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Interpreting Eden: A Guide to Faithfully Reading and Understanding Genesis 1-3
"No interpreter of the creation narratives can avoid interacting with this book." --Derek W. H. Thomas
Christians have long discussed and debated the first three chapters of the Bible. How we interpret this crucial section of Scripture has massive implications for how we understand the rest of God's Word and even history itself. In this important volume, biblical scholar Vern Poythress combines careful exegesis with theological acumen to illuminate the significance of Genesis 1-3. In doing so, he demonstrates the sound interpretive principles that lead to true understanding of the biblical text, while also exploring complex topics such as the nature of time, the proper role of science, interpretive literalism, and more.
Christians have long discussed and debated the first three chapters of the Bible. How we interpret this crucial section of Scripture has massive implications for how we understand the rest of God's Word and even history itself. In this important volume, biblical scholar Vern Poythress combines careful exegesis with theological acumen to illuminate the significance of Genesis 1-3. In doing so, he demonstrates the sound interpretive principles that lead to true understanding of the biblical text, while also exploring complex topics such as the nature of time, the proper role of science, interpretive literalism, and more.
400 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2019
51 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Vern Sheridan Poythress
75 books149 followersVern Sheridan Poythress was born in 1946 in Madera, California, where he lived with his parents Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress and his older brother Kenneth R. Poythress. After teaching mathematics for a year at Fresno State College (now California State University at Fresno), he became a student at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.Div. (1974) and a Th.M. in apologetics (1974). He received an M.Litt. in New Testament from University of Cambridge (1977) and a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (1981).
He has been teaching in New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia since 1976. In 1981 he was ordained as a teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod, which has now merged with the Presbyterian Church in America.
More information about his teaching at Westminster can be found at the Westminster Seminary website.
Dr. Poythress studied linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Norman Oklahoma in 1971 and 1972, and taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1977. He has published books on Christian philosophy of science, theological method, dispensationalism, biblical law, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and Revelation. A list of publications is found on this website.
Dr. Poythress married his wife Diane in 1983, and they have two children, Ransom and Justin. He has side interests in science fiction, string figures, volleyball, and computers.
The family lived on a farm until he was five years old. When he was nine years old he made a public commitment to Christ and was baptized in Chowchilla First Baptist Church, Chowchilla, California. The family later moved to Fresno, California, and he graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno.
He earned a B.S. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology (1966) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University (1970).
He has been teaching in New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia since 1976. In 1981 he was ordained as a teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod, which has now merged with the Presbyterian Church in America.
More information about his teaching at Westminster can be found at the Westminster Seminary website.
Dr. Poythress studied linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Norman Oklahoma in 1971 and 1972, and taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1977. He has published books on Christian philosophy of science, theological method, dispensationalism, biblical law, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and Revelation. A list of publications is found on this website.
Dr. Poythress married his wife Diane in 1983, and they have two children, Ransom and Justin. He has side interests in science fiction, string figures, volleyball, and computers.
The family lived on a farm until he was five years old. When he was nine years old he made a public commitment to Christ and was baptized in Chowchilla First Baptist Church, Chowchilla, California. The family later moved to Fresno, California, and he graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno.
He earned a B.S. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology (1966) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University (1970).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 19, 2019
A fine book. Especially helpful for addressing matters of worldview and presupposition. This book will not tell you what to think about Genesis 1-3. It will tell you how to think about Genesis 1-3.
May 2, 2020
Lot of stuff only reproduced from Poythress' articles on Genesis. A lot of good exegesis and besides, Poythress is well-versed in science.
Deals with :
- the fundamental flawed suppositions of modern science and its false claim to be metaphysics, the error that science is constantly doing by reducing truth to scientific descriptions instead of viewing science only as one particular perspective along "the observational perspective" (that is the point of view with our naked eyes, from our personal experience)
- the length of the days (he says that they are more qualitative, cycle of work and rest but not quantitative since we can't mesure as all relative definitions of time create problem)
- the firmament of Ge 1.6-8 (there is no heavenly sea and the firmament is not a solid dome but simply the sky)
- the phenomenalist description in Ge 1-2 (intuitive description from the point of view of a human observator on earth)
- the analogy between providence and creation in Ge 1-2 (creation is described with words and phenomenons of the operations of today world in order to make creation understandable to every human of all time, wether they are educated in modern science or not).
Deals with :
- the fundamental flawed suppositions of modern science and its false claim to be metaphysics, the error that science is constantly doing by reducing truth to scientific descriptions instead of viewing science only as one particular perspective along "the observational perspective" (that is the point of view with our naked eyes, from our personal experience)
- the length of the days (he says that they are more qualitative, cycle of work and rest but not quantitative since we can't mesure as all relative definitions of time create problem)
- the firmament of Ge 1.6-8 (there is no heavenly sea and the firmament is not a solid dome but simply the sky)
- the phenomenalist description in Ge 1-2 (intuitive description from the point of view of a human observator on earth)
- the analogy between providence and creation in Ge 1-2 (creation is described with words and phenomenons of the operations of today world in order to make creation understandable to every human of all time, wether they are educated in modern science or not).
January 17, 2025
This is the first work from Poythress I have read, and I am impressed by his ability to simultaneously expound with academic chops while remaining clear and able to be followed.
Ultimately, this book leaves me a little frustrated. The majority is spent carefully revealing predispositions and potential fallacies that impact how one is to interpret Genesis 1-3. Of note is Poythress' clear breakdown of just how fallible and prone to idolatry scientific research is within itself and our culture today. Additionally, Poythress remains rock solid on the divinie authorship of Scripture and stresses how every interpretation must bear in mind the uniqueness of a text that is the very Word of God. And finally, he walks through the creation account and highlights the analogous connections to later ongoing providence of God today. Excellent stuff and very eye-opening. He has fundamentally changed how I will look at Genesis 1-3 moving forward!
With all of that, it is frustrating to have all these academic and theological questions asked and potential pitfalls warned against...only to conclude without offering any strong interpretation himself. Poythress seems ready to question into these areas, but not at all ready to come down on a take himself. Not the end of the world, but he leaves the reader feeling the weight of the questions and without the satisfaction of an answer, most of the time.
Ultimately, this book leaves me a little frustrated. The majority is spent carefully revealing predispositions and potential fallacies that impact how one is to interpret Genesis 1-3. Of note is Poythress' clear breakdown of just how fallible and prone to idolatry scientific research is within itself and our culture today. Additionally, Poythress remains rock solid on the divinie authorship of Scripture and stresses how every interpretation must bear in mind the uniqueness of a text that is the very Word of God. And finally, he walks through the creation account and highlights the analogous connections to later ongoing providence of God today. Excellent stuff and very eye-opening. He has fundamentally changed how I will look at Genesis 1-3 moving forward!
With all of that, it is frustrating to have all these academic and theological questions asked and potential pitfalls warned against...only to conclude without offering any strong interpretation himself. Poythress seems ready to question into these areas, but not at all ready to come down on a take himself. Not the end of the world, but he leaves the reader feeling the weight of the questions and without the satisfaction of an answer, most of the time.
November 7, 2018
Splendid book. Poythress’s close attention to the text of Scripture, weighing how the first three chapters of Genesis should be interpreted, offers a master class on theological method, even when you don’t agree. Because it’s mostly a collection of various academic journal articles, it lacks overall cohesion at points compared to a typical book with a driving thesis and chapter-by-chapter progression and argumentation.
March 8, 2022
"Since the question of God is important, Genesis 1-3 is important. It is one of the central texts in the Bible that tell us about God."
Vern Poythress has done a good job unpacking the early chapters of Genesis. One of the blurbs says that anyone doing any study on these chapters will need to engage with this book, and that's probably right. I thought his discussion around the relationship between God's providential dealing with creation now and his creative work in Genesis was interesting. His discussion on how Scripture functions for confessing Christians as opposed to differing worldviews was really good. His discussion of genre generally, and then his refining it down to classify Genesis was some of the most interesting reading I've ever done on genre. While there are some details I still have questions about, I think his overall conclusion that in these chapters Moses uses phenomenal (but never false) language to describe historic events is onto it. Further, he is not seeking to use scientifically precise language as this is not the intention of the book. His interaction with Sparks on Calvin's accomodating in his commentary in Genesis was also really good. I also thought his interaction with limited innerancy views, and how this contrasts with Moses's use of phenomenal language was on point.
The book's main letdown was that it really was mostly about Chapter 1 of Genesis. I was wanting to read extended discussions around the covenant in the garden, the significance of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, the historical Adam, pre fall articulations of gender, and Adam and Eve being naked and unashamed (and all of its implications). Not a huge amount on this stuff, which surprised me.
Also, the charts were cool. It helped following his train of thoughts.
Vern Poythress has done a good job unpacking the early chapters of Genesis. One of the blurbs says that anyone doing any study on these chapters will need to engage with this book, and that's probably right. I thought his discussion around the relationship between God's providential dealing with creation now and his creative work in Genesis was interesting. His discussion on how Scripture functions for confessing Christians as opposed to differing worldviews was really good. His discussion of genre generally, and then his refining it down to classify Genesis was some of the most interesting reading I've ever done on genre. While there are some details I still have questions about, I think his overall conclusion that in these chapters Moses uses phenomenal (but never false) language to describe historic events is onto it. Further, he is not seeking to use scientifically precise language as this is not the intention of the book. His interaction with Sparks on Calvin's accomodating in his commentary in Genesis was also really good. I also thought his interaction with limited innerancy views, and how this contrasts with Moses's use of phenomenal language was on point.
The book's main letdown was that it really was mostly about Chapter 1 of Genesis. I was wanting to read extended discussions around the covenant in the garden, the significance of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, the historical Adam, pre fall articulations of gender, and Adam and Eve being naked and unashamed (and all of its implications). Not a huge amount on this stuff, which surprised me.
Also, the charts were cool. It helped following his train of thoughts.
March 27, 2019
This book will inevitably be compared to Reading Genesis Well: Navigating History, Poetry, Science, and Truth in Genesis 1-11, by Poythress' fellow ESV translator (their children are even married to one another!). I'll say from the start that Collins' book is better, although Poythress does make a few helpful contributions thanks to this work (a large portion of which is taken from his recent articles in the Westminster Theological Journal). He spends a lot of time discussing the interpretation of "days" in Genesis 1. He finds issues with all the major hypotheses--especially those that offer no defense of their definition of "day" that is compatible with a period in which days as we know them might not have existed. Yet Poythress never seems to get around to offering his own view (this happens more than once in the book).
His view of the overall description of the six days of creation is interesting as well. He spends a lot of time drawing parallels between what we see in God's acts of creation then and what we see in his acts of providence now. The creation week is clearly being described in a way the earliest Israelites would have understood, and Poythress' point seems to be that this makes the account more credible, if perhaps less "literal" than we might like.
Other important discussions cover 1:1 (this is the first act, not a summary statement) and the "firmament/expanse" above the earth--he argues convincingly that the text does not suggest some sort of "heavenly sea," as many believe the Israelites must have understood it.
In sum, this book could have used some trimming, some clearer connections, crisper conclusions, etc. But nevertheless a good look into the mind of the polymath that is Vern Poythress.
His view of the overall description of the six days of creation is interesting as well. He spends a lot of time drawing parallels between what we see in God's acts of creation then and what we see in his acts of providence now. The creation week is clearly being described in a way the earliest Israelites would have understood, and Poythress' point seems to be that this makes the account more credible, if perhaps less "literal" than we might like.
Other important discussions cover 1:1 (this is the first act, not a summary statement) and the "firmament/expanse" above the earth--he argues convincingly that the text does not suggest some sort of "heavenly sea," as many believe the Israelites must have understood it.
In sum, this book could have used some trimming, some clearer connections, crisper conclusions, etc. But nevertheless a good look into the mind of the polymath that is Vern Poythress.
May 14, 2019
Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about Creation and a correct interpretation of Genesis, so it's easy to believe how intrigued I was by the premise of this book. Having said that though, I have to confess that I wasn't thrilled with it. It was a lengthy read but I didn't take away as much as I was hoping. The author frequently appeared to speak in circles. He would share how he felt differing interpretations were flawed yet somehow found a way to weasel out of sharing his own. While I agreed with him in some areas, there were others I didn't. There were areas that he felt were more open to interpretation than I did and visa versa.
As someone who has done a lot of personal study on Creation, I have no problem confessing that I hold very firm beliefs. For example, I am a firm believer in a young earth with a literal interpretation of the days of Creation. In no way do I believe that you have to ignore science to hold that view. I struggle with a book that would suggest otherwise.
This is a book that I wouldn't recommend to someone unless they already have a vested interest in the topic and an understanding of differing viewpoints. It intentionally calls the reader to think philosophically on multiple topics without specifically telling them what to think. It's clearly a deeper study, not an introduction.
*I received a copy of this book through Crossway publishers. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
As someone who has done a lot of personal study on Creation, I have no problem confessing that I hold very firm beliefs. For example, I am a firm believer in a young earth with a literal interpretation of the days of Creation. In no way do I believe that you have to ignore science to hold that view. I struggle with a book that would suggest otherwise.
This is a book that I wouldn't recommend to someone unless they already have a vested interest in the topic and an understanding of differing viewpoints. It intentionally calls the reader to think philosophically on multiple topics without specifically telling them what to think. It's clearly a deeper study, not an introduction.
*I received a copy of this book through Crossway publishers. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
March 23, 2021
This is a good introduction to the complex web of hermeneutical issues that one must grapple with in attempting to understand the opening chapters of Genesis. His presentation is clear, logical, and well-balanced. He cautions against both a literalistic reading that treats Genesis as a scientific textbook, and a reading that would treat the book as nothing more than a typical example of ANE myth. Poythress doesn't exegete the book for the reader, but he offers tools that the exegete will need.
June 4, 2019
Good in some ways. Helpful in places. Some parts could have been edited to be more to the point. Honestly, it did not meet the expectations that the endorsements set.
March 8, 2019
NBCnews.com recently reported that, “Psychologists say that the emotion of awe plays a big role in our health, happiness and wellbeing.”
Poythress’s book is awe-inspiring in a number of ways; it is almost 400 pages long, contains three appendices, has a bibliography of 120 works, including 25 of the author’s own, and takes on a subject that has caused much heat in recent times.
Genesis, the book of Beginnings, has been considered as myth, on par with other Middle Eastern creation stories. On the other end of the spectrum, it has been considered in a literalistic way, meaning God created in 6 twenty-four-hour days and then rested.
While writing a dense book, Poythress provided me with a vivid sense of awe about the great God, who was Creator. The narrative, for that is what Poythress considers the entire book of Genesis including the first two chapters, tells the story of how God chose to create. But it is far more, since the creative act of each day can have an analogical meaning applicable to us. This is not just a story about a capricious god who competes with other gods, or a God who creates and then leaves His creation to itself. The Creator God communicated His acts and provided an illustration of what we are to be and do, as His creation.
Poythress’s chapter on the usage of time in Genesis 1 and 2 takes some time to digest, after all, it is forty-three pages in length. Before he gets to the nitty-gritty of these two chapters of Genesis, he spends slightly over 100 pages on basic interpretive principles. I appreciate the “stage-setting” so that no (or few) presuppositions go unspoken.
A careful review of Poythress’s work would be very helpful to anyone studying Genesis 1 and 2. Anyone seeking to see a bigger picture of our awesome God should read the work. It is well worth the effort and time.
Crossway was kind enough to provide me a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Poythress’s book is awe-inspiring in a number of ways; it is almost 400 pages long, contains three appendices, has a bibliography of 120 works, including 25 of the author’s own, and takes on a subject that has caused much heat in recent times.
Genesis, the book of Beginnings, has been considered as myth, on par with other Middle Eastern creation stories. On the other end of the spectrum, it has been considered in a literalistic way, meaning God created in 6 twenty-four-hour days and then rested.
While writing a dense book, Poythress provided me with a vivid sense of awe about the great God, who was Creator. The narrative, for that is what Poythress considers the entire book of Genesis including the first two chapters, tells the story of how God chose to create. But it is far more, since the creative act of each day can have an analogical meaning applicable to us. This is not just a story about a capricious god who competes with other gods, or a God who creates and then leaves His creation to itself. The Creator God communicated His acts and provided an illustration of what we are to be and do, as His creation.
Poythress’s chapter on the usage of time in Genesis 1 and 2 takes some time to digest, after all, it is forty-three pages in length. Before he gets to the nitty-gritty of these two chapters of Genesis, he spends slightly over 100 pages on basic interpretive principles. I appreciate the “stage-setting” so that no (or few) presuppositions go unspoken.
A careful review of Poythress’s work would be very helpful to anyone studying Genesis 1 and 2. Anyone seeking to see a bigger picture of our awesome God should read the work. It is well worth the effort and time.
Crossway was kind enough to provide me a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
December 6, 2021
Careful, thoughtful, and biblical
It is all too easy to approach Scripture with some idea in mind and then pick and choose a mode of interpretation that supports that idea. Dr. Poythress takes the opposite tack here. He carefully assesses which mode of interpretation makes most sense to apply to the opening chapters of Genesis and then modestly works through the text with that approach in mind.
It is all too easy to approach Scripture with some idea in mind and then pick and choose a mode of interpretation that supports that idea. Dr. Poythress takes the opposite tack here. He carefully assesses which mode of interpretation makes most sense to apply to the opening chapters of Genesis and then modestly works through the text with that approach in mind.
February 22, 2022
I think he can be more concise in some parts. Anyway enjoyed it. To sum up, Poythress requires a careful reading of Gen1-3 as Analogy, not literal, not figurative, not fictional, not purely theological, nonpostulational… Either view from the polarity falls into the weakness of their presuppositions.
March 14, 2020
Poythress deals faithfully with many issues surrounding the interpretation of Genesis 1-2. He shows wisdom in remaining cautious in his final judgment of some questions. This book does not cover Genesis 3, even though the title says it does.
March 1, 2021
Amazing dissection of the passage at hand. Poythress has insights that might take a re-reading of a paragraph or two to understand, but his points will make you think about this passage of scripture more deeply and freshly. I can never read Genesis 1 the same again.
December 31, 2022
This book opened new avenues of thinking for me. Poythress holds a high view of Scripture and demonstrates sound principles of interpretation. A very helpful resource on the first chapters of Genesis.
August 7, 2025
Awesome read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews