Genesis 16-50, Volume 2

Word Biblical Commentary #2

by Gordon J. Wenham, David Allen Hubbard (Editor), Glenn W. Barker (Editor)

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Overview of Commentary Organization

Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliography contains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Reference, Christian, Old Testament, Christianity, Theology, Nonfiction

555 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Gordon J. Wenham was a Reformed British Old Testament scholar and writer. He has authored several books about the Bible. Tremper Longman has called him "one of the finest evangelical commentators today."

Reviews

[Timothy Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'd be a fool NOT to consult Wenham.

[Sophia Lewis]

“To us whose vision has been enriched and enlarged by the witness of the rest of the Bible, Joseph still says, “God will definitely visit you . . . and bring you to the land which he promised.”

[Joel Lomman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very in depth exegetical commentary. Great reference resource

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wenham is a careful exegete, and is useful in addressing liberal critiques of Scripture, as he shows in a steady, understated, disciplined approach how careful attention to the text often resolves those very objections.

Wenham is particularly useful for cultural analysis, and comparing the themes and events of Genesis to other ANE literature. THat said, at times he can give too much attention or weight to those commonalities, which can detract from the clarity of the text itself. He generally stays far away from application, but at times shines through with wonderful gems of observation.

Used in preparing to preach Genesis in 2021, 2022.

[Luke Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great depth and scholarship!

[Dwain Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good and very helpful. I’m thankful for it.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t have a lot to say about this volume that I haven't already said about Genesis 1-15. I have more interest in the early chapters of Genesis than I have in the patriarchal narratives, so this volume didn’t hold my interest the way the first volume did. I have been researching ethnicity in early Israel, so I was interested in what he would say about the twelve tribes. From reading this commentary you would never know that there was any controversy about the origin of the twelve tribes. I assume the author accepts the Genesis narrative about the origin of the twelve tribes in the twelve sons of Jacob as historical. He never gives any indication otherwise or mention any commentator who disputes this.

I found the theological bunny trails into the N.T. annoying. Of course, it is the author's right to explore how Christians might understand the various passages in Genesis. But there seemed to be a sharp disconnect between the reporting of the rabbinic commentaries on Genesis and the handling of Christian interpretation. The rabbinic commentaries seemed relevant to the subject at hand, but the Christian interpretations were reported as though they were established fact, rather than somebody’s opinion. This seemed inappropriate in a scholarly commentary.

[Ryan Guenther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found many intriguing insights from Wenham again, especially in his examination of the lives of Jacob and Joseph. Lots of details and references to earlier parts of Genesis that I hadn't noticed before. The commentary is (as standard in the WBC series) broken into four parts for each passage--the text and textual notes, form/structure of the text, comment, and explanation. As I was not reading for an academic purpose, I found myself skimming the textual notes and form/structure (especially Wenham's interactions with source critical theories) and focusing in on his (excellent) comments and explanations.

[Michael Schmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great careful and thorough, but not too wordy commentary. Some sections are too academic for my liking, but I greatly appreciate the insights into the Hebrew text.

[Henry]

The more I use Wenham the more I get from him. Having completed both volumes now this is a great academic commentary on Genesis.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

More informative than elucidating, Wenham’s commentary was probably my best resource in my Genesis study

[Jess Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wenham est bien plus à son aise dans ce second volume, on y retrouve le même talent que dans son commentaire sur le Lévitique.

Il remarque chaque détail, pose une foule de questions et est bien plus " dévotionel" dans ses explications. Vraiment un plaisir

[William Schrecengost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. This was my favorite commentary on Genesis. I supplemented this with Keil & Delitzsch and Alter the most. Brueggemann, Speiser, and Kline were of minor assistance.

[calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wenham provides and excellent understanding of many issues within higher criticism without sacrificing the authenticity of scripture. He looks at textual critics while not getting distracted, thus he keeps the story and drama of genesis as the main point

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Word Bible Commentary (WBC), is an extreamly scholarly and many time critical Biblical commentary, yet it is one that can be hard to use, thankfully not all volumes are like that. This series is extremely useful in writing academic papers, in sermon preparation, and in Sunday school preparation. 

A few years ago the word bible commentary switch Publishers again, and came under the ownership of Zondervan Publications.  Under their leadership this series has seen a rejuvenation of sorts. While the format remains unchanged (providing a phenomenal bibliography, translation, notes on translation and setting, followed by comments and explanation), the binding of the book has changed as well as the addition of revised versions of previously released commentaries.
 
While the WBC is world renowned for its high academic pursuit of God’s Word, I was pleasantly surprised at its accessibility to the pastor and not just the academically-minded Bible scholar. In the book that I have the privilege of viewing is a re-issuing of the 2nd volume of this series containing Genesis 16-50, by Gordon J. Wenham which previously released under a previous publisher, but has a re-release under Zondervan’s leadership.

While reading an assortment of passages in the book of Genesis, I was saddened to see a lack of commentary about each verse with regard to application and contextualisation. Yet on the other hand comments about the Biblical Hebrew language as well as syntax of each verse are indispensable information that is sorely lacking in almost every modern commentary.

While knowledge of the Biblical Hebrew language is handy when utilizing this commentary, it is not a necessary requirement for some utilization. With that said having a deep knowledge of the Biblical Hebrew will greatly enhance a readers ability to use this commentary. I highly recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars due to its thorough academic approach combined with its accessibility to academia and the pastorate.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Zondervan Academic Publishers in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

[Darwin Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

After researching Genesis commentaries online, I picked one for a preparatory overview, Goldingay's Genesis for Everyone, and then selected the top four more academic ones, starting with the least-rated of the four and working up to the top. The least-rated was Waltke's, better rated was Mathews', then Hamilton's, with the highest rating going to Wenham's superb commentary.

I felt that each was valuable in its own way. Waltke's was a great follow-up to Goldingay, being concise, but without omissions (includes the modern theological tie-ins), yet was contained in one volume. Mathews', like Waltke's and Goldingay's, was easy to read. I felt like there was a jump in quality, however, when going to Hamilton's commentary. It's difficult to say which is the better commentary between Hamilton and Wenham. Wenham's, I think is weightier with far more, up-to-date, well-researched information, but harder to "shlog" through (especially given the Word series' format). (Also, I previously had read this commentary several years ago, in its first edition, so I may be prejudiced.) Overall, the one to have is Wenham's.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent commentary on Genesis. Wenham is up-to-date and covers the bases well. He translation and textual notes are extremely helpful as are his comments (following the WBC format). He covers text critical issues well while remaining conservative in his judgements. Preachers, especially, will find his "explanations" full of helpful material when it comes to theological application. Many people don't seem to like the WBC format, but I've never I find it usually organises the information well.

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. I read this and his other volume on Genesis while doing exegetical work for school. In many cases, I felt that this commentary was sufficient aid to my translation and footnotes in and of itself. At the times I needed to consult other commentators, Wenham provided succinct summaries of opposing views so that I knew where to look for further research.

[Nate Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, helpful.

[Andrew Klynsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent in every way.