Customer Reviews

The NIV Application Commentary Genesis

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4 star:		(5)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are other commentaries I would choose first for verse-by-verse help, but Walton's is the best introduction to the methods of responsible interpretation of Genesis. Walton is an expert in cultural backgrounds and literary genres of the Ancient Near East and also offers some informative word studies. A strength and a weakness of this book is that Walton strongly resists reading later theology or our own culture's questions and answers into the original message of the text; he challenges us to interpret Genesis in the context of the cultural setting for which it was first written. That is a virtue that can occasionally be overplayed. If I would pick one point on which to disagree with Walton, I would hold onto the possibility that God might inspire the words of scripture in such a way that they can have one meaning to their original audience and a deeper or additional meaning to later audiences. But, by and large, Walton's thrust in this area is helpful.

While Walton's writing is understandable, and his faith is thoroughly conservative evangelical, he forces readers to think deeply about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of many traditional interpretations, and that can be upsetting to many readers, especially when he is challenging a cherished, traditional interpretation. Let me assure you that he does not depart from faith in God's word and in God's total sovereignty. I think that those who say otherwise have not read him closely and carefully enough. I do not agree with every step in his reasoning, but I am challenged to clarify my own thinking as by no other commentary.

I didn't know exactly what to expect when I began reading this commentary, but it quickly became clear to me that this book was different than any commentary I had read before. Not only was it solid in research and background information, but its ability to apply the truths of the Old Testament to my life today was amazing. This book is written in such a way that can benefit the beginner and the scholar. It is easy to understand, as well as deep and moving in its insights. Not only did it increase my knowledge, but more importantly, it was a powerful tool for increasing my intimacy with Christ. I highly recommend this book.

While not everyone will agree with the author's opinion on the first chapters of Genesis I found a great deal of useful information and some very sound theological discussion. The author challenges us, the reader, to think theological and for this very reason the book is well worth the price. Just the authors knowledge of ancient culture makes this book worth buying and reading. We do not need to agree with every page of every book we read yet we can still learn a great deal from those whom we disagree with. I used this book in putting together a bible study and really loved its bridging context and modern day application, the author is to be commended for his insight and ability to bring this ancient text into our modern world.

I was hesitant to buy this book because it is labeled as an application commentary and I was looking for a technical, scholarly commentary. I ended up buying the book due to the solid reviews it received.

This is not a verse-by-verse commentary. Walton works through the book passage by passage and comments on the main points of each passage. Despite this fact, he occasionally makes points that larger commentaries on Genesis manage to miss. The writing should be readable even for beginners in biblical studies. It should be noted that the commentary is weighted towards the Primeval History and the Abrahamic stories, but I think this is justified since the Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph stories are easier to understand for lay readers.

The review by Ed Campbell, that states Walton allegorizes the text and says Genesis is mythology, is factually wrong. Walton makes use of our knowledge of the ancient Near East to explain how the first readers of Genesis would have understood the text. After all, Genesis is a text from the ancient Near East.

This commentary is an excellent analysis of the book of Genesis by a pre-eminent OT scholar. I won't say that this is the definitive commentary, because there is much scholarly debate regarding many aspects of the contents of Genesis, and you can find a wide range of views even among the experts (Walton, Waltke, Wenham, etc.). Walton's take may be slightly different from some of the other scholars, but then again, just about every Genesis scholar has a slightly different take from the rest.

If you're familiar with Walton's other writings on the OT, you know that his area of expertise is in the relationship between the Bible and other ancient near eastern texts. With all due respect to the reviewer who gave this commentary one star and called it "unbelievable," I think he completely missed the point. Walton is fond of using the phrase, "The Bible was not written TO you, it was written FOR you." By this he means that the text was written by ancient-near-easterners to ancient-near-easterners, and we need to understand the text in its original context to truly grasp the message that the author is intending to deliver.

This point is not unique to Walton, and you will find it discussed in many Genesis commentaries. These types of conversations make people uneasy at times because the common phraseology for this type of literature is "creation myth." But to say that Genesis qualifies as creation myth is far from calling it false or unhistorical. The term "myth" here refers more to the type of message being communicated. Walton discusses this at length and is unequivocal about his belief in the historicity and truth of the book of Genesis.

Given that approach, Walton frequently reads the text in ways that are unintuitive to modern readers. The easiest example of this is in the creation story of Genesis 1. Readers may come to this commentary looking for his take on which scientific theory best explains Genesis 1. But Walton's approach somewhat side-steps this question by asking what the original readers thought when they read this. His answer is that they had no concept of what we would call "scientific explanations," and thus the text should not be read as making any kind of scientific statement. The moment we begin to draw scientific conclusions from the text, we engage in modern revisionism. Walton's explanation of what the author is actually trying to convey is fascinating, but I'll leave that to him to explain.

I highly recommend this commentary, but I suggest that you come with an open mind and be willing to try to get out of the modern mindset and think like an ancient-near-easterner. There is no question that Walton's theology is in the realm of orthodoxy.

I have read a number of commentaries on the book of Genesis and this is one of my favorites. Let's face it, for the Christian faith the importance of Genesis is paramount. Walton gives a fair and balanced treatment of the text and pulls in the necessary elements of culture in order to understand the ancient Near Eastern worldview in which Israel was birthed. Just as we in the 21st century have certain similarities with our culture, we cannot expect Israel to be untouched by theirs or expect God's revelation to them to be devoid of interaction with the culture. Whether the reader agrees with his conclusions or not, Walton's insights are very helpful.

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

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I believe this seller did well. However the United States Postal Service tends to be slow and was in this case. Overall, I was satisfied with the service.

Don't waste your money! The author allegorizes the text to say that Genesis (at least the so called "prehistory") is no more than ancient mythology. Its amazing to me a Christian scholar can claim that the bible is anything other than the LITERAL word of God. If you take the scripture seriously, don't waste your time or money.