I purchased this commentary as well as four others for an in-depth study of Genesis. Although this commentary is well written and valuable, I am returning it after reading about 170 pages because:
1. It is superceded by newer commentaries (such as the Word commentary by Wenham) making it mostly superfluous if you have these others.
2. There is too much focus in this text on the documentary hypothesis. Although this is perhaps important in a commentary on Genesis, Westermann has made this the central focus of his commentary. Many sections are the theology of P is, J said this because, the reason E did this was... I prefer the way other newer commentaries have treated documentary hypothesis issues as part of a whole, not the focus.
Altogether it is a great commentary, i would have given it four stars if not for the other more up-to-date commentaries that offer a more balanced view of what Westermann offers plus newer material.
BTW the other commentaries I have are: Word by Wenham, Interpretations by Brueggemann, New Internation Commentary by Hamilton, and New American Commentary by Mathews. I will post reviews as I finish each volume.
