad, Das erste Buch des Mose. Genesis. ATD 2-4. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Bd. 1: 1949, ¹¹1981; Bd. 2: 1952, ⁶1967; Bd. 3: 1953, ⁵1967. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1972, ¹⁰1976. ET Genesis: A Commentary. OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961, 1985. = Genesi. Traduzione e commento. AT 2-4; Brescia: Paideia, 1978. = El libro del Genesis. Biblioteca de estudios bíblicos 18; Salamanca: Sígueme, 1977, ²1982. = Le livre de la Genèse. CAT I; Neuchâtel: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1968. 

33) Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15. WBC 1; Waco: Word, 1987. Genesis 16-50. WBC 2; Dallas: Word, 1994. 

34) Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-2-3. BK I, 1-2-3; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1974, 1981, 1982. ET Genesis I-II-III. Minneapolis: Augsburg/Fortress, 1984, 1985, 1986.

Comments

[Paul D.]

I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday on how much I appreciate your post and enjoy reading in other languages.

Do you own La Bible d'Alexandrie? What are the notes and commentary like? I'd like a copy of the Septuagint on paper, but it's too expensive for me to buy on a whim.

[Brian Mitchell]

I am familiar with the works of Marc Zvi Brettler, Nahum M. Sarna, Umberto Cassuto, and Menachem Cohen.

But, I was surprised and happy to find Victor P. Hamilton on your list! He is a fascinating scholar in my opinion. He is conversant with not a few modern disciplines reading the study of Pentateuch yet some how he remains a traditional Christian 'world view'. In his handbook on the Pentateuch he combines a careful analysis of the text, outlines of JEDP theory, and reflections on how the NT writings adapt or reference it.

[JohnFH]

Hi Paul D.,

At the moment, when I read the Septuagint in Greek, in the Rahlfs-Hanhart edition or the electronic Goettingen edition (where available), I turn to an English translation, NETS, also available online, to check my understanding. However, if I check my understanding against the French or the German translation available, the check is more valuable and more thorough, because French and German are languages are inflected and because their relative unfamiliarity forces me to pay attention to detail I would otherwise miss.

The ideal thing would be to create a website or a module within Logos in which the Gottingen + Rahlfs + Cambridge were available for the Greek, and NETS, La Bible d'Alexandrie, and the new German translation available for comparison. That would be just for starters.

I own and use La Bible grecque des Septante : Du Judaïsme hellénistique au Christianisme ancien, par Marguerite Harl, Gilles Dorival et Olivier Munnich. But I have not yet broken down and bought the individual volumes in the series.

[JohnFH]

Hi Brian,

Hamilton is a careful and thoughtful exegete. His take on Genesis is not classical in the sense of drawing from either traditional Jewish or patristic interpretation. Rather, he is respectful of conservative Christian reserves toward things like the documentary hypothesis and any willingness to refer to parts of the Bible as mythological in terms of genre. That gains him a hearing among people who would otherwise find it very difficult to think through such questions with a serene heart.