The Anchor Yale Bible: Genesis (AYB)
Overview
The stories of Genesis have inspired more artwork than perhaps any other single piece of literature. A book full of creative expression, Genesis offers inspiring and gripping images that no artist can resist: from the two creation stories to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, from the Tower of Babel to Noah and the flood, from Abraham to Joseph. Biblical scholars and theologians find the book equally alluring, and Ephraim A. Speiser is a giant among the many who have wrestled with this complex book.
A master of the original languages, fully immersed in the literature of the ancient Near East, and unparalleled in his use of archaeology and comparative religion to understand the Bible, Speiser is an incomparable commentator. For over 30 years his translations, textual analysis, and commentary comparing biblical stories to those found throughout the ancient Near East have helped students and scholars, layperson and clergy understand Genesis. As he says in his Introduction, he is “not motivated by mere pedantry . . . but by the hope that each new insight may bring us that much closer to the secret of the Bible’s universal and enduring appeal.” Not surprisingly, therefore, Speiser’s wisdom and insights are an enduring tribute to his legacy as a commentator.
Logos Bible Software gives you the tools you need to use this volume effectively and efficiently. With your digital library, you can search for verses, find Scripture references and citations instantly, and perform word studies. Along with your English translations, all Scripture passages are linked to Greek and Hebrew texts. What’s more, hovering over a Scripture reference will instantly display your verse! The advanced tools in your digital library free you to dig deeper into one of the most important contributions to biblical scholarship in the past century!
- Offers original translations, including alternative translations, annotations, and variants
- Provides verse-by-verse commentary on the text
- Presents the reader with historical background, including analysis of authorship and dating
- Features an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary literature
- Primeval History
- The Story of the Patriarchs
- The Story of Abraham
- The Story of Jacob
- Joseph and His Brothers
Top Highlights
“The all-important point, at any rate, the conclusion which virtually all modern scholars are willing to accept, is that the Pentateuch was in reality a composite work, the product of many hands and periods.” (Page xxi)
“There is, finally, the motif of the tree of knowledge which likewise betrays certain Mesopotamian links” (Page 20)
“Biblical tradition had ample reason to be familiar with Mesopotamian cultural norms. Indeed, the Primeval History is largely Mesopotamian in substance, implicitly for the most part, but also explicitly in such instances as the Garden of Eden or the Tower of Babel. Thus biblical authors were indebted to Mesopotamian models for these early chapters not only in matters of arrangement but also in some of the subject matter.” (Page 9)
“The first word of Genesis, and hence the first word in the Hebrew Bible as a unit, is vocalized as berẹ̄ʾšīt. Grammatically, this is evidently in the construct state, that is, the first of two connected forms which jointly yield a possessive compound. Thus the sense of this particular initial term is, or should be, ‘At the beginning of …,’ or ‘When,’ and not ‘In/At the beginning’; the absolute form with adverbial connotation would be bārẹ̄ʾšīt. As the text is now vocalized, therefore, the Hebrew Bible starts out with a dependent clause.” (Page 12)
“The only Pentateuchal passage that refers comprehensively to a written tōrā is Deut 31:9, where we are told that ‘Moses wrote down this tōrā.’ This particular statement points either to the portions of Deuteronomy that precede, as most moderns assume, or to the poetic sections which follow, as some scholars believe. In neither event could the Pentateuch as a whole be at issue. Yet it is this one ambiguous reference, more than anything else, that eventually gave rise to the doctrine of the Mosaic authorship of the entire Pentateuch.” (Page xix)
Ephraim A. Speiser, before his death in 1965, was chairman of the department of Oriental studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
