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Genesis 1 - 11: Continental Commentaries
As a work of scholarship it is difficult to greet this commentary with anything but enthusiasm. It is certaily the most exhaustive and the very best treatment of these chapters available to us today. One can have little but praise for the breadth of Westermann's scholarship, and for the thoroughness, the clarity, and the fairness with which his discussion is presented. This is a commentary of outstanding usefulness which may be commended without reservation to all serious students of the Old Testament. It will stand as the definitive commentary on Genesis for years to come.
-- John Bright
in Interpretation
Westermann's commentary has the merit of taking a definite stand in the hermeneutical debate. In the tradition of Gunkel, it takes full advantage of the methods of form criticism and of the phenomenological study of religion. Again and again Westermann opens up dimensions of meaning which are not only relevant for theology but for human existence in the modern world.
-- Bernhard W. Anderson
Journal of Biblical Literature
-- John Bright
in Interpretation
Westermann's commentary has the merit of taking a definite stand in the hermeneutical debate. In the tradition of Gunkel, it takes full advantage of the methods of form criticism and of the phenomenological study of religion. Again and again Westermann opens up dimensions of meaning which are not only relevant for theology but for human existence in the modern world.
-- Bernhard W. Anderson
Journal of Biblical Literature
636 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 31, 2017
SUMMARY
Claus Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 is a massive 636 page volume, a “thorough survey and account of all the literature on Genesis--of the works of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish scholars, as well as the contributions of the pertinent secular disciplines” (ix). An attempt to summarize the book is akin to trying to share with someone what the 1812 Overture sounds like while only having a kazoo at one’s disposal. Attempts are not exactly futile, but one is certain much will be lost in the translation.
Be that as it may, Westermann’s work represents a powerful resource for any scholar of Genesis. The man read hundreds (thousands?) of books and papers and has carefully and logically gleaned the most important information for the reader. What follows is a complete analysis of the primeval portion of Genesis.
REVIEW
Westermann breaks down the primeval portion of Genesis (1-11) into several smaller sections: Creation of the World, Creation of Man and Woman and the Expulsion from Paradise, Cain and Abel, The Cainites, Succession of Generations, Sons of the Gods and the Giants, The Flood, Blessing and Covenant, Noah and His Sons, The Table of Nations, Tower of Babel, and the Genealogy of Shem. Furthermore, Westermann includes at the end a chapter on The Formation and Theological Meaning of the Primeval Story. As an additional help to readers, included are a list of abbreviations, index of Hebrew words, index of biblical references, index of subjects, and index of names and authors.
With the exception of the final chapter, each one consists of the following subsections:
Literature (the many, many texts read and incorporated into Westermann’s analysis)
Text (Westermann’s translation then translated into English rather literally)
Notes (explaining language issues within the text/translation)
Literary form (e.g., narrative) and its explanation
Setting in life (the occasion for the text in its original setting)
Commentary (finding meaning within the text based on the literature read, comparison to other Mesopotamian texts, etc.)
Purpose and thrust (generally the theological meaning and importance for readers today)
Generally Westermann spends the most time within each commentary section, some 263 pages (more than one fourth) of the entire book. It is here one can find such gems as the commentary on Genesis 1:1-2:4a. Speaking of 1:14, and the author’s decision to say there are “lights” (or lamps) in the sky--as opposed to naming them sun and moon--Westermann writes “The first sentence is a rejection of any trace of divinity in the sun...to describe the sun and the moon constantly as lights or lamps is to put the heavenly bodies as a whole in the context of creation. This is so important theologically that it can scarcely be exaggerated” (129).
Westermann’s writings on theology are helpful throughout the book. In the following quote, he sheds some light on a type of passage that has many modern readers scratching their heads: the genealogies. Why were they included? What is their significance? How does this type of writing compare with other writing from the Ancient Near East? Westermann writes, “Among Israel’s neighbors, the genealogies of the kings occur only after the genealogies of the gods; in Israel the genealogies follow immediately on the creation of humankind...the theological significance of the genealogies in Israel is seen with the beginning of political history in the real sense. ...Israel was always conscious of its origin from one father. This, side-by-side with Israel’s beginnings as a people based on a covenant with God, remained an essential element of its historical consciousness and persevered through all vicissitudes and failures. This is the source of the importance of the family throughout the history of Israel” (66). In other words, a section (genealogies in general) that many of us skim through or skip over entirely, actually had great significance to those hearing these words some three millennia ago.
ANALYSIS
As a college student, my normal operating procedure is to request all textbooks either through my local library or, if more rare, through the service that pulls books from all the libraries in my state. When I received Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 I knew I had to buy it for two reasons. One, it’s such a massive volume that there is no way I could do it justice in the three weeks that interlibrary loan provides. Two, the book was so exhaustively researched and well done that I knew I’d want to return to this treasure time and again when I wanted to go deeper into Genesis.
For me, that is the highest praise I can give the book: actually shelling out the money as well as the shelf space to own a copy of it. Claus Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 is a monumental volume and worth a spot on the shelf of anyone who considers him- or herself a scholar of Genesis.
Claus Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 is a massive 636 page volume, a “thorough survey and account of all the literature on Genesis--of the works of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish scholars, as well as the contributions of the pertinent secular disciplines” (ix). An attempt to summarize the book is akin to trying to share with someone what the 1812 Overture sounds like while only having a kazoo at one’s disposal. Attempts are not exactly futile, but one is certain much will be lost in the translation.
Be that as it may, Westermann’s work represents a powerful resource for any scholar of Genesis. The man read hundreds (thousands?) of books and papers and has carefully and logically gleaned the most important information for the reader. What follows is a complete analysis of the primeval portion of Genesis.
REVIEW
Westermann breaks down the primeval portion of Genesis (1-11) into several smaller sections: Creation of the World, Creation of Man and Woman and the Expulsion from Paradise, Cain and Abel, The Cainites, Succession of Generations, Sons of the Gods and the Giants, The Flood, Blessing and Covenant, Noah and His Sons, The Table of Nations, Tower of Babel, and the Genealogy of Shem. Furthermore, Westermann includes at the end a chapter on The Formation and Theological Meaning of the Primeval Story. As an additional help to readers, included are a list of abbreviations, index of Hebrew words, index of biblical references, index of subjects, and index of names and authors.
With the exception of the final chapter, each one consists of the following subsections:
Literature (the many, many texts read and incorporated into Westermann’s analysis)
Text (Westermann’s translation then translated into English rather literally)
Notes (explaining language issues within the text/translation)
Literary form (e.g., narrative) and its explanation
Setting in life (the occasion for the text in its original setting)
Commentary (finding meaning within the text based on the literature read, comparison to other Mesopotamian texts, etc.)
Purpose and thrust (generally the theological meaning and importance for readers today)
Generally Westermann spends the most time within each commentary section, some 263 pages (more than one fourth) of the entire book. It is here one can find such gems as the commentary on Genesis 1:1-2:4a. Speaking of 1:14, and the author’s decision to say there are “lights” (or lamps) in the sky--as opposed to naming them sun and moon--Westermann writes “The first sentence is a rejection of any trace of divinity in the sun...to describe the sun and the moon constantly as lights or lamps is to put the heavenly bodies as a whole in the context of creation. This is so important theologically that it can scarcely be exaggerated” (129).
Westermann’s writings on theology are helpful throughout the book. In the following quote, he sheds some light on a type of passage that has many modern readers scratching their heads: the genealogies. Why were they included? What is their significance? How does this type of writing compare with other writing from the Ancient Near East? Westermann writes, “Among Israel’s neighbors, the genealogies of the kings occur only after the genealogies of the gods; in Israel the genealogies follow immediately on the creation of humankind...the theological significance of the genealogies in Israel is seen with the beginning of political history in the real sense. ...Israel was always conscious of its origin from one father. This, side-by-side with Israel’s beginnings as a people based on a covenant with God, remained an essential element of its historical consciousness and persevered through all vicissitudes and failures. This is the source of the importance of the family throughout the history of Israel” (66). In other words, a section (genealogies in general) that many of us skim through or skip over entirely, actually had great significance to those hearing these words some three millennia ago.
ANALYSIS
As a college student, my normal operating procedure is to request all textbooks either through my local library or, if more rare, through the service that pulls books from all the libraries in my state. When I received Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 I knew I had to buy it for two reasons. One, it’s such a massive volume that there is no way I could do it justice in the three weeks that interlibrary loan provides. Two, the book was so exhaustively researched and well done that I knew I’d want to return to this treasure time and again when I wanted to go deeper into Genesis.
For me, that is the highest praise I can give the book: actually shelling out the money as well as the shelf space to own a copy of it. Claus Westermann’s Genesis 1-11 is a monumental volume and worth a spot on the shelf of anyone who considers him- or herself a scholar of Genesis.
April 24, 2013
This is a translation of one of the most important commentaries on Genesis. It is extremely detailed and not an easy read. I would give it 5 stars, but the structure of the book makes it hard to use, with information on a given pericope spread out and interrupted by excursuses.
February 12, 2017
Helpful in some places, frustrating in others. Doesn't get to the message of the text.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews