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Genesis: From Creation to Covenant
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Grumet explores the Book of Genesis in search for answers to the fundamental questions of human existence: Who are we? Why are we here? What does God want from us and what can we expect of Him? Shuttling deftly back and forth between the microcosmic and the macrocosmic, Rabbi Grumet offers a sensitive verse-by-verse reading of the biblical text, occasionally stepping back to reveal the magnificent themes that underlie the narrative as a whole: Creation and God, mortality and sin, family and covenant. Ambitious in scope and meticulous in execution, Genesis: From Creation to Covenant presents a remarkably original interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Divine quest at its heart – the quest for a meaningful relationship with humankind.
510 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2017
21 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 13, 2017
Genesis is part of a superb Tanakh (Bible) series being published by Maggid Books, which is part of the prestigious Koren Press, which publishes many superb books. The series is a goldmine for people who enjoy exploring the Bible. The books blend traditional studies with scholarly views of literary analysis. The books contain the views of rabbis from the Talmuds and Midrashim, medieval rabbinic commentaries, modern views, and focus on the ancient and modern world. Each volume is composed by a different scholar and readers will find very informative different approaches. some of the scholars give more emphasis to Midrash, other tend to focus on modern scholarship. I found that there were, as can be expected, interpretations of biblical words and events about which I disagreed with the writers of this series, but I still found what they wrote informative because it caused me to think and develop my own view,
Rabbi Zvi Grumet, a master Bible teacher with an Ed.D. from Yeshiva University, relies for many of his interpretations on Midrash. He rejects the scholarly view that the Pentateuch was composed by many authors. He sees the presence of God in all things: “In the Torah there is but a single Creator who plans, decides, controls, and creates everything.”
The Torah, he writes, among a wealth of observations in his 480-page book, “is not concerned with history, just as it is not concerned with biology or chemistry,” and “it is not meant as a scientific record of what happened [at creation] but serves as a religious guide.” Some of Grumet’s views may surprise some readers. He states that it is possible that certain events described in the Torah never occurred but are only metaphors or parables. He also raises an interesting question: Is it possible that God wanted Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of good and evil so that they would not spend their lives passively in a paradise. Then he asks: if this is so, why didn’t God create people outside the Garden with the powers and abilities contained in the forbidden fruit? He finds it significant that Abram is not called Abraham until a quarter century of his life has passed and that Jacob is not called Israel until he is well advanced in age, and he explains that biblical people, like humans today, develop; they must not be passive.
He suggests that God put Adam asleep before creating Eve because “Where Man to know that Woman is created from him, his relationship to her would be quite different; he would view her as an extension of himself rather than as an individual living parallel to him.” But this did not work. He writes: with rare exception the Torah only lists the birth of men even though it is obvious that female children were also born – “It likely reflects the culture and mores of the time: a strictly patriarchal society centered on men.”
He notes that Genesis introduces readers to many families, which "are, for the most part, failures," and he shows why this is so. But families are important. Why, he asks, does God choose Abram – “because of his deep commitment to the value of family,” that “family can be a vehicle for transmission of values.”
Rabbi Zvi Grumet, a master Bible teacher with an Ed.D. from Yeshiva University, relies for many of his interpretations on Midrash. He rejects the scholarly view that the Pentateuch was composed by many authors. He sees the presence of God in all things: “In the Torah there is but a single Creator who plans, decides, controls, and creates everything.”
The Torah, he writes, among a wealth of observations in his 480-page book, “is not concerned with history, just as it is not concerned with biology or chemistry,” and “it is not meant as a scientific record of what happened [at creation] but serves as a religious guide.” Some of Grumet’s views may surprise some readers. He states that it is possible that certain events described in the Torah never occurred but are only metaphors or parables. He also raises an interesting question: Is it possible that God wanted Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of good and evil so that they would not spend their lives passively in a paradise. Then he asks: if this is so, why didn’t God create people outside the Garden with the powers and abilities contained in the forbidden fruit? He finds it significant that Abram is not called Abraham until a quarter century of his life has passed and that Jacob is not called Israel until he is well advanced in age, and he explains that biblical people, like humans today, develop; they must not be passive.
He suggests that God put Adam asleep before creating Eve because “Where Man to know that Woman is created from him, his relationship to her would be quite different; he would view her as an extension of himself rather than as an individual living parallel to him.” But this did not work. He writes: with rare exception the Torah only lists the birth of men even though it is obvious that female children were also born – “It likely reflects the culture and mores of the time: a strictly patriarchal society centered on men.”
He notes that Genesis introduces readers to many families, which "are, for the most part, failures," and he shows why this is so. But families are important. Why, he asks, does God choose Abram – “because of his deep commitment to the value of family,” that “family can be a vehicle for transmission of values.”
June 3, 2023
I want to learn something from every commentary that I read, and Grumet covers that well. He works with the text, the story, and millenia of commentary to illuminate the text. Throughout, he understands well that the text is both celebratory and critical of its subjects. It is this realism that I think I appreciate most. Grumet takes the Patriarchs as real men, with both clear weaknesses, but also with faith and an earnest desire to follow God and keep in relationship with him. As an example, Grumet's care in working through Jacob's interactions with Joseph in the closing chapters, emblematic of both the tension between father and estranged son, as well as between the Called of Canaan and the Empire of Egypt, was particularly illuminating. I expect regularly to return to this reference resource.
July 18, 2018
While he was no theologian, Groucho Marx was onto something when he said, “If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong”. With some license to the man born as Julius Henry Marx, if you don’t find deep meaning in the Torah (Jewish Bible), then you are reading it wrong.
It’s incredulous that one can read the Torah, the written word of God, and not be incredibly moved. Incredulous or not, the reality is that even with myriad translations, for many people, the Torah is still a closed, and sadly, irrelevant work.
As the annual cycle of public Torah readings commences this week with sefer bereshis (Genesis), an incredibly insightful and unique new book is Genesis: From Creation To Covenant by Rabbi Dr. Zvi Grumet (director of the Tanach Program at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi).
The original approach Grumet takes to Torah is in part based on the Yeshiva Har Etzion method. This uses an analytically rigorous, creative, interpretive method, based on both traditional and academic sources, whose output has deep meaning. This organic approach and understanding of the Torah and Torah philosophy is particularly appealing for many who may find other approaches unsatisfying.
In addition, Grumet uses a humanistic reading of the various narratives that transform the Biblical characters into archetypes. Grumet is particularly bold at times in his interpretive approach. But that boldness in chorus opens the text to a relevance heretofore unknown. He transforms the patriarchs and matriarchs into real people, facing real problems and life struggles. This more personalized approach adds meaning, depth, and make the text real.
While his approach is firmly grounded, I only found one case where he seemed to veer off course slightly. This is when he categorized Esau as a tragic character, and not an evil person.
For many western readers, the book of Genesis is a challenge to their contemporary minds and scientific sensibilities. This includes everything from the talking serpent in the garden of Eden, people who lived nearly a millennium, to Noah’s ark, Abraham’s binding of Isaac, and more. Grumet interprets and explains these accounts in a modern and meaningful manner.
With that, Grumet doesn’t attempt to reconcile the Torah with science, such as the approach Gerald Schroeder takes in Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery Of Harmony Between Modern Science And The Bible. He writes that the Torah is not concerned with science. Rather the Torah is interested in God and God’s relationship with people. To which he astutely noted that the physics and timing of Creation are for scientists to explore, the religious significant of the Torah’s creation saga, or the Tower of Babel (and the myriad other narratives in Genesis) are for religious thinks and students of the Torah to probe.
With his keen eye to the text and underlying narrative, Grumet has written a masterpiece that brings new meaning to the Torah. He uses his mastery of the Hebrew language to uncover new meanings and understandings. The reader doesn’t have to know Hebrew to appreciate Grumet’s approach, but it certainly helps. This is especially true when he deals with verb usage, terminologies and roots.
He notes that the book of Genesis tells a profound story of God’s relationship with Man in terms that are both very Godly and simultaneously very human. A deep understanding of Genesis transforms the way we read the rest of the Bible and the way we read the rest of human history.
But extracting that meaning requires a scholar with a perceptive eye and ability to read the nuanced text; which is precisely what Grumet does. By focusing on the specific words used, literary structure, word counts, contrasting narratives and much more; this approach will transform the way in which a person approaches and reads the Torah.
This is a very different book from anything most people have read. While valuable to all readers, I think the book is particularly valuable for high-school and college students whose searching minds may not find the answers they need in more established approaches. Grumet’s approach is firmly and completely rooted in traditional and classical sources. Those needing a contemporary approach will find this to be a rare book with myriad insights.
In Nehama Leibowitz: Teacher and Bible Scholar, Yael Unterman writes that the approach Leibowitz took to Torah interpretation was so innovative, that many of her students saw this as before Nehama and after Nehama. Similarly, many a reader will find their understanding of Genesis will be categorized as before Grumet and after Grumet.
The essence of the Torah is God’s search for a meaningful relationship with humanity. In Genesis: From Creation To Covenant, Grumet has done a remarkable job of making God’s message much clearer and accessible to all.
It’s incredulous that one can read the Torah, the written word of God, and not be incredibly moved. Incredulous or not, the reality is that even with myriad translations, for many people, the Torah is still a closed, and sadly, irrelevant work.
As the annual cycle of public Torah readings commences this week with sefer bereshis (Genesis), an incredibly insightful and unique new book is Genesis: From Creation To Covenant by Rabbi Dr. Zvi Grumet (director of the Tanach Program at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi).
The original approach Grumet takes to Torah is in part based on the Yeshiva Har Etzion method. This uses an analytically rigorous, creative, interpretive method, based on both traditional and academic sources, whose output has deep meaning. This organic approach and understanding of the Torah and Torah philosophy is particularly appealing for many who may find other approaches unsatisfying.
In addition, Grumet uses a humanistic reading of the various narratives that transform the Biblical characters into archetypes. Grumet is particularly bold at times in his interpretive approach. But that boldness in chorus opens the text to a relevance heretofore unknown. He transforms the patriarchs and matriarchs into real people, facing real problems and life struggles. This more personalized approach adds meaning, depth, and make the text real.
While his approach is firmly grounded, I only found one case where he seemed to veer off course slightly. This is when he categorized Esau as a tragic character, and not an evil person.
For many western readers, the book of Genesis is a challenge to their contemporary minds and scientific sensibilities. This includes everything from the talking serpent in the garden of Eden, people who lived nearly a millennium, to Noah’s ark, Abraham’s binding of Isaac, and more. Grumet interprets and explains these accounts in a modern and meaningful manner.
With that, Grumet doesn’t attempt to reconcile the Torah with science, such as the approach Gerald Schroeder takes in Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery Of Harmony Between Modern Science And The Bible. He writes that the Torah is not concerned with science. Rather the Torah is interested in God and God’s relationship with people. To which he astutely noted that the physics and timing of Creation are for scientists to explore, the religious significant of the Torah’s creation saga, or the Tower of Babel (and the myriad other narratives in Genesis) are for religious thinks and students of the Torah to probe.
With his keen eye to the text and underlying narrative, Grumet has written a masterpiece that brings new meaning to the Torah. He uses his mastery of the Hebrew language to uncover new meanings and understandings. The reader doesn’t have to know Hebrew to appreciate Grumet’s approach, but it certainly helps. This is especially true when he deals with verb usage, terminologies and roots.
He notes that the book of Genesis tells a profound story of God’s relationship with Man in terms that are both very Godly and simultaneously very human. A deep understanding of Genesis transforms the way we read the rest of the Bible and the way we read the rest of human history.
But extracting that meaning requires a scholar with a perceptive eye and ability to read the nuanced text; which is precisely what Grumet does. By focusing on the specific words used, literary structure, word counts, contrasting narratives and much more; this approach will transform the way in which a person approaches and reads the Torah.
This is a very different book from anything most people have read. While valuable to all readers, I think the book is particularly valuable for high-school and college students whose searching minds may not find the answers they need in more established approaches. Grumet’s approach is firmly and completely rooted in traditional and classical sources. Those needing a contemporary approach will find this to be a rare book with myriad insights.
In Nehama Leibowitz: Teacher and Bible Scholar, Yael Unterman writes that the approach Leibowitz took to Torah interpretation was so innovative, that many of her students saw this as before Nehama and after Nehama. Similarly, many a reader will find their understanding of Genesis will be categorized as before Grumet and after Grumet.
The essence of the Torah is God’s search for a meaningful relationship with humanity. In Genesis: From Creation To Covenant, Grumet has done a remarkable job of making God’s message much clearer and accessible to all.
October 16, 2025
This weighty, thoughtful, deep-reaching book is entertainingly bold. The author lays out a thesis that raises one eyebrow high, but he then executes with a marvelous break-down and analysis of well-curated passages that serve his greater point, which he wraps up deliciously and neatly at the very end. Along the way, the book is very Meta: as the bible only offers passages and dialogues that serve the message of the whole, so too does Multi-hyphenate Grumet carry out with what he penetrates, and what he leaves on the table. One minor detractor to what is truly a grand vision: not enough chiasms; chiasms are the best! One minor boon and scintillating bonus: the data in the footnotes, which could be a book nearly as heavy as the book itself. Interesting anecdote: this spurned much attention and conversation as I read it in synagogue, and gained me some fun, intellectual friendships. That's a major plus, in my...book.
December 14, 2020
Outstanding book. Well written with novel insights into the narrative of Genesis. Excellent
May 14, 2024
Excellent book, amazing author!
I have taken two years to study this book with my Chabrusa’s ( study partners)and follow along in the corresponding chapters in The Torah.
Grummet, a very traditional (orthodox) Rabbi is brilliant at connecting the “dots” and illuminating patterns and real & relatable qualities of our fore fathers & mothers, their personal & collective development and a beautiful depth design & purpose of the Covenental Family.
I have taken two years to study this book with my Chabrusa’s ( study partners)and follow along in the corresponding chapters in The Torah.
Grummet, a very traditional (orthodox) Rabbi is brilliant at connecting the “dots” and illuminating patterns and real & relatable qualities of our fore fathers & mothers, their personal & collective development and a beautiful depth design & purpose of the Covenental Family.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews