Customer Reviews

How to Read Genesis (How to Read Series How to Read)

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"How to Read Genesis" is a gem of a book. As mentioned by the other reviewer, this is a commentary that tries not to be a commentary. That is to say it does not go into intricate detail verse by verse, but the book does desire to explore the major views, considerations, and theological concerns found in the Book of Genesis. Which is a good thing indeed. A lot of people, especially, as I say kindly to the Young Earth theologians, try to work eisegesis instead of exegesis, trying to put into Genesis what they want to put into Genesis while not allowing the book to speak for itself, for itself as would have been toward those Jews who first received the Torah and toward those of us today as we read the Book of Genesis with what we know about science and theology in today's world. Longman is probably one of the best Old Testament scholars out there. I've read several of his works already and have enjoyed them all. As a seminary student who desires to gain a MATS degree in order to teach theology, especially Old Testament theology, this is definitely one of the books I will have my students read in order to understand and appreciate what God has to say in the Book of Genesis. I realize this is a short review, but I think that you the reader of this review will gain a lot of new knowledge about Genesis by reading Longman's book (then again, you'll gain a lot of information by just reading any of Longman's works). This is a quick read but, like any good boxer, it hits the points dead on.

Tremper Longman wrote this book and didn't want to admit that it was a commentary in the scholarly sense of the word. Well, I gotta tell ya, Tremper... the book's a commentary in the scholarly sense of the word!

Granted, Longman does not do a verse-by-verse exegesis or an elaborate Hebrew translation, but he does provide ample commentary on the subject in the Book of Genesis, some using professional scholarship as insight.

Even if the book is a professional commentary, I have to say that it certainly sets itself into a unique class amongst Biblical study texts. Longman writes How to Read Genesis for simple reading, and he does cover all topics of Genesis (some more than others). His writing style and what he found important to comment on was sometimes different than what I wanted to read. I found myself disagreeing a whole heck of a lot with his comments, too! (Maybe that's what he meant when denying that this book is a commentary - he added his opinion to some concepts that he felt were left open to speculation.)

Anyway, the greatest value I received from this book wasn't so much "how to read" the great Book of Genesis (because I found myself disagreeing so much with Longman), but from the background and comparative stories that the author provided. He didn't just present a straight commentary on Genesis - he offered insight to other civilizations, religions, and cultures during the supposed times that Genesis was written or was referencing. This, in many ways, offered a sort of "side story" which is great for adding to your Bible study.

I would recommend this book to anybody who has already read the Book of Genesis. I tried reading Longman's book alongside reading Genesis to see if I could get better insight that way, but it didn't work. The best value in Longman's book, I found, was just reading the Biblical version first, having those stories relatively fresh in my mind, and then going to Longman's book. In this way, my memory was not only jogged, but, like I said, the author's insights really opened my eyes even more to this ancient Scripture.

I would also recommend this book for group Bible study. Again, still read Genesis first, not alongside. Then, in Bible study, Longman's book will bring out certain issues for the group to discuss. I think you would have fun disagreeing (or agreeing) with the author on some of his points, all the while drawing out the full color of the Book of Genesis thanks to Longman's commentary.

So don't think of this as a "how to" book as the title would mislead us into thinking. This is a commentary and a comparative work, and certainly a very worthy one for all Bible students.

Book was received within the specified time and its condition was as advertised.

Thanks

The book starts off as if it is going to tell you a lot, it doesn't really. It simply hem and haws through showing you a few ideas, but simply leaves you feeling that the author doesn't truly believe the accounts found in Genesis. I may be reading it wrong, but not the highest book I would recommend on Genesis