The Story of God Bible Commentary – Genesis

The Story of God Bible Commentary – Genesis

Author: Tremper Longman III

A surprisingly readable book considering its a Bible commentary and it was over 700 pages long.

I tried reading a commentary on Genesis just before this one, and it was mind-numbing as it was analyzing comma placement, and all sorts of super technical stuff that was not interesting to me in the slightest.

This one was good as it would go through the book in sections. It would give context for you just read, including giving you examples of other near eastern books that may have had a relationship to the writing such as Gilgamesh, etc. Then it would analyze the story or passage and give more information on what is happening beyond the surface level reading. This includes pointing out when certain words/translations may have deeper or important meaning that is missed in the English. Then it would end by bringing the passage into a more modern light and applying it to contemporary life in some way, often in the form of questions. Is it ever ok to lie? for example.

I found it pretty helpful. I grew up in church, and have heard the stories in the Bible countless times, but my understanding was very surface level. It is pretty unbelievable the amount of depth in the book. It kind of blows my mind that its a book that’s been studied and commentated on for centuries to an insane degree, and continues to be widely studied and read today.