How To Read Genesis

by Longman, Tremper, III

• ISBN13: 9780877849438
• ISBN10: 0877849439
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-30
• Publisher: Intervarsity Press

Summary

Honored in 2006 as a "Year's Best Book for Preachers" byPreachingmagazine.Creation in six daysWoman from the side of man"Sons of god" taking "daughters of men"A massive disaster and an animal rescue boat of biblical proportionsAbraham, Sarah, Hagar and the ongoing saga of a dysfunctional familyThese are just a few of the episodes that Genesis conjures up. But we miss the point if we focus on what seems strange to us. And we distort the message if we demand that this book answer questions that are strange to it. To read Genesis intelligently, we must consider the questions, the literature and the times in which Genesis was written. InHow to Read GenesisTremper Longman III provides a welcome guide to reading and studying, understanding and savoring this panorama of beginnings--of both the world and of Israel. And importantly for Christian readers, we gain insight into how Genesis points to Christ and can be read in light of the gospel.

Author Biography

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(4)
Preface	13	(4)
PART I: READING GENESIS WITH A STRATEGY	17	(24)
1 Understanding the Book of "Beginnings"	19	(22)
PART II: READING GENESIS AS LITERATURE	41	(28)
2 Who Wrote Genesis?	43	(16)
3 The Shape of the Book of Genesis	59	(10)
PART III: READING GENESIS IN ITS OWN WORLD	69	(30)
4 Myth or History? Genesis and the Enuma Elish	71	(10)
5 Noah and Utnapishtim: Whose Flood Story Should We Trust?	81	(7)
6 Abraham and Nuzi: Patriarchal Customs in Their Cultural Context	88	(11)
PART IV: READING GENESIS AS GOD'S STORY	99	(64)
7 The Primeval History: Genesis 1-11	101	(25)
8 The Patriarchal Narratives: Genesis 12-36	126	(23)
9 The Joseph Story: Genesis 37-50	149	(14)
PART V: READING GENESIS AS CHRISTIANS	163	(14)
10 The Christological Difference	165	(12)
Appendix: Commentaries on the Book of Genesis	177	(4)
Notes	181	(7)
Names Index	188	(1)
Subject Index	189	(1)
Scripture Index	190