Andrew E. Steinmann - Genesis

Inter-Varsity Press, England

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Website: www.ivpbooks.com

Email: ivp@ivpbooks.com

InterVarsity Press, USA

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Website: www.ivpress.com

Email: email@ivpress.com

Andrew E. Steinmann 2019

Andrew E. Steinmann has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith. Website: www.uccf.org.uk.

InterVarsity Press , USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.intervarsity.org.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are the authors own translation. Further Bible acknowledgments can be found on pp. xiixiii.

First published 2019

Set in Garamond 11/13pt

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

UK ISBN: 9781789740905 (print)

UK ISBN: 9781789740912 (digital)

US ISBN: 9780830842513 (print)

US ISBN: 9780830894758 (digital)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

The decision to completely revise the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries is an indication of the important role that the series has played since its opening volumes were released in the mid-1960s. They represented at that time, and have continued to represent, commentary writing that was committed both to the importance of the text of the Bible as Scripture and a desire to engage with as full a range of interpretative issues as possible without being lost in the minutiae of scholarly debate. The commentaries aimed to explain the biblical text to a generation of readers confronting models of critical scholarship and new discoveries from the Ancient Near East while remembering that the Old Testament is not simply another text from the ancient world. Although no uniform process of exegesis was required, all the original contributors were united in their conviction that the Old Testament remains the word of God for us today. That the original volumes fulfilled this role is evident from the way in which they continue to be used in so many parts of the world.

A crucial element of the original series was that it should offer an up-to-date reading of the text, and it is precisely for this reason that new volumes are required. The questions confronting readers in the first half of the twenty-first century are not necessarily those from the second half of the twentieth. Discoveries from the Ancient Near East continue to shed new light on the Old Testament, whilst emphases in exegesis have changed markedly. Whilst remaining true to the goals of the initial volumes, the need for contemporary study of the text requires that the series as a whole be updated. This updating is not simply a matter of commissioning new volumes to replace the old. We have also taken the opportunity to update the format of the series to reflect a key emphasis from linguistics, which is that texts communicate in larger blocks rather than in shorter segments such as individual verses. Because of this, the treatment of each section of the text includes three segments. First, a short note on Context is offered, placing the passage under consideration in its literary setting within the book as well as noting any historical issues crucial to interpretation. The Comment segment then follows the traditional structure of the commentary, offering exegesis of the various components of a passage. Finally, a brief comment is made on Meaning , by which is meant the message that the passage seeks to communicate within the book, highlighting its key theological themes. This section brings together the detail of the Comment to show how the passage under consideration seeks to communicate as a whole.

Our prayer is that these new volumes will continue the rich heritage of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and that they will continue to witness to the God who is made known in the text.

David G. Firth, Series Editor

Tremper Longman III, Consulting Editor

When I was first contacted about writing this commentary, I had a moment of doubt did the commentary editors mean to select me for this privilege? While I had been deeply interested in Genesis for quite a few years and had more recently published a few studies of particular passages in it, I was not prepared for the thought that anyone would want me to write an entire commentary on this most important book of the Old Testament, much less the highly respected Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series and its editors. Nevertheless, when I came to my senses, I gladly accepted the assignment. It has been a joyful task. As every commentary writer knows, one benefits immensely from having to produce such a work from growth in knowledge of the word of God to new insights gained into its application to faith and life today among Gods people.

I am grateful not only for having been chosen to produce this work, but also to those who supported me in it. That includes the librarians in the Klinck Memorial Library at Concordia University Chicago. They assisted me in finding and compiling many publications that I consulted as I studied and wrote. My gratitude also extends to Dr David Firth, whose skilful and expert editorial suggestions helped improve this commentary in ways both small and great. Finally, I would not have been able to do this work as productively and joyfully without the support of my wife Rebecca, who always took an interest in my progress and continuously supported me with her kindly encouragement. Most importantly, to the gracious God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who appeared in the flesh in Christ Jesus as the fulfilment of all the promises in Genesis, belong my everlasting thanks and praise.

Andrew E. Steinmann

AB Anchor Bible

ABD D. N. Freedman et al. (eds.), Anchor Bible Dictionary , 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992)

ACCS T. C. Oden (ed.), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture , 29 vols. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001)

ANET J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament , 3rd edn (Princeton: Princeton University, 1969)

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BAR Biblical Archaeology Review

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

CBQ The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

ET The Expository Times

FOTL Forms of the Old Testament Literature

HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal