The Rational Bible: Genesis

The Rational Bible #1

by Dennis Prager

USA Today bestseller

Publishers Weekly bestseller

Wall Street Journal bestseller

Many people today think the Bible, the most influential book in world history, is not only outdated but irrelevant, irrational, and even immoral.

This explanation of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, demonstrates clearly and powerfully that the opposite is true. The Bible remains profoundly relevant—both to the great issues of our day and to each individual life. It is the greatest moral guide and source of wisdom ever written.

Do you doubt the existence of God because you think believing in God is irrational? This book will give you many reasons to rethink your doubts. Do you think faith and science are in conflict? You won’t after reading this commentary on Genesis. Do you come from a dysfunctional family? It may comfort you to know that every family discussed in Genesis was highly dysfunctional!

The title of this commentary is “The Rational Bible” because its approach is entirely reason-based. The reader is never asked to accept anything on faith alone. In Dennis Prager’s words, “If something I write is not rational, I have not done my job.”

The Rational Bible is the fruit of Dennis Prager’s forty years of teaching the Bible—whose Hebrew grammar and vocabulary he has mastered—to people of every faith and no faith at all. On virtually every page, you will discover how the text relates to the contemporary world in general and to you personally. His goal: to change your mind—and, as a result, to change your life.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Christian, Philosophy, Faith, History, Theology

880 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2020

About the author

Dennis Prager is a best-selling author, columnist and nationally syndicated radio talk show host based in Los Angeles and heard on 150 stations across the country.

A Fellow at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, where he did graduate work at the Middle East and Russian Institutes, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords, and by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. He holds an honorary doctorate of law from Pepperdine University.

A highly sought-after speaker and frequent cable news show guest, Dennis has lectured all over the world. His New York Times best-selling books include Think a Second Time, Happiness is a Serious Problem and Still the Best Hope: Why American Values Must Triumph. His newest book is The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code.

Reviews

[Plajuey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rational Bible: Genesis is a line-by-line exegesis (i.e. analysis) of the book of Genesis. While this might sound dry, it actually brings to life many of stories and provides some fascinating new insights. Writing primarily for a secular audience, Prager addresses many common objections or misunderstandings about the creation narrative and other stories of the Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs.

One of the major themes that Prager draws out is the ways in which the God of Genesis is unique from other gods of antiquity and legend. Among others, the God described in Genesis is:
Universal, not tribal. This make seem like an odd assertion, given God’s unique relationship with the tribes of Israel, but Prager presents a number of passages explaining why God is not only the God of the Israelite nation.
Pre-existing. Unlike most other gods, there is no birth story explaining the origin of the God of Genesis.
Moral. God is moral and has a moral will; as such, God punishes both the pagans and Israelites for their crimes.
Creates out of nothing. The universe is not the product of some cosmic battle or act of copulation. Instead, God merely speaks: “‘Let there be light’ and there was light”.
God is separate from nature: Genesis 1:1 begins “…God created the Heavens and the Earth.”

Another important theme is the authenticity of Genesis, challenging the idea that the Torah is merely a series of myths, concocted to justify the nation of Israel and solidify the priestly class, which has been edited over the millennia. Prager points out a number of stories and details that would, presumably, have been removed by a later editor if the intent was just to prop up Jewish mythology. For example, various passages depict the patriarchs eating non-kosher foods, marrying a half-sister, marrying two women who are sisters, or engaging in divination, practices that were later sternly prohibited by Jewish law and practice.

More significantly, the Genesis depicts the patriarchs as flawed people; to take just one example, following God’s promise to the childless Abram to give him descendants “as numerous as the stars of heaven”, Abram and his wife Sarai apparently give up on God’s promise. At Sarai’s urging, Abram then fathers Ishmael by his her maidservant, leading to a host of family drama and a line of descendants in conflict with the Jews.

Later in the saga, God speaks to Jacob and promises to be with him and to protect him. And yet, when faced with the dangerous prospect of meeting with his estranged brother Esau, Jacob pleads again for God’s protection. Prager notes: “…it shows that even if God did appear to us, we would soon again have doubts. People imagine that God could make His existence so clear, our faith would never again falter. As the case of Jacob makes clear, that is simply not so.”

One of the things that always troubled me is that the creation narrative in Genesis seems at odds with our current, scientific understanding of the history of the universe. For example, it seems strange that in Genesis 1:11 God creates plants, but it isn’t until 1:14 that the sun and moon appear. As with many such Bible verses, a careful analysis eliminates the apparent contradiction. Gen 1:14 actually says “God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky…”, suggesting that the celestial objects appeared as the thick, primordial clouds dissipated.

But at a higher level (and this is a central point), the purpose of the creation narrative isn’t to teach science, but to teach wisdom about human nature, right and wrong, and our relationship to God; the “natural history” element of the creation narrative is a secondary purpose and exists as a framework for these more important lessons. Regarding the alignment of the creation narrative with our scientific understanding of natural history, Prager states:

“If Genesis described exactly how the world was created, it would be unintelligible to us, let alone to all those who preceded us over the past three thousand years. It might not even be in intelligible language but in yet-to-be-discovered mathematical or physics equations. The Torah must speak in language that is intelligible to human beings—in every past generation as well as in every future generation. Clearly, then, it cannot speak in scientific terms. At the same time, it should not violate essential scientific truths (for example, it accurately depicts human beings as the last creation).”

“…we have no idea what science will say about cosmology (the beginning of the universe) in a hundred years. In my lifetime alone, science went from positing a universe that always existed to positing a universe that had a beginning (the Big Bang). So, in just one generation, the Torah, in describing a beginning to the universe, went from conflicting with science to agreeing with science.”

Prager points out that another element of the creation narrative is to assert God’s mastery over the creatures and forces of nature. These things (sun, moon, animals) that many cultures have worshiped in various ways are paraded forth as the creations of God, preceding the greatest creation, Man.

The passage about the creation of Man is another that I’ve found perplexing. Thanks to archaeology, we now know that homo sapiens have existed for a long time, preceded by (and sometimes concurrent with) other homo species. How does all of this fit into the Adam & Eve story? The first answer is that - again - the purpose is to teach wisdom, about our relationship with each other and with God. But from the historical and scientific perspective, Prager explains that the Hebrew uses a slightly different word for “man” in later parts of the passage, bringing up the interesting possibility that the first “man” were creatures that were physiologically similar to humans but which lacked a soul (or reason?).

(As a side note, Jordan Peterson’s excellent Psychological Significance of the Bible Stories lectures go into some of the ideas of the Adam and Eve story in much greater detail, and from a non-religious perspective.)

These notes only touch on a few highlights from the book, and I have pages of additional excerpts that just aren’t practical to condense into a review. Definitely worth reading.

[Mike Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prager provides enlightening commentary and translation for these familiar Bible passages. I especially appreciated his perspective on familial relations and the comfort and instruction we should take from the repeated failures contained in Genesis. Two other consistent themes for Prager are the self-proving truth of the Torah and the separation of people into morally good and morally bad, which is more important than other divisions.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had bought Dennis Prager’s Genesis, The Rational Bible with excitement. I was looking forward to reading his essays and commentaries pertaining to the Torah. However, I had found situations taken out of context. The need to compare the Torah to today ended up warping what was truly written. In this review I have four examples that had bothered me while I was reading. After reading up to the fourth example, I stopped reading as I did not want to read anymore of the inconsistencies. I compared The Rational Bible to the following works, The Chumash, Torah The Five Books of Moses (Chabad Torah) and the Ashkenaz Siddur. Apologies for any grammar or spelling errors.

Genesis 21.9-21.10:
Pager Commentary: "The older brother was probably trying to amuse his little brother. But for whatever reason-and the following verse certainly offers one possible reason- this scene disturbed Sarah. . .Sarah realized he would have competition for his inheritance, and she sought to eliminate it."

Chumash commentary 21.9:
"Mocking. This term expresses what Sarah saw that convinced her that Ishmael could not remain in the household. Scripture uses this verb to denote the three cardinal sins: idolatry, adultery, and murder. Thus Ishmael's behavior proved that he had become thoroughly corrupt and evil, and he had to be sent away (Rashi)."

Genesis 21.11:
Prager Verse: "The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his."

Prager Commentary: "Sarah's demand must have stunned Abraham. Ishmael was, after all, also his son-a son whom he loved and, furthermore, who was conceived at Sarah's behest. . . There are many things that can produce tension between a husband and wife. The raising of children is one of the biggest-particularly when one of them is a stepchild."

Torah The Five Books of Moses Verse: "His son's (idol-worship) disturbed Abraham greatly."

Torah The Five Books of Moses Commentary: "Abraham was unsettled by the fact that Ishmael had begun wicked ways. . . Abraham became very surprised and disturbed when he discovered that Ishmael had begun to follow evil ways."

Chumash Commentary: "Abraham was distressed because Ishmael's behavior showed that he had fallen into evil ways."

Genesis 22.6-22.7
Prager Commentary: "Though we don't know Isaac's age at this point, this verse indicates he was old enough to carry the load of firewood up the mountain. . .suggests he is a lad-perhaps approaching adolescence or early teens."

Chumash Commentary 22.9: "Why did Abraham tie him? And could he bind a thirty-seven-year-old man without his consent?"

Ashkenaz Siddur The Akedah Commentary: "Nevertheless, though Isaac was in the prime of his life at the age of 37 and Abraham was a century his senior, the two of them went together, united in their dedication."

Genesis 23.2
Prager Commentary: ". . .Clearly implies they were not living together at the time of her death. As noted in the previous chapter, it appears that Abraham and Sarah separated after Sarah learned of the near-sacrifice of Isaac."

Chumash Commentary: "The Sages teach us that the narratives of Sarah's death and the Akedah follow one another to indicate that she died as a result of that event. She was told by Satan that Abraham had actually slaughtered Isaac, and she cried out in grief and died. This explains why Abraham and Isaac were not present at her death."

Torah The Five Books of Moses Commentary: "The account of Sarah's passing was recorded after the binding of Isaac, because upon hearing that her son was prepared for slaughter and was almost slaughtered, her soul departed from her, and she died."

[Clay Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in-depth study of the Torah, sometimes raising more questions than answers. Unfortunate that the typo on page 166 in the phrase in red was not caught during the last edit.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm grateful for the way Dennis Prager titled his commentary. The Bible gets a bum rap. Lazy atheists lambaste it without ever actually reading it. Lazy Christians give up on it having only scratched the surface. I've been a Bible student for over 20 years, and the more I learn the more I'm impressed. Truly, the Bible is as rational a book as you'll encounter.


Notes:

Hardback

The purpose of verse 16 is to teach humanity that the sun and moon or not deities. The sun and moon, which were worship throughout the ancient world, or not even mentioned here by name (23)

The literal meaning of Adam is earthling. Adam derives from the word for earth, Adama (34)

”Nephesh” soul of life (35)

Once again, the word Yom, “‘Day,“ does not mean a 24 hour day, since Adam and Eve did not die on the day that they eat the fruit. (39)

4:10: the Hebrew actually says “bloods,“ not “blood.“ The Talmud interpreted “bloods“ as referring not just a Abel’s blood but to the blood of all his potential descendants who will now never be born. When one person kills another, he not only killed that person but also all those who would have descended from him (70)

By limiting the number of years the evil tin live, the amount of evil on earth can be contained (82)

6.14 the Hebrew word for ark, Tevah, is also used to describe the basin that Moses his mother builds for her baby son (Exodus 2:32).

9:6. We are to take a murderer’s life precisely because human life is uniquely precious (122)

So important is the death penalty for murder that it is the only law in the Torah repeated in each of its five books (124)

To deny the death penalty would ever deter murder is to argue murder is the only crime that can never be deterred (126)

11:8. City dwellers are far more capable of anonymity than people who lie in small towns and rural areas. And when people are anonymous, the feel less moral obligation to their neighbors — who also are more likely to be anonymous (1510

11:30. The theme of women who give birth after long years of infertility is a recurring one n Genesis, and it is likely meant to underscore that the people of Israel came into existence through repeated divine intervention (153)

14:14. A man who loves peace goes to war. The he pursued peace, Abram knew how and when to wage war (173)

One of history’s enduring lessons is that weakness provokes aggression (173)

The Bible is an antidote to naïveté (174)

The most frequent statement of God to man in the Hebrew Bible is “do not fear“ (178)

15:8. The notion of a covenant between God and man was revolutionary because all other cultures and religions believed that the gods acted capriciously and that the world was therefore completely erratic and unpredictable. When God covenanted with Noah and Abram, he pledged to be dependable and trustworthy, thereby creating for the first time immutable spiritual and moral laws (184)

17:5. In the ancient world, a change of name signified and event of great importance. It still does. A Roman Catholic cardinal, for example, takes a new name when elected pope. Similarly, when a non-Jew becomes a Jew, here she receives a new name (194)

17:14. circumcision is one of only two positive Commandments for which the Torah ordains the punishment of karet , being “cut off“ from one’s kin. The other is failure to bring there Passover sacrifice (numbers 9:13), which is today symbolically reenacted by participating in the Passover Seder. It is perhaps not coincidental that circumcision and participation in Seder remain the two most widely observed Jewish rituals (205)

17:9. In Hebrew, the name is Yoyzchak, which means “laughed“ in both biblical and modern Hebrew. God apparently has a sense of humor. Given that Abraham laughed when told he and Sarah would conceive at their late age, God decided to name their child “laughed.“ In effect, God is saying, “you and Sarah may laugh, but I will have the last laugh.“ (207)

18:8. Abraham serves milk and meet together. This will be against the law (Leviticus 18:12) (211)

18:17. This may at least partially answer the question raised earlier as to why God would inform Abraham his descendants would be enslaved for 400 years (genesis 15:13): God did not hide from Abraham what he was going to do. If this is a valid answer, it would strongly imply that God, for reasons noble only to him, played the Israelites enslavement in Egypt (214)

“The third day” is often used in the Toura to refer to some ominous event, such as the execution of Haymore and the sugar mites (genesis 34:25), the execution of pharaohs Baker (genesis 40:20), and Joseph testing his brothers (genesis 42:18). It may be that one should take “on the third day” in a similar way here. (254)

If one hold the widely accepted view that the ages of people n Genesis usually convey meaning, Sarah’s age at her death — 120, the maximum lifespan. Plus sacred number seven — means she was a very important person. There is another indicator as well: Sarah, the Jewish people’s founding matriarch, is the only woman in the Torah whose age at the time of her death is recorded (263)

That he had to travel from Beersheba, where he ahead settled after the akedah, to Kiryat Arba, where Sarah was living, clearly implies they were not living together at the time of her death (263)

23:4. Personal note: interestingly, every time Abraham tries to advance God’s promises through his own effort up to this point, it has not gone well. Until now.

The fact this land was acquired in a legal sales is subsequently mentioned repeatedly in Genesis (25:9-10;49:30;54:13) (266)

At this point, Esau could have confessed to his father he no longer possessed the birthright and may not have been deserving of the blessing. His failure to do so was also a form of deception, something really (a favor) mentioned in the discussion of this episode (314)

27:32. Esau, too, is a deceiver. To his fathers question, “who are you?” Esau should’ve simply said his name. But by adding “your first-born,” he laid claim to the blessing he wanted to receive (322)

27:36. Esau’s criticism of Jacob here was not accurate, since the birthright and the blessing we’re not unrelated. Customarily, the son with the birthright receive the blessing, so Jacob has really supplanted Esau only once, not “two times.” (323)

27:38. Why was Esau so distaought over the blessing now? Didn’t he disdain it earlier in the story?
“Not like Esau” from Hebrews. Choosing the passing pleasure

30:5. Four of Jacob’s twelve sons were born through concubines. These sons — Dan, Neftali, Gad, and Asher — were considered every bit as much tribes of Israel as the sones of Rachel and Leah. The fact that some were born to concubines rather than wives is irrelevant. (355)

30:14. Superstition, at its essence, is a form of idol worship in that it implies something other than God — such as a black cat or a broken mirror — governs the world (357)

When they saw Jacob became rich, Laban’s sons viewed Jacob’s wealth as essentially stolen, despite the fact that a) Laban asked Jacob to name a price for his many years of service and b) that service resulted n great prosperity for Laban (365)

Laban’s sons were among the many throughout history who resend the success of others rather than seek to emulate it (recall the Philistiines’ reaction to Isaac’s wealthy in Genesis 26:15) (365)

31:24. A person as sly and selfish as Laban could not be trusted even when he believes his motives are good (370)


38.8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Join with your brother's wife and do your duty by her as a brother-
in-law, and provide offspring for your brother."
The duty Judah invoked refers to an ancient law known as "levirate marriage,
known in Hebrew as yibbum. Levir is the Latin word for "brother-in-law." This
law obligated a man whose brother had died childless to marry and impregnate
his brother's widow. The resulting child was customarily given the dead broth-
er's name and was considered to be a successor to the dead brother's line. At
that time, the surviving brother had no choice in the matter, nor was the widow
free to decline marriage to her dead husband's brother.
The Torah later modified this tradition by allowing a brother to refuse to
marry his brother's widow (though he would then have to partake in a public
ceremony, halitzah, in which the late brother's widow removed the man's sandal
and spat at him because he refused to "preserve his brother's name in Israel".
see Deuteronomy 25:5-10). As this incident with Tamar predates the Torah,
halitzah may not have been an option, leaving a brother with no choice but to
marry his late brother's widow.
As primitive as it might sound to us today, levirate marriage was a way to
help a widow have both children and economic security. (38:8)

Genesis contains story after story depicting deception. Er's deceptior
and Judah is only the most immediate example. If this book of the
not named Genesis, it might well be named "Deceptions."
Abraham deceived Pharaoh.
Abraham deceived Abimelech.
Jacob and Rebecca deceived Isaac.
Laban and Leah deceived Jacob.
Rachel deceived Laban.
Simeon and Levi deceived the Shechemites.
Joseph's brothers deceived Jacob.
Onan deceived Tamar and Judah.
Judah deceived Tamar.
Tamar deceived Judah.
Potiphar's wife deceived Potiphar.
Joseph deceived his brothers. (442)

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've tried reading through the Bible several times, always starting at Genesis, but never got past Leviticus; simply put: reading the Bible is boring to me. I can try as hard as I want, I don't get the excitement I should be getting.

Now I know why. I barely scratched the surface. Reading Dennis Prager's commentary is like reading an entirely new book. I'm being exposed to so many ideas here, it's like I just read Genesis for the very first time. I don't want to go on further through the Torah without a commentary now, and I really, really enjoy Prager's writing style, so I hope he releases the rest of it as soon as possible.

I still can't believe I just read through 500 pages about Genesis in only two months. I really feel like I could talk about any story/subject/chapter in Genesis now and challenge established viewpoints and offer explanations for topics that are hard to tackle (in- or outside of Genesis). This book (Genesis, but also The Rational Bible) is so full of wisdom, and it's universally relevant.

What I really enjoy about this book is that it respects Christian and Jewish viewpoints, and cites several different people on their viewpoints on things, includes nice, fitting quotes from historic figures like Blaise Pascal, and interesting anecdotes as well.

I am very happy that Mr. Prager keeps advertising this occasionally, I would have never thought about buying a Bible commentary if he didn't.

UPDATE 24. September 2022:

After becoming a born-again Christian this year and having read Romans and how the New Testament interprets passages especially from Genesis, I have to salute Prager for adding the Christian viewpoint on Abraham's faith, for example – even though he distorts Christian thought terribly. But I don't see a blind Jewish mind as an offense. Prager has done much to help people find Jesus, and he doesn't seem to dislike that. He is closer to Jesus than many self-professing Christians!
It must be added that Prager completely ignored (didn't add any commentary to) what we frequently take as a Messianic prophetic verse, Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel".

I can recommend this book only if you are okay with reading a Jewish perspective / if that's actually what you want. Otherwise I can heavily recommend the commentary on Genesis by David Guzik, called Enduring Word – and available for free on the internet. It is verse by verse and gives you the Christian viewpoint – but Prager is incredibly smart and knowledgeable on the Torah, which clearly shines through, and he has many interesting ideas. YMMV.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good OT Bible resource. Just like Exodus, which was published first. Deuteronomy has out for at least a year, and Numbers will be out in a few months. Then Dennis will work on Leviticus.
Dennis went to Hebrew school and was taught Hebrew and secular things also. Therefore, he has a unique way of explaining the first 5 books of the Bible, "the Torah". Dennis takes each chapter in each book, and gives you the Hebrew translation for each verse. If there is nothing to explain, he just leaves the verses as is. If there is something to explain in translation, he tells you or writes an essay on what's truly important. I have learned many, many wonderful things from Dennis and his straight from Hebrew to English translations of the first 5 books of the bible. I highly recommend all of his Rational Bible editions to anyone and everyone.

[Jacqui Edelmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praeger, a Hebrew scholar, unpacked much of the confusion I had with many stories in the Old Testament. It was truly eye-opening. For example, how could God ask Abraham to take the life of his only son, Isaac? I finally know!

He also shares a lot of wisdom for living a rich and satisfying life based on God's word.

It was also very rewarding to read the bible verses with my sister/best friend and discuss the interesting points with her chapter by chapter, every week. I highly recommend this approach.

"Nation's rage! Kingdom's fall!
But at the voice of God, the earth itself melts! The Lord, all powerful is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress."
Ps. 46:6-7

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this reading of Genesis. Prager's look at Genesis takes the view that it can be taken literally or metaphorically and it works either way. He dissects the different stories, gives the Jewish perspective on the stories and tells how they still relate to us today. Very enjoyable if it is your thing.

[Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume of The Rational Bible is on the same level as his first one on Exodus. Very insightful commentary that greatly helped me gain a deeper understanding of Genesis. Like Prager promised, TRB changed my life and hopefully it will change many more.

P.S.
You've heard it said: don't judge a book by its cover. But if you were to, this would be your favorite book.

[Mandi Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter how many times I read Genesis, when I finish I’m always left feeling astonished and profoundly moved. How can 50 short chapters contain so much truth and wisdom? How is it that a book approximately 3400 years old still has absolute relevance in the 21st century of the Common Era? Dennis Prager’s “The Rational Bible: Genesis” addresses these questions. The Rational Bible helps answer the BIG questions about Genesis: Is believing in God irrational? Are science and faith in conflict? Why is God depicted in male terms? Why are the families portrayed in Genesis so dysfunctional? In what ways are the lessons presented in Genesis still relevant in modern times? Prager’s commentary on Genesis is thoughtful, thorough and easy to understand. Verse by verse, Prager translates (based on the original ancient Hebrew in which Genesis was actually written) and elucidates using the power of reason verses simply faith-based arguments. In his introduction, he explains “…my approach to understanding and explaining the Torah is reason based. I never ask the reader to accept anything I write on faith alone. If something I write does not make rational sense, I have not done my job.” This excellent commentary is for everyone: Jews, Christians, Muslims and even non-religious readers will all benefit greatly from his discourse. Because “The Rational Bible: Genesis” is written with such clarity and rationality, once you have finished reading its entirety, it will surely remain as a valuable reference book on your shelf.

[Emily Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoutout to quarantine for pushing me to finish this one. Incredibly helpful for anyone wanting to better understand the Old Testament - cultural and historical context is KEY to bringing about a more nuanced and complete view of any ancient texts.

Especially appreciated the essays scattered throughout the writing, which gave me a lot to think about. Some of my favorites were God’s Existence, Why is God Depicted in Male Terms, Does the Torah Advocate Vegetarianism, It is Not Good for Man to Be Alone, The Most Empowering Idea in Life, The Death Penalty for Murder is a Moral Cornerstone of Society, and When Good People Have Bad Children.

Although I didn’t agree with all of the authors conclusions, it opened my eyes to new ideas.

[Jeffrey Romine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, commentary? Yes. Theology, I'm a little less sure about including it in this bookshelf. Prager's slant is that he provides a Jewish perspective, but I've already read Nahum M. Sarna's Understanding Genesis whom, among others, he frequently cites. On a few occasions Prager offers his own thoughts, and I'm afraid I found them unsustainable, which is nicer than saying absurd. Rather, he earns a five-star rating because he truly excels when he speaks on contemporary matters, relating biblical perspectives to modern society, and I wish he would've done even more, for this is where his rational comments are most effective.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways a useful commentary. Prager focuses in the moral and ethical implications of the text. He argues persuasively for an early date for Genesis, based on any number of statements made in passing that fit an early date, but that do not permit a late date. He gives the reader a great deal of traditional Jewish exegesis of the book. For Christians, of course, he misses a great deal of the theology of the book, but that was to be expected.

[Cleo Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The explication of Genesis by Dennis Prager is a treasure, and I cannot praise or recommend it highly enough. There are many small details included that are new to me. For example, the word “shiva” denoting the mourning period for close family that Jews observe means “seven,” and that’s why it lasts for a week. I always looked askance at God gor testing Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son, but Prager points out that child sacrifice was prevalent in that land during that era. I enjoyed reading the book straight through in it’s entirety like I would read a novel, and I expect that I Weill refer to frequently as a resource for understanding the Old and New Testaments.

[Jerry Mundt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!! A must read (the whole series actually) for anyone w questions about the Old Testament specifically the first five books (the Torah). A great roadmap for life.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through his essays, Praeger, gives great insights into this most important story of the creation and its aftermath. I learned a lot

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absorbed this book.

[Sarah S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made the most important work in human history accessible to modern dummies like me. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this more than I expected to and can't wait to dive into Exodus!

[Brian Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book of Genesis as interpreted by Dennis Prager who is a Jew. It was a long book but never boring.

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many commentaries, especially those that go (mostly) line by line through the bible, can be dry and difficult to fully engage with. Prager's pragmatic but learned discourse on Genesis is both engaging and insightful.

The author combines acknowledged history and Talmudic/Rabbinical teachings with knowledge of the Hebrew language and Jewish traditions to bring fully to life what it means to live out the teachings/lessons found in this book. Something I found especially helpful was Prager showing how those who claim these books were written too long after they happened to contain the detail they do are proved wrong by the texts themselves. For example, if Israel's priests made up Genesis, why did they list their own ancestor (Levi) as the villain of an important story? I also appreciated how the author points out that the bible often shows unbelievers in a better light than believers. Pharaoh is a better man than Joseph's brothers in that portion of the book, Abraham is shown to be a nightmare, etc. There are far too many good little insights to list here but I do recommend picking up the book.

The author is conservative and some of his interpretations are clearly slanted that way but he is honest enough to show us when he is extrapolating something from scripture and when it is clearly stated. The distinction lets us know when we consider something opinion and choose for ourselves whether we agree or if we need to seriously examine what we think in light of what God says. For disciples of Jesus this is important because Prager looks at some things differently than Christ does.

This is a really good read for someone looking to "dig deep" into this pivotal book of the Old Testament.

[Evan Baas · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of political BS about how atheists and the Left is destorying society. These passages are usually a pretty big stretch away from the passage he is actually talking about. There isn't anything that someone familiar with a fundamentalist conservative view of the Bible would find new here. For someone who thinks religion is so fundamental to morality and the existance of civilization, Dennis sure does love to gatekeep the overwhelming majority of people out of being "true jews" or "true Christians" with incredibly dated prescriptions.

There are a lot of crazy laughable passages, like how the happiest moment of Dennis' life was watching his grandson be circumcised. Or how God is refered to as masculine becuase people wouldnt care what a woman thinks, which is followed by a "where are all the black fathers?" tirade.

[Robert Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up because I’ve recently started re-reading a Bible with commentaries from a Christian perspective, but I also wanted to read Prager’s commentaries on the first five books both because I was interested in the more detailed commentary one can get when one reads an entire volume dedicated to each book of the Bible/Torah but also because I wanted to make sure I also picked up on some Jewish perspectives in my study.

This commentary contains the entire text of Genesis taken from the Jewish Publication Society, along with Prager’s commentaries offered verse by verse and line by line. Each story is fully explained, almost every line commented upon, and when necessary, alternative translations to certain passages are provided. It’s important to recognize that this isn’t the kind of scholarly work that traces each word or passage through history and provides an exhaustive list of potential interpretations. The interpretation you will receive here is the author’s. But the book does do a decent job of contextualizing certain difficult passages in history or in their original language. Where I think it really shines, though, is in helping the reader to draw nuggets of wisdom from Genesis and apply them to the moral, psychological, or social issues of modernity.

One of the great lessons Prager repeatedly points out is that the Patriarchs, as described in Genesis, invariably come from dysfunctional families. They’re deeply flawed people with, adjusting for technological change, many of the same problems we face today. And I think that’s the real value in a book like Genesis and, questions of divine authorship aside, a big part of why we still study it all these thousands of years later.

Of the entire Biblical corpus, I think Genesis has always been one of the greatest struggles for me to understand. I’m certainly not claiming to understand it even now, but I can say that my understanding at least has deepened thanks to Prager’s observations and commentaries. In his introduction, he explicitly states that he’s written this book not only for his fellow Jews but for Christians and indeed perhaps especially for non-religious readers. His contention is that a rational reading of the Bible will lead one to conclude it was divine in origin. From where I sit, I’m not sure his commentary will take a reader from atheism into religious observance, but it will at the very least give the reader a stronger sense of why religious people take the Bible so seriously and help to situate it within its historic and scholarly context.

It should be noted, though, that Christians or those who want to understand the Christian interpretation of Genesis will require additional commentaries to fill in some gaps. I don’t think most Christians will take issue with much of what Prager has written, but there are certain omissions from his commentary that might help readers connect the Torah with the New Testament. For example, Prager views the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac in the context of God determining whether Abraham would do for the true God what many other human cultures have done for their false gods at a time when human sacrifice was common and to teach us that faith requires sacrifice. Fair enough. I think Christians and Jews alike can agree with that interpretation. However, the Christian reader would likely add an additional interpretive layer and argue that this episode anticipates Christ’s sacrifice. Similar distinctions between Christian and Jewish thinking can be found throughout this commentary. In large part, that adds to the value for me because I’m much more familiar with Christian thought so the different perspectives were useful in my own study.

The style and tone is fairly conversational, which I think is what Prager does best, though serious scholars already intimately familiar with the subject might find some of its treatment a smidge on the superficial side or might want more linguistic scholarship in place of social commentary, though I for one welcomed it as a way to modernize an ancient document without sacrificing fidelity to the text.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: The first book in this series is Exodus, due to Prager's view of the importance of the Ten Commandments. I didn't know that until I was listening to the intro of this book, but it didn't seem to make a difference (i.e., this book can stand alone).

I appreciate Dennis Prager's opinions and the way he approaches his conclusions, so I decided to try out his Rational Bible series. This is very bible-centered and I would not call it political at all, although it does reflect some of Prager's conservative values. It focuses much more on moral values than conservative vs liberal, per se.

What I most enjoyed about this book is that it's written from a Jewish perspective -- Dennis Prager is a practicing Jew and has studied religion extensively. As a Christian, I've had many discussions of the bible in Sunday School, but it was often through the Christian lens. That said, my religion has plenty in common with Jews. In fact, I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have a great respect for the Jews and often discuss Jewish beliefs. Even so, the perspective Prager brings was very enlightening to me and helped me gain a deeper understanding of Genesis. (Funny story: Shortly after college at my first real job someone baselessly accused me of being anti-Semitic. At the time, in my youthful ignorance, I didn't even know anti-Semitism was a thing! I told them that Christ was a Jew and the Jews were the Lord's chosen people, so why would I have anything against them? Anyway it caught me completely off guard.)

That leads me to the second reason I enjoyed this book: Prager takes each verse and statement very literally. He offers explanations and rationale for verses that I would have glossed over or at least interpreted much less literally. This was refreshing to me and helped me gain a greater appreciation for each verse. It made me want to slow down my scripture study and think about each verse more carefully. Prager still points out that there are many flaws in the people in Genesis, but shows how we can learn from them.

There were a few things Prager wrote that I didn't totally agree with, but I'm ok with that as there was so much that I gained from this volume.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone. I plan on continuing the series.

(4 stars as I usually reserve 5 stars for books that I don't ever want to put down. The content of this book is excellent, but I think I'm still a little too worldly to hang onto every word of a bible commentary that goes verse by verse... I still finished it in under 2 weeks at least.)

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone with a strong intellectual curiosity will find this book interesting; that goes for a reader that is Jewish, Christian, or anything else. I liked learning more about snippets that I’ve heard from a sermon or that I can recall from many years ago in a Sunday school class. The book covers Genesis over 550 pages, and so goes more in depth than a college course that goes through the entire Old Testament.

As illustrated in the Churchill quote on page 450: “We owe to the Jews a system of ethics which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all wisdom and learning put together,” the universal lessons and values in this book make up part of the basis for western society. Two examples of them them would be the ‘seven Noahide Laws’ and that the wise will emulate, not envy (this second one relates to how the Jewish people have been treated in foreign lands throughout history).

Prager teaches about the Hebrew words behind the English translation, which by itself really helps with understanding certain passages. In some cases, two Hebrew words may be translated to the same English word. That one English word (used in more than one verse) may mean something quite different depending on which Hebrew word it was translated from.

I particularly liked discussions about how Abraham and Jacob arguing with God. The commentary evolves into talking about how ‘Israel’ means (in Hebrew) ‘to struggle with God’ and how it is normal for anyone to struggle with their faith.

Even though the book answers many questions, for others it may leave them open or offer competing explanations. One example of this is the familiar philosophical argument regarding free will and divine intervention versus predestination.

The book is part of the ‘Rational Bible’ series. One part of the book where I believe that Prager did not fully accomplish this objective is the story of Noah’s Ark. In my opinion some additional commentary would have been warranted here. Also, Prager does examine how to interpret the ‘seven days’ of creation, but may not have expanded enough about the two creation stories of Adam (i.e. does it mean that he was chosen/transformed from a primate-like animal; and also, the timing).

The chapters are short (one for each chapter of Genesis) overall which makes the reading a bit more manageable. Read two chapters per day and you’ll be done in less than a month.

[John Waldrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted with this book by a good friend in Easdtern Europe who discovered after the fall of communism that both of his grandmothers were Jewish, a fact minimized by them during the reign of the anti-Semitic authorities. I was thankful, since I have enjoyed Dennis Prager (especially Prager University on YouTube) for many years, and for a time took post-graduate courses at the Jewish university he taught at (formerly The University of Judaism, in Belair, CA). I have found the book a delightful read, with many historical factoids. That said, it is a tragically incomplete product, oblivious to the rich typology in Genesis that is so instructive to Christian who makes use of the entire Bible (OT & NT). It reflects the incompleteness of Judaism, with its Law of Moses (that cannot be obeyed) and misguided conviction that God weighs balances and is pleased when good deeds outweigh bad deeds. The fact is that man is fallen race in need of wholly undesered favor, that is found only in the promised Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who was sacrificed for our sins (Isaiah 53) and raised for our justification. I recommend this book to seasoned Christians for reading and to gain insight into the shortcomings of contemporary Judaism. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and believe God will fulfill the covenant promise made to Abraham.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful verse-by-verse commentary of the first book of the Old Testament by Rabbi Prager.

A few gems in the context of the stories, verses, and principles of the Book of Genesis:
- Undoing God's order and distinctions is the natural state of man. The battle for higher civilization may be characterized as the battle between biblical distinctions and the human desire to undo many of those distinctions (e.g. light/dark, male/female, good/evil, life/death). (Ch. 1)
- Regular attendance at a house of worship is the most accurate predictor of altruism, more so than any other factor (Essay: It is Not Good for Man to Be Alone, Ch. 2). The key factor is being part of a religious community. Note also that loneliness has become what former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has said is "an epidemic."
- Divine revelation is necessary because human conscience is not enough since evil is done by many with a "clear" conscience. (Essay: The Most Empowering Idea in Life, Ch. 4)
- Poverty is not the reason for evil. People are not basically good. Values and moral self-control matter far more than outside forces. The best way to make good people is through the combination of good values, good laws, and a god who commands goodness, such as that of the Bible. Those who blame evil on outside forces (i.e. society rather than the individual), will encourage people to battle society rather than their own human nature. The need to change society rather than a focus for people to change their nature is becoming the dominant feature in the western world. (Essay: The Belief People Are Basically Good is Foolish and Dangerous, Ch. 8).
- God and the Bible are greatly concerned with preventing animal suffering. While it doesn't ban meat-eating, the Bible does prescribe the humane treatment of animals. (Ch. 9)
- The most frequent statement from God to man in the Old Testament is "Do not fear." The greatest antidote to fear is faith in God. (Ch. 15)
- In the ancient world, change of name signified an event of great import. Abraham's name change signified that something very important was to happen. (Ch. 17)
- It takes more than one to do great good; but a single person can do immense evil (e.g. Lenin, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot). However, a small group can make a moral impact (e.g. American Founders, Christian abolitionists, Jews). (Ch. 18)
- Immense evil is done by collective groups (e.g. Chinese Cultural Revolution). (Ch. 19)
- Kindness to strangers is the most cited principle than any other commandment in the Torah (Ch. 19).
- The merit of a righteous person is a doctrine that says that an undeserving person/people might be spared for the sake of or on the account of a righteous person (e.g. Abraham and Lot). (Ch. 19)
- The Torah's preoccupation is with living a morally good life and enjoying it (Ch. 24).
- Gratitude is the root of both goodness and happiness. Prayers expressing gratitude are among the highest levels of prayer. The finest individuals are those who express gratitude after their request is fulfilled. Ungrateful people cannot be good or happy. (Ch. 24)
- Rebecca's veiling herself upon greeting her future husband is the origin of the custom of veiling the bride in a marriage ceremony. (Ch. 24)
- The phrase "gathered to his kin ("people in KJV)" (Gen. 25:8) testifies to a belief that man possesses an immortal element that survives his perishability and death, and thus death is looked upon as a transition to an afterlife where one is united with one's ancestors. (Essay: The Afterlife, Ch. 25)
- The instance of one being shown (through data, facts, etc.) that something about their argument is inaccurate, and they fail to stop making that argument and place ideology above truth, is probably the greatest source (and very common as well) of mass evil in the world. Big lies have been the greatest source of evil in the modern world: the genocides and mass murders of the 20th Century. (Essay: On Lying, Ch. 31)
- Biblical monotheism and the Torah's denial of all other gods served as the single most important moral and intellectual advance in history (e.g. The Torah's God: is a god entirely above and beyond nature; brought universal morality into the world; means good and evil are not subject to individual or societal opinions/changes, but objectively real; morally judges every human being; gives humanity hope; introduced holiness (humans as beings created in God's image); gives every individual unprecedented self-worth; is necessary for human brotherhood; began the long journey to belief in human equality; teaches that the physical realm is not the only reality; means there is ultimate meaning to existence and to each of our lives; gives humans free will; teaches might is not right; and made human moral progress possible. (Ch. 35)
- While people rarely learn from other's lives, learning from other's mistakes is a good definition of wisdom. (Ch. 37)
- Gen. 37:18 (Joseph's brothers conspire against him)- It is easier to loathe people and plot against them when we are not actually confronted with them. When we interact with people, they often become sympathetic human beings. The surest way to preserve hatred and negative stereotypes is to avoid dealing face-to-face with those we hate. The principle is the same the other way, which is why one must guard against becoming sympathetic to those who are evil. (Ch. 37)
- Like Joseph, the Jewish people have been remarkably successful in foreign societies. The primary reason has been the Jews' values, incl. strong/stable family life; near universal marriage and children; universal literacy; emphasis on the life of the mind; delayed gratification; and an aversion to violence. (Ch. 39)
- Gen 41:51- 'Manasseh' means "God has made me forget completely my hardship and parental home." The three elements to this verse are 1- Joseph willingly forgot his childhood pain; 2- the role of having a child in that process of forgetting; and 3- the role of God in that process of forgetting. (Ch. 41)
- Maimonides defined complete repentance as "he who is confronted with the identical situation in which he transgressed, and it lies within his power to commit the transgression again, but nevertheless abstains, but not out of fear of being caught." (Ch. 42)

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next in the Rational Bible series (prequel?), Genesis continues the line-by-line analysis of the Torah that started with Exodus. Apparently Exodus was written first because it's more fun, of which I agree. Genesis doesn't feel as thorough, but I did dog-ear several pages for later reference. (Dog-ear a book?? I'm getting soft in my old age.)

It's easy to glance over all the names and places in Genesis. It's a lot. But this breaks it down into sections, and shines light on each of the patriarchs' individual personalities. I'd never noticed how passive Isaac is, or that God never spoke directly to Joseph like He had the others. Some of my dog-eared pages include an explanation of God's name, why people aren't "basically good," and belief in an afterlife. I also learned the word "Jewish" likely derived from Judah himself, which I'd always wondered.

I'm greatly looking forward to completing the eventual series, mostly for its detailed commentary and a little because it'll look great together on a shelf. Thank you, Mr. Caruso, for the lovely design (as the back cover tells me).

[Mary Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for laypeople. I am a Catholic, and have been going through the Bible this year, but realized I was missing a whole bunch of historical (and other) context.

It's great having an accessible annotated version of Genesis, so I could better understand the book from the Jewish perspective. Prager not only has short essays on important concepts raised in Genesis (such as: Is World Unity a Good Idea?; Why Would a Good God Destroy the World?; Faith Demands Sacrifice), but also indicates where there is substantive disagreement on interpretations of various parts. There are endnotes on top of Prager's annotations/commentary, and Prager is good at being detailed in indicating Jewish commentary on particular parts at particular times throughout history. Prager makes a very strong case for the antiquity of the text, given changes in Jewish practice (and, of course, Genesis is mainly focused on events in pre-Judaic times.)

I plan on buying Prager's annotated Exodus next, and I hope he covers further books (I'd really like to hear his take on Job). I know Prager wrote his annotated Exodus first, but you need not have read that to read this book.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine, I guess. I appreciated the sections that discussed different translations of the original Hebrew. I disliked the sections where Prager used current cultural norms to explain why the Torah uses certain phraseology. For example, the Bible speaks of God as He, while (Prager says) maintaining a non-corporeal nature to God. So it uses male Pronouns because: men wouldn’t listen to a female god; male is the default gender when no-gender is known; men are naturally more violent and need a kinder, more just role model to look up to.

I can give him the whole “there’s no neutered pronoun in Hebrew” part. But part of the reason men don’t listen to females and that male is the default pronoun is *because* religious texts use it as the default and as the pronoun for God. It’s a reason but not a justification.

I did pick up a few tidbits, such as Abraham’s being asked to sacrifice Isaac being a “do your neighbors love their pagan gods more than you love me” things.
But I can’t say it was “rational.”