Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament)

“In the Old Testament we read God’s word as it was spoken to his people Israel. Today, thousands of years later, we hear in these thirty-nine books his inspired and authoritative message for us.” These twin convictions, shared by all of the contributors to The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, define the goal of this ambitious series of commentaries. For those many modern readers who find the Old Testament to be strange and foreign soil, the NICOT series serves as an authoritative guide bridging the cultural gap between today’s world and the world of ancient Israel. Each NICOT volume aims to help us hear God’s word as clearly as possible. Scholars, pastors, and serious Bible students will welcome the fresh light that this commentary series casts on ancient yet familiar biblical texts. The contributors apply their proven scholarly expertise and wide experience as teachers to illumine our understanding of the Old Testament. As gifted writers, they present the results of the best recent research in an interesting manner. Each commentary opens with an introduction to the biblical book, looking especially at questions concerning its background, authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology. A select bibliography also points readers to resources for their own study. The author’s own translation from the original Hebrew forms the basis of the commentary proper. Verse-by-verse comments nicely balance in-depth discussions of technical matters ― textual criticism, critical problems, and so on ― with exposition of the biblical writer’s theology and its implications for the life of faith today. An evangelical explication of the wealth and depth of material imbedded in Scripture's first book. Whereas many recent commentaries have divided Genesis into multiple layers of tradition, the author of this commentary observes that the scholarly arguments in favour of the literary and theological unity of the Genesis text are growing and impressive. Hence, he stresses the main theme running throughout most of the book: God's gracious promise of blessing and reconciliation in the face of sin and evil. The introduction includes sections on the book's title, structure, composition, theology, problems in interpretation, canonicity and Hebrew text; an outline of the whole book and bibliography are included. A unique feature of this book is the author's emphasis on the reading of Genesis by the New Testament community. Following his commentary on each chapter or unit of Genesis, he discusses where and how the New Testament appropriated material from that section and incorporated it into the message of the New Covenant The second of Victor P. Hamilton's two-volume study of Genesis for the NICOT series, this prodigious and scholarly work provides linguistic, literary, and theological commentary on Genesis 18-50. Beginning with Abraham's reception of the three visitors and his intercession before Yahweh on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18) and continuing through the end of the Joseph story (Gen. 50), the overarching theme of Hamilton's commentary is Yahweh's faithfulness to his promised word and his covenant commitments to those whom he has chosen to receive that promised word. Special features of this commentary include its serious attention to important matters of biblical translation from the Hebrew language into English, copious footnotes that direct readers to further and more extensive sources of information, and frequent references to the New Testament writers' reading of Genesis. Hamilton's work will greatly benefit scholars, seminarians, and pastors who seek solid exegesis of the Bible's foundational book By Victor P. Hamilton. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.