- Hardcover: 456 pages
- Publisher: Anchor Bible; First Edition edition (Sep 16 1964)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385008546
- ISBN-13: 978-0385008549
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 771 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,761,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible. He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology. Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth. 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."
Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible. He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology. Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth. 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."
From the Publisher
Genesis is Volume I in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser was University Professor and Chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Using authoritative evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religion, the author presents some startling conclusions about the first book of the Bible. He proves, for example, that the famous opening phrase, "In the beginning," is not true to the meaning of the first word, that the designation "Torah" for the Pentateuch is a misnomer, that the best-known stories of Genesis are grounded in pagan mythology. Speiser is an iconoclast in the tradition of Abraham; he exposes the false in order to help achieve truth. 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."
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Outdated,
By
This review is from: Genesis (Hardcover)
Published in 1964, Speiser's commentary on Genesis exhibits the worst proclivities of modern Biblical scholarship. Speiser is enthralled with the documentary theory - the thesis that the Bible is redacted from several original sources commonly referred to as J, E, P, D, etc.... While I personally have no objection to this approach, Speiser seems content to try and identify which passages are from which sources and then move on to the next passage. Speiser spends so much time chopping up the text and parsing out the sources, that he tells you very little about the text itself. Speiser has no affinity for literary theory - how the telling of the story shapes it meaning - such has been demonstrated so magnificently by Robert Alter in his book, The Art of Biblical Narrative. Moreover, even much of the Higher Criticism theory that Speiser employs in his commentary has become outdated as scholars have refined the theory. There are many better commentaries on Genesis available and we can hope that one of these days Anchor Bible itself will publish one more enlightening than Spieser's.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Genesis: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary,
By A Customer
This review is from: Genesis (Hardcover)
I am far from being a Bible scholar, but I found Speiser's commentary and his trasnlation informative and useful. He is a proponent of the source document theory, and faithfully incorporates this theory in his discussions. While decades have passed since its release, this book remains a valuable source of enlightenment for novices in Biblical studies.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential for the serious student,
By
This review is from: Genesis (Hardcover)
Speiser was one of the greatest experts on Semitic languages of the 20th century. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the Hebrew really means. There is also a lot of helpful background material (though after nearly 40 years this is no longer up to date) and thoughtful analysis. Speiser was no fundamentalist, and was often prepared to say that the text is not to be taken literally, but he was less "critical" than many authors. He believed firmly in the Documentary Hypothesis, and each passage is carefully dissected into its J, E and P components, but this material can be ignored by anyone (including myself) who rejects that hypothesis. There is probably no single commentary that would suffice for a detailed study of Genesis, but this book should be one of the commentaries at hand for the serious student.
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