Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes

The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries

by E.A. Speiser

Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha.  Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible.  He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology.  Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth.  As he says in his introduction, he "is not motivated by mere pedantry...but by the hope that each new insight may bring us that much closer to the secret of the Bible's universal and enduring appeal."

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Reference, Biblical Studies, Theology, Old Testament, Judaism

378 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone wishing to go beyond their Sunday School understanding of the source materials behind Genesis, this is a good start. The old Documentary Theory has fallen on hard times, but Speiser helps reveal why it originated. The notes alone would be worth reading.
If your idea of Genesis is "Moses wrote it, grandma explained it, and I ain't changing my mind;"then this is not the book for you!
Speiser shows how the text pulls no punches in one of it's most famous stories in Genesis 22:6. "Cleaver. The pertinent Heb. noun ... is used expressly for butcher knives." The patriarch is called to cut himself off from his Beloved son and God's instrument of Promise. The next time some minor event makes you pout, recall the story of this man's trust in God.

[Jane Arney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago and am currently reading again as a supplement to my one-year Bible. Some of the scholarship is a bit dated now, ie. the documentary hypothesis has been modified somewhat in recent years, but its close examination of the original language and background of the text is still of supreme value. I believe this is still the the definitive work on the book of Genesis as an ancient literary text, and though it treats the historical and religious aspects of the work, it in no way caters to a fundamentalist approach, thank goodness!

[Eddie LaRow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth a few footnotes in my dissertation. The commentary itself was pretty minimal. Furthermore Speiser spends too much time on DH.

[Mark Graybill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best detailed translation and analysis of Genesis. Drawing on parallel texts, contrasts between sources, and careful analysis of the pitfalls of the transcription process, uses of different text styles, and the usage patterns of the different periods in which work was performed on the source material, it integrates this all into a highly accurate translation carefully presented.

Speiser 'shows his work' every step of the way in great detail. He makes excellent use of recently discovered extrabiblical sources to establish context for the stories and statements in Genesis, and to bring comprehension through the cultural picture of the times, often unknown to the transcribers themselves.

60 years later, this book is still unsurpassed.

[Mark Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an error in the author listing. The translation, notes and commentary for the Anchor Bible Genesis volume is by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser, the Assyriologist. He published this in 1964, the year before he died. Drawing on his knowledge not only of Hebrew but also of the cuneiform languages of Akkadian and Ugaritic he is able to make clear the probable meanings of many a problematic passage in this endlessly fascinating but often puzzling scripture. This was a labor of love by an amazingly gifted and diligent Jewish scholar who had a keen appreciation for the concision,vividness and humanity of the Patriarchal Narratives. He frankly states that there is much yet to be learned and that many of his conclusions are tentative, but I much appreciated the the massive learning he brought to his task. Genesis tells us so little yet evokes so much! e.g. In all the accounts of the Patriarchs only in the instance of Joseph and Asenath is there no mention of serious marital disharmony. Did Joseph's success allow him to keep his private life private on the record or did his capacity for forgiveness help him domestically?

[Fred Kohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect much from a book so old and so short relative to the subject matter. But the author manages to pack in what seemed to me to be just the right details into his limited space. I'm not an expert on Hebrew, so I don't know if those who are might be bothered by the transliteration of the Hebrew. It seemed to use characters I was not familiar with, such as a Latin "s" with a dot underneath for the Hebrew Tzaddik. So it's possible that this old book is using an old system of transliteration, but I'm not really sure. Maybe I never noticed this character before because I never read a book with Hebrew transliteration that held my attention as well as this one!

[William Schrecengost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really heavily critical. Almost entirely just commentary on which fictional authors wrote the shreds of the story of Genesis. A similar outcome can be gained by giving the book of Genesis to a pack of angry Dobermans and then tacking the miscellaneous pieces into 3 different cork boards designated “J”, “E”, and “P”.
Some good translation and cultural notes, but nothing that couldn’t be gained from Wenham

[Ryan Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this - I don't think Genesis could ever be more clear and I learned to appreciate Gods dealings with the patriarchs much more. It is not for everyone - only for the patient who are entertained but minute and arguably unnecessary details.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this is a very good resource for those interested in the historical and literary Torah/Bible. I believe it is a little dated in its scholarship, focusing primarily on the documentary theory of authorship. Frankly, the difference with more modern interpretation is subtle. All theories agree that there were different authors, but the question appears to be how these different strands were gathered.

This series is certainly thorough, with a solid translation, almost line-by-line analysis, and a summary commentary. It provides a much-needed context and history through which these ancient, bronze age stories can be understood. It was a foreign world to us.

It’s a good resource, but not great. The translation is rather workman-like and dull. You don’t want to be looking for any particular magic. I think more space could be devoted to the literary aspects or art forms of Torah prose. This is a solid edition and very useful for most people, but I’d recommend Robert Alter’s excellent translation of the Old Testament. (And for the hardcore Biblical reader, his books on Biblical poetry and prose are a revelation.)

You can see my general comments on the Torah here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

As I re-read the different chapters:

Joseph Story (Chapters 37-50) **** -- This is one of the better, more realized, stories in Genesis. To my tastes, it holds together better than the Abraham sections. It also displays the complex simplicity of Biblical prose at its best. In the form, you can see the future story of David, one of the true masterpieces in the Bible.

I’m not religious scholar, but the story of Joseph does not have the significance and impact of some of the other books of Genesis. It serves to get the Hebrew people into Egypt for Moses, but lacks the moral complexity and depth that inspires discussion thousands of years later (like Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac or Cain’s murder of Abel).

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speiser's commentary on Genesis was published several years before the influential works of Rendtorff, Van Seters, Schmid, and others who would call for a paradigm shift in Pentateuchal source criticism. Nonetheless, it is valuable for scholars and students of the Old Testament interested in the classical source critical evaluation of Genesis. For pastors in need of a resource for sermon preparation, there are more useful commentaries than this one.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not useful and outdated

There is frequent reliance on the Documentary Hypothesis. And, it’s just a reprint of the 1964 publication as shown on the copyright page (reprinted 2008 by Yale). Buyer beware!

[⌦K8U]

for literary traditions - read genesis 1.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries Series

The Anchor Bible project, consisting of a commentary series, Bible dictionary, and reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production.

Old Testament [Blue]

Genesis 1964
Genesis Book I [soon] ***
Genesis Book II [soon] ***

Exodus 1-18 1999
Exodus 19-40 2006
Exodus 1-18 [soon] ***
Exodus 19-40 [soon] ***

Leviticus 1-16 1998
Leviticus 17-22 2000
Leviticus 23-27 2001

Numbers 1-20 1993
Numbers 21-36 2000

Deuteronomy 1-11 1991
Deuteronomy 12-24 [soon] ***

Joshua 1982
Joshua 1-12 2015
Joshua 13–24 2023 ***

Judges 1974
Judges 1-12 2014
Judges 13–24 [soon] ***

Ruth 1975
Ruth 2016

Lamentations 1972
Lamentations 1992

Esther 1971

Song of Songs 1977

I Samuel 1980
II Samuel 1984

I Kings 2001
II Kings 1988

I Chronicles 1965
I Chronicles 1-9 2003
I Chronicles 10-29 2004
II Chronicles 1965

Ezra-Nehemiah 1965
Ezra 2023 ***

Job 1965

Psalms I, 1-50 1966
Psalms II, 51-100 1968
Psalms III, 101-150 1970

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes 1965
Proverbs 1-9 2000
Proverbs 10-31 2009
Ecclesiastes 1997

Isaiah 1-39 2000
Isaiah 40-55 2002
Isaiah 56-66 2003
Second Isaiah 1969

Jeremiah 1965
Jeremiah 1-20 1999
Jeremiah 21-36 2004
Jeremiah 37-52 2004

Ezekiel 1-20 1983
Ezekiel 21-37 1997
Ezekiel 38-48 2018

The Book of Daniel 1978

Hosea 1980
Amos 1989
Amos 2017
Jonah 1990
Jonah 2023 ***
Joel 1995
Obadiah 1996
Micah 2000
Micah 2023 ***
Nahum 2009
Habakkuk 2001
Zephaniah 1994
Haggai, Zechariah 1-8 1987
Zechariah 9-14 1992
Malachi 1998

………

Red Testament [Red]

Matthew 1971

Mark 1986
Mark 1-8 2002
Mark 8-16 2009

The Gospel According to Luke I-IX 1970
The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV 1985

The Gospel According to John I-XII 1966
The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI 1970
The Epistles of John 1982

The Acts of the Apostles 1967
The Acts of the Apostles 1998

I Corinthians 1976
I Corinthians 2008
II Corinthians 1984

The Letters to the Thessalonians 2000
Romans 1993
Galatians 1997
Philippians 2008

Ephesians 1-3 1974
Ephesians 4-6 1974

Colossians 1995

The Letter to Philemon 2000
The Letter to Titus 1990
The First and Second Letters to Timothy 2001

To the Hebrews 1972
Hebrews 2001

The Epistle of James, Peter and Jude 1964
The Letter of James 1995
1 Peter 2000
2 Peter, Jude 1993

Revelation 1975
Revelation 2014

………

Apocrypha/Deutercanon [Tan and Black]

The Wisdom of Ben Sira 1987
Judith 1985
Tobit 1996
I Maccabees 2022 ***
II Maccabees 1983
I & II Esdras 1974
Daniel, Esther and Jeremiah: The Additions 1977
[Extracanonical] The Gospel of Judas 2022 ***

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take the JEPD stuff with a grain of salt, but enjoy his linguistic expertise.