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Ignatius Catholic Study Bible
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Book of Genesis
Based on the Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition, this 14th volume in the popular Bible study series leads readers through a penetrating study of the Book of Genesis using the biblical text itself and the Church's own guidelines for understanding the Bible. Ample notes accompany each page, providing fresh insights and commentary by renowned Bible scholars Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, as well as time-tested interpretations from the Fathers of the Church. They provide rich historical, cultural, geographical or theological information pertinent to the Old Testament book-information that bridges the distance between the biblical world and our own.
The Ignatius Study Bible also includes Topical Essays, Word Studies and Charts. The Topical Essays explore the major themes of Genesis, often relating them to the teachings of the Church. The Word Studies explain the background to important Bible terms, while the Charts summarize crucial biblical information "at a glance".
Each page includes an easy-to-use Cross-Reference Section. Study Questions are provided for each chapter that can deepen your personal study of God's Word. There is also an introductory essay covering questions of authorship, date, destination, structure and themes. Also included is an outline of Genesis as well as several maps.
The Ignatius Study Bible also includes Topical Essays, Word Studies and Charts. The Topical Essays explore the major themes of Genesis, often relating them to the teachings of the Church. The Word Studies explain the background to important Bible terms, while the Charts summarize crucial biblical information "at a glance".
Each page includes an easy-to-use Cross-Reference Section. Study Questions are provided for each chapter that can deepen your personal study of God's Word. There is also an introductory essay covering questions of authorship, date, destination, structure and themes. Also included is an outline of Genesis as well as several maps.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2010
140 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Scott Hahn
415 books1,338 followersScott Hahn is a renowned Catholic theologian, apologist, speaker, and bestselling author whose work has had a profound impact on contemporary biblical theology and Catholic thought. A former Presbyterian minister, Hahn converted to Catholicism in 1986 after an intense personal and theological journey, which he details in his popular book Rome Sweet Home, co-written with his wife, Kimberly Hahn. Their story of conversion has inspired countless readers around the world and remains a landmark in modern Catholic apologetics.
Hahn holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. He is also the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biblical literacy among the laity and biblical fluency among clergy. Through the Center, Hahn leads a wide range of initiatives, including publications, pilgrimages, Bible studies, and the scholarly journal Letter and Spirit.
Educated at Grove City College (B.A.), Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Marquette University (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology), Hahn brings a deep academic foundation to his work. His dissertation, Kinship by Covenant, was later published by Yale University Press and received praise for its theological insight and scholarly rigor.
Throughout his career, Hahn has emphasized the covenant as the key to understanding salvation history, showing how the biblical narrative reveals a divine plan that unites all of humanity into God's family. His works explore themes such as the Eucharist, the role of Mary, the sacraments, and the authority of the Church, often drawing on the writings of the early Church Fathers to bridge the ancient faith with modern understanding.
He is the author or editor of over forty books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, First Comes Love, Letter and Spirit, Swear to God, Reasons to Believe, The Creed, The Fourth Cup, and Holy Is His Name. Many of his books have become staples in Catholic households, study groups, and seminaries.
In addition to his writing, Hahn is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered thousands of lectures across the United States and abroad. He appears regularly on EWTN and has collaborated with Lighthouse Catholic Media to bring his teachings to an even broader audience.
Scott Hahn lives in Ohio with his wife Kimberly. They have six children and numerous grandchildren. Together, the Hahns continue to lead efforts in evangelization and Catholic education, embodying a lifelong commitment to deepening faith and understanding through Scripture and tradition.
Hahn holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. He is also the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biblical literacy among the laity and biblical fluency among clergy. Through the Center, Hahn leads a wide range of initiatives, including publications, pilgrimages, Bible studies, and the scholarly journal Letter and Spirit.
Educated at Grove City College (B.A.), Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Marquette University (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology), Hahn brings a deep academic foundation to his work. His dissertation, Kinship by Covenant, was later published by Yale University Press and received praise for its theological insight and scholarly rigor.
Throughout his career, Hahn has emphasized the covenant as the key to understanding salvation history, showing how the biblical narrative reveals a divine plan that unites all of humanity into God's family. His works explore themes such as the Eucharist, the role of Mary, the sacraments, and the authority of the Church, often drawing on the writings of the early Church Fathers to bridge the ancient faith with modern understanding.
He is the author or editor of over forty books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, First Comes Love, Letter and Spirit, Swear to God, Reasons to Believe, The Creed, The Fourth Cup, and Holy Is His Name. Many of his books have become staples in Catholic households, study groups, and seminaries.
In addition to his writing, Hahn is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered thousands of lectures across the United States and abroad. He appears regularly on EWTN and has collaborated with Lighthouse Catholic Media to bring his teachings to an even broader audience.
Scott Hahn lives in Ohio with his wife Kimberly. They have six children and numerous grandchildren. Together, the Hahns continue to lead efforts in evangelization and Catholic education, embodying a lifelong commitment to deepening faith and understanding through Scripture and tradition.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 15, 2022
The footnotes are phenomenal. It helps with traditions that are confusing to modern readers.
February 3, 2014
This first offering of the Old Testament canon from the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible continues in the great tradition of the New Testament booklets in the same series (now compiled into one volume).
Each volume of the series begins with a general introduction to the entire series. This section covers Catholic Church teaching on inspiration and inerrancy, biblical authority, the senses of Scripture, criteria for biblical interpretation, and using the study guide. A great overview that is required reading for anyone new to the series but, I dare say, it should be read every time one begins a new study. It provides Catholic and non-Catholic users alike an authentic and concise (but thorough) explanation of official Church teaching regarding the Bible.
The next introduction is devoted to Genesis itself. Authorship and dating, structure, literary background, and more are covered here. Written in a fairly scholarly manner, but accessible to any educated and interested reader, it provides a fine overview and jumping off point to begin one's study.
In the text itself, extensive footnotes often fill up a third of a page, and sometimes a half a page or more. Icon annotations related to the Church's three criteria for biblical interpretation (content and unity, living tradition, and analogy of faith) are once again used, as appropriate, in the footnotes. These icons are particularly helpful to a user who may be pursuing a particular angle in his study or research. In substance, the footnotes are loaded. There is frequent reference to other Scripture passages, non-canonical religious and secular ancient texts, works of the Fathers of the Church, official Church documents (especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church), and explanation of Hebrew, Greek (LXX), and Latin (Vulgate) words and names. In addition, an appreciation of the culture and mores of these ancient times is provided to the reader through clear explanations.
Deeper dives into the material are provided through maps, charts, essays, and word studies distributed generously throughout the text. All are valuable and should be used, but the charts and essays are absolutely indispensable.
Study questions for each chapter fill up a dozen pages at the end of the booklet. Questions "for understanding" reinforce important passages and themes in the text and information found in the footnotes. "For application" questions challenge the studier personally here and now. All questions are substantial and well thought out, thus helping to ensure retention of material and provoking of thought. Great for all users, but particularly helpful for Bible study facilitators, since the latter will not (necessarily) have to provide questions for discussion themselves.
I was surprised to find that the booklet is in large format (8 ½ x 11) compared to the NT series (6 x 9). This allows for easier reading and larger margins for notes, while permitting the user to lay it flat. The notes pages in the back of the NT booklets have been eliminated with this volume; retaining a couple pages or more specifically for notes would have been nice, particularly anticipating its use in formal Bible studies.
Although it is touched upon in the general introduction to the series, I would have liked to have seen a dedicated overview of the Old Testament in general in this volume. Expanding on the Church's teaching on Catholic understanding of the OT (as found succinctly in Dei verbum 14-16), would have helped the reader or Bible study facilitator to better orient himself when reading this and subsequent OT texts.
This booklet provides an excellent study of the first book of the Bible. Indispensable for personal study or devotion, group study, homily aid, or scholarly research, this volume should be in the library of every Christian (and non-Christian for that matter) serious about understanding the Scriptures better and appreciating them more deeply.
Hopefully this introduction to the Old Testament will spur a new appreciation for these books, which "written under divine inspiration, remain permanently valuable" (DV 14), and inspire many to lead or form Bible study groups. For anyone who finds the Hebrew Scriptures intimidating or not particularly relevant, The "Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Genesis" works powerfully to eliminate both of these issues.
Each volume of the series begins with a general introduction to the entire series. This section covers Catholic Church teaching on inspiration and inerrancy, biblical authority, the senses of Scripture, criteria for biblical interpretation, and using the study guide. A great overview that is required reading for anyone new to the series but, I dare say, it should be read every time one begins a new study. It provides Catholic and non-Catholic users alike an authentic and concise (but thorough) explanation of official Church teaching regarding the Bible.
The next introduction is devoted to Genesis itself. Authorship and dating, structure, literary background, and more are covered here. Written in a fairly scholarly manner, but accessible to any educated and interested reader, it provides a fine overview and jumping off point to begin one's study.
In the text itself, extensive footnotes often fill up a third of a page, and sometimes a half a page or more. Icon annotations related to the Church's three criteria for biblical interpretation (content and unity, living tradition, and analogy of faith) are once again used, as appropriate, in the footnotes. These icons are particularly helpful to a user who may be pursuing a particular angle in his study or research. In substance, the footnotes are loaded. There is frequent reference to other Scripture passages, non-canonical religious and secular ancient texts, works of the Fathers of the Church, official Church documents (especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church), and explanation of Hebrew, Greek (LXX), and Latin (Vulgate) words and names. In addition, an appreciation of the culture and mores of these ancient times is provided to the reader through clear explanations.
Deeper dives into the material are provided through maps, charts, essays, and word studies distributed generously throughout the text. All are valuable and should be used, but the charts and essays are absolutely indispensable.
Study questions for each chapter fill up a dozen pages at the end of the booklet. Questions "for understanding" reinforce important passages and themes in the text and information found in the footnotes. "For application" questions challenge the studier personally here and now. All questions are substantial and well thought out, thus helping to ensure retention of material and provoking of thought. Great for all users, but particularly helpful for Bible study facilitators, since the latter will not (necessarily) have to provide questions for discussion themselves.
I was surprised to find that the booklet is in large format (8 ½ x 11) compared to the NT series (6 x 9). This allows for easier reading and larger margins for notes, while permitting the user to lay it flat. The notes pages in the back of the NT booklets have been eliminated with this volume; retaining a couple pages or more specifically for notes would have been nice, particularly anticipating its use in formal Bible studies.
Although it is touched upon in the general introduction to the series, I would have liked to have seen a dedicated overview of the Old Testament in general in this volume. Expanding on the Church's teaching on Catholic understanding of the OT (as found succinctly in Dei verbum 14-16), would have helped the reader or Bible study facilitator to better orient himself when reading this and subsequent OT texts.
This booklet provides an excellent study of the first book of the Bible. Indispensable for personal study or devotion, group study, homily aid, or scholarly research, this volume should be in the library of every Christian (and non-Christian for that matter) serious about understanding the Scriptures better and appreciating them more deeply.
Hopefully this introduction to the Old Testament will spur a new appreciation for these books, which "written under divine inspiration, remain permanently valuable" (DV 14), and inspire many to lead or form Bible study groups. For anyone who finds the Hebrew Scriptures intimidating or not particularly relevant, The "Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Genesis" works powerfully to eliminate both of these issues.
Read
March 30, 2025joseph should’ve sacrificed his brothers to osiris.
October 30, 2016
One of my projects the past few months has been an intensive study of Genesis. I finally wrapped it up a few days ago, so will close out a bunch of the books I've had in the queue.
My process was a parallel read of this Catholic commentary in the Ignatius series (by Scott Hahn), the Navarre bible commentary (a full review will have to wait, because it covers the entire Pentateuch, but some comments below), the Genesis book in the Brazos Theological series (the Genesis book is written by R.R. Reno), and a translation and commentary from the Jewish perspective by Robert Alter. I also listened to a Great Course on Genesis by Gary Rendsburg (http://www.thegreatcourses.com/course...).
Of everything I worked through, this is the single resource I would most recommend to a Catholic wanting to read Genesis. All of the books I've read in the Ignatius series have been of a consistent, high quality. The amount of commentary is modest, and each callout tends to be very focused on explaining a Church teaching or clarifying a textual ambiguity. In this way, it facilitates the reading and understanding of scripture without becoming a burden.
By comparison, I'm enjoying the Navarre commentary, but it takes a different approach. Individual comments are usually longer and address larger sections of text; the level of generality tends to be higher and directed more toward material for reflection than specific teachings or clarifications. As a result, where the Ignatius commentary facilitates the direct reading of scripture, the Navarre commentary works better as a supplement to that reading.
My process was a parallel read of this Catholic commentary in the Ignatius series (by Scott Hahn), the Navarre bible commentary (a full review will have to wait, because it covers the entire Pentateuch, but some comments below), the Genesis book in the Brazos Theological series (the Genesis book is written by R.R. Reno), and a translation and commentary from the Jewish perspective by Robert Alter. I also listened to a Great Course on Genesis by Gary Rendsburg (http://www.thegreatcourses.com/course...).
Of everything I worked through, this is the single resource I would most recommend to a Catholic wanting to read Genesis. All of the books I've read in the Ignatius series have been of a consistent, high quality. The amount of commentary is modest, and each callout tends to be very focused on explaining a Church teaching or clarifying a textual ambiguity. In this way, it facilitates the reading and understanding of scripture without becoming a burden.
By comparison, I'm enjoying the Navarre commentary, but it takes a different approach. Individual comments are usually longer and address larger sections of text; the level of generality tends to be higher and directed more toward material for reflection than specific teachings or clarifications. As a result, where the Ignatius commentary facilitates the direct reading of scripture, the Navarre commentary works better as a supplement to that reading.
Read
June 22, 2014Of the modern Biblical commentaries I've read, Hahn's is among the best. Most modern commentaries begin with the historical-critical assumption that the Old Testament is a historical fabrication with little spiritual significance. Hahn, however, begins by accepting the veracity of Old Testament traditions (e.g., Moses wrote the Pentateuch), while not uncritically believing that every Genesis story is factual history. Hahn also brings in wonderful commentary from the Fathers of the Church, shedding light on the spiritual depths of this Book. Most delightful is how Catholic this commentary is, as Hahn assiduously links up Old Testament passages with Church teaching.
September 6, 2011
I was very impressed with this. The notes gave a fascinating insight into Biblical evidence for some of the Catholic doctrines, which was just what I was looking for. They were clearly enough explained for me to understand, coming from an Anglican background - I'll definitely be reading more of Scott Hahn's work.
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November 11, 2013great commentary
March 7, 2016
Every one of these commentaries is gold!
January 9, 2025
Great study Bible on the RSV CE 2nd ed. Ingnasius Press now has a New Testament version that is complete, but I actually enjoy this modular approach because it forces me to focus. The commentary was great, it goes into Catholic interpretation. It also has the different meanings of translated text and why the rsv choose the wording it did. I am currently doing the study questions at this time. They are broken down by reading, "For Study" and "For Application". "For Study" questions are a review of the readings. And "For Application" is for reflection. It is also available on their website as a PDF, which is helpful because I have the ebook version.
March 3, 2020
I used this book as my source for the biennial cycle of Scripture from the Office of Readings during the the first part of Ordinary Time this year. Scott Hahn has taught me a lot through these study bibles and I hope that a complete edition is published soon!
May 27, 2020
An excellent, accessible commentary.
Read
October 14, 2021Good but maybe not as good as the Exodus commentary.
February 28, 2022
Excelente para complementar a leitura e os ensinamentos.
October 26, 2022
Excellent commentary
December 13, 2016
I never realized how much depth there is in the book of Genesis. There's an awful lot of symbolism and foreshadowing. The footnotes in this book are extremely helpful.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews