Genesis 1-11:26

New American Bible Commentary, Old Testament Set #1a

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

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 1996

Reviews

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good commentary.

[Jared Saltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthews provides an attempt at a comprehensive look at Genesis 1.1–11.26 (Creation to Terah). In many ways he succeeds at encapsulating and interacting with scholarship as it was at the time of authorship and well-represents his beliefs. This is a conservative commentary which takes seriously the historical value of the text and attempts to use historical explanations whenever possible. That said, it does interact a good deal (really, too much) with modern theological questions that arise from the text. This will either be a pro or a con depending on what the reader is looking for, but it does mean that the commentary is long and not for strictly philological reasons.

[Jonathan Ginn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't read this commentary from cover to cover, but consulted with significant portions of it for a Sunday school class I taught throughout the last several months. It's an excellent treatment characterized by careful exegetical study, attention to detail, and an overflow of helpful and exciting insights. Mathews does a great job of highlighting the interconnectedness of the Scriptures by drawing various links between the foundational first chapters of Genesis and other parts of Genesis, the Pentateuch, the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

[Daniel Ligon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and detailed. This is my favorite resource on the early chapters of Genesis.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful commentary. Good careful textual consideration, and some theological reflections. Sometimes spends a bit too apologetic for the miraculous parts of the text. Especially helpful on structure of the text. More helpful in looking to NT references/interpretation than many other Genesis commentaries.

Used in preparing to preach Genesis in 2020.

[Dan]

Genesis 1-11:26 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 1-11:26 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 12-50 and the Judges portion of the Judges & Ruth commentary).

Genesis 1-11:26 has two main sections the typical general introduction, and then followed by a insightful exegetical commentaries on the first book of the Pentateuch. With regard to the general introduction Matthews spends a great deal of time defending the hisoricity of the book of Genesis as well as varying literary motifs. Matthews spend just shy of 100 pages on his introdcution and it is very well worth a read. 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 1-11:26, to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars. There are many commentaries about Genesis available at this moment but Genesis 1-11:26 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.

Genesis 1-11:26: New American Commentary

© 1996 by Kenneth A. Mattews

Publisher: B&H Academic

Page Count: 528 Pages

ISBN: 978-0805401011

[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.

[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.

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This commentary is a great and thorough resource for the layman. I have received many great insights that I have never found before in reading Genesis 1-11 thanks to this book.

[1nemind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, yet, in depth and scholarly, this commentary is one of the best I have looked at on Genesis chapters 1-11.

The introduction itself is enough reason to have this excellent work by Kenneth Mathews on your shelf. He gives a great introduction to Near Eastern literature. Covering a lot of the parallels and texts relevant to Genesis.

Unfortunately, he isn't the clearest on his view of the age of the earth, but for the most part he articulates his points well and is clear on what he believes. He takes the "sons of Seth" view on Genesis 6:1-4, which is in my opinion, wrong, but in fairness, he does make well thought out, and strong arguments for differing views (including mine).

All in all, an excellent resource for studying the first 11 chapter of Scripture.

[Brent Rosendal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent commentary on Genesis, probably the best one I've seen. It has enough depth to give fresh insight but it doesn't bog you down in the details. This commentary also discussed different theories regarding the more conterversial topics related to the first 11 chapters of Genesis. The commentary did what it was supposed to do, it helped me better understand the book and helped give me a better picture of the whole narrative of Scripture.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the two technical commentaries I am reading on Genesis (the other being NICOT), this has been the more helpful of the two. Mathews has provided a thorough examination of the text, with a helpful analysis and explanation of the original language. Like most NAC commentaries, you really need some original language training to fully benefit from this commentary, but I have found Mathews' contribution to Genesis studies tremendously helpful!

[Derek]

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[Aaron Choi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great exegetical commentary.