Genesis 11:27-50:26

New American Bible Commentary, Old Testament Set #1b

by Kenneth A. Mathews

THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.

Genres: Theology, Reference, Old Testament, Christianity, Christian, Nonfiction, History

960 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2005

Reviews

[Jared Saltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing a Genesis commentary is hard. Genesis is all things to all people, and thus commentaries have frequently tried to do the same. This means that--jumping into such a project--you're often required to wrestle with Pentateuchal criticism (which many evangelical commentators aren't equipped to handle and wherein we're all living in Westerman's shadow), but evangelical commentaries are also pressured to address broader questions such as Creation-science, gender-theology, marriage-theology, etc. All of these are on top of the intra-Genesis questions of history, theology, literature, and exegesis. Writing a Genesis commentary is hard.

Because of that difficulty, I tend to give commentaries a pass who at least make an attempt at these things. But a jack of all trades tends to be a master of none, and that's what really holds Matthews back a lot of times (although less so in this volume than in the first volume). He makes a passable attempt at dealing with composition history, but it feels required rather than a joy; he does alright with historical matters, but those are a mess for Genesis for all sorts of reasons; but he does shine more in the theological and literary readings. If you're looking for a upper-middle level evangelical commentary on Genesis, you'll do well with this.

[Eddie LaRow · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite companions through the book of Genesis these past few months. Well done.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mathews gives careful attention to the literary structure of the text. He also gives more space to theological questions that arise from the text than many modern commentaries do.

Both of which make this a wonderfully useful companion in sermon prep.
Used in preparation for preaching Genesis in 2021 and 2022.

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Every commentator’s favorite commentary on Genesis.

[Michael Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not read the whole book, but I read large portions of it for a Hebrew course on the exegesis and exposition on the book of Genesis. I found this commentary to be very helpful and insightful, particularly also because of its comments on the Hebrew text of Genesis.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genesis 11:27-50:26 is an Old Testament commentary, written by Kenneth A. Matthews and published by B&H Academic is an enduring work of academic excellence and superior Exegesis with pastoral care. This commentary is a foundational edition of the New American Commentary Series, a prestigious series which is synonymous with outstanding exegesis and unparalleled application, this volume not only continues this legacy, but propels it to new heights. Genesis 11:27-50:26 is the second volume of Matthews commentary on Genesis and is one of the most articulate and practical commentaries on the first book of the Pentateuch in Holy Scripture. This was a study that is needed in the light of the current culture’s attack of the concept of sin and foundationalism. Matthews is a highly regarded scholar and professor at Beeson Divinity School and has written two other commentaries in the NAC series (Genesis 1-11:26 and the Judges portion of the Judges & Ruth commentary).

Genesis 11:27-50:26 has one main section ab insightful exegetical commentary on the first book of the Pentateuch. In this volume Matthews does not include and introdcution for it is int the first volume. The translation of Genesis that Matthew uses is the NIV (New International Version), thankfully it is the 1984 version of the NIV rather than the 2011 version, which has rid itself of much of God’s gender.

While I disagree with Matthews on a few of issues with regard to Old Testament interpretation, his scholarly work on the first book of the Pentateuch is very well researched and written for a pastor preaching or teaching through the book of Genesis exegeticaly. In the vein of recommending, Genesis 11:27-50:26, to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars. There are many commentaries about Genesis available at this moment but Genesis 11:27-50:26 of the New American Commentary series is commentary too good to pass on.

This book was provided to me free of charge from B&H Academic in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

[Darwin Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

After researching Genesis commentaries online, I picked one for a preparatory overview, Goldingay's Genesis for Everyone, and then selected the top four more academic ones, starting with the least-rated of the four and working up to the top. The least-rated was Waltke's, better rated was Mathews', then Hamilton's, with the highest rating going to Wenham's superb commentary.

I felt that each was valuable in its own way. Waltke's was a great follow-up to Goldingay, being concise, but without omissions (includes the modern theological tie-ins), yet was contained in one volume. Mathews', like Waltke's and Goldingay's, was easy to read. I felt like there was a jump in quality, however, when going to Hamilton's commentary. It's difficult to say which is the better commentary between Hamilton and Wenham. Wenham's, I think is weightier with far more, up-to-date, well-researched information, but harder to "shlog" through (especially given the Word series' format). Overall, the one to have is Wenham's.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed working through this commentary. Mathews points out many details and makes connections that I had never seen before which kept me returning to the Bible again and again to read for myself what he had drawn out.
The author devotes quite a bit of space to addressing matters related to textual criticism. Although not my favorite topic, it makes sense for a work at this academic level to devote some time to the various viewpoints, and Mathews is fair toward other scholars while maintaining belief in the inspiration of God’s Word. It wouldn’t surprise me if the author is currently working on a second Genesis commentary for the Christian Standard Commentary series; if so, I’d expect that work to have a lesser focus on textual criticism while keeping the level of excellence exhibited here.

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive (900 plus page) conservative Christian commentary on the patriarchal narratives in Gen 12-50. It includes (1) lots of discussion of the structure and literary artistry of the narrative; (2) discussion of connections with the rest of the Bible; (3) information about people and places listed in Genesis; (4) discussion of both Christian and Jewish interpretive traditions. I've found it to be a very helpful resource for in-depth study of Genesis.

[Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handy resource.

[Brett McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful. No study of Genesis is complete without considering Mathews’ comments.

[Aaron Choi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great exegetical commentary.