Bibles Bible Studies Books

I purchased one book and my boys (three at the time) loved it. I purchased another in the series and then finally the last two. We've got a lot of bible story books my kids had no or little interest in. These are so engaging--the writing, the pictures, the selection of stories. These stories inspire them to pretend and re-tell the stories themselves. They are also easy to use as a lesson--the story, acting it out, doing a craft. I only wish there were more in the series!

I bought the first two books of the series over a dozen years ago when my youngest son was little. I was a preschool teacher of four year olds for many years and used these stories. I have also have used them with two-year-olds in Sunday School and the children like them.They get to the essence of the story with simple words and explanations. I love the simple and clear artwork with watercolor drawings. I think the simple story and artwork allows the feeling of the story to come through. I had looked for these books in stores over the years with no luck. Now with a grandson, I was delighted to find them to complete my collection. I can't wait to read the stories to him.

We used this book for our children from the time they were born until they were three years old. They loved it! The illustrations are fantastic and beautiful. Any time I give a baby gift I always include this book. Highly recommended!

When my son was in preschool, this was hands down one of his favorite books, along with Vol. 1. The stories are simply written yet remain true to the spirit of the Word. We highly recommend these books!

PERFECT FOR TODDLERS! This book offers short bible stories in language that is perfect for preschoolers!

I love this devotional / Bible Study! WOW! I have done many studies, but this is my favorite! What a practical way to become the woman God wants you to be and the woman you have always wanted to be but didn't know how..... The tips Donna give are wonderful and very practical. Easy to apply! I highly recommend this book to all Women of God!

Just finished this book. The Proverbs 31 woman seemed like the unicorn until I read this book. I felt encouraged, even on the days I had my biggest struggles. Finally someone has come along and encouraged woman to cut a window in their world and share their home, life and spiritual gifts. Donna Partow writes like she is your bestfriend, just speaking truth in love. I feel like I can do community with out hiding in fear and shame.

I highly recommend this book to the woman who thought she could never be a Proverbs 31 woman. Yes you can and Donna Partow tells you how.

WOW! This was just what I was needing to make a change in my life. Donna definately is there step to step to help us make postive changes if we are willing. I am only on day 14 but have already had others notice the change in me.

This book will change your life if you read it with an open heart and are committed to being a woman after God's own heart. Donna is truly a servant of Christ and has a lot of valuable insight to assist women in not only multitasking the needs of family, but also to build yourself up with confidence, strength and dignity.

Walton's book focuses on the similarities between the Ancient Near Eastern religious teaching with the Old Testament. He is careful to point out that similarites between the two doesnt necessarily imply that one is borrowed from the other. He emphasizes that they came to some similar conclusions based on their similar environments. This is a quite interesting take on this hotly debated subject.

His introduction to the book and introduction to Near Eastern literature is excellent.

However, while I will admit readily there are some similarites between Ancient Near Eastern religions and the O.T., Walton seems to see some similarities that I do not. He seems to be reaching quite a bit in those instances. For this reason, I gave it three stars.

The similarities between the two schools of religious thought are so few and far between that I feel a case could be made for coincidental similarities.

The book did however, accomplish what I thought it would accomplish. Regardless of the author's comments, the comparisons between the religions really emphasizes the distinctiveness of the O.T. For that reason, I am grateful for purchasing the book. Its something I have never doubted, but it certainly makes the chasm wider between the Ancient Near Eastern religions and the religion of the O.T.

Of course, the difference is one is real, and the others arent.

"The synthesis that I have offered is undoubtedly characterized by assessments that some scholars will judge to be misleading, premature, or even wrongheaded. ... Instead, I desired to sift through the information provided by the specialists who have diligently made the literatures and cultures of the ancient Near East available to us,..." John Walton.



Prologue to Hermerneutics:
Half a century past, when I read the Old Testament in the city where it was first translated from Hebrew, now then, in its cousin language Arabic, much of the biblical narratives seemed stories from an ancient mythical past to me, the young Psaltos. However, when I started to formulate inquisitive questions, the most refreshing though troubling replies came from my father, a specialist in comparative civil law, a professor in the French Lyceum and a former Viennese student in the European enlightenment milieu of the thirties, the young teenager was then introduced to comparative criticism through JH Breasted, Gardiner and Lang when I began to understand how ancient Egyptian viewed the world, the Old Testament becomes more clearly a book that stood "within its ancient context, while also speaking against it," in the words of Wheaton's J. Walton.

Renewal of Biblical Studies:
"The rediscovery of Egypt began in earnest in the eighteenth century AD and of Mesopotamia in the mid-nineteenth century AD. With the decipherment of the ancient languages, the tens of thousands of texts that were being unearthed began to be translated and analyzed. ... Initial studies were inclined to be defensive of the Bible, even if such a stance required the dismissal or distortion of the cuneiform texts. The flurry of activity in connection with the relationship of these texts to the Bible had reached a critical mass of sorts by the turn of the century; and, consequently, widespread attention was attracted by the series of lectures presented in 1902 under the auspices of the German Oriental Society and attended by Kaiser Wilhelm II."

Israel's Intellectual Milieu:
John Walton suggests three main roles that a comparative study could play in Hebrew Bible interpretation: critical analysis, defense of the biblical text, and exegesis. He focuses on exegesis and its particular importance for guarding interpretation against applying modern world-views. Walton offers a thoughtful introduction to ancient Near Eastern literature and the common milieu of 'cognitive environment' that rediscovers the world of ancient Israel. He evaluates concepts of ancient beliefs on gods, views on people and history, about religion, the cosmos, after surveying types of literature, after a survey of the interface between the ancient Near East and Israel, clarifying the analogies and non similarities between them.

Comparative Biblical Study:
This book provides an excellent introduction to the field of comparative Biblical studies and integrates many specialized studies by Coogan, Chavalas, Currid, Kitchen, Redford, and Yamauchi on Israel's neighbors. He makes use of extra biblical resources to enrich their understanding of ancient Israel and its Scriptures. This is very well explained by Peter Machinist, of Harvard University, "Comparisons between the culture of biblical Israel and the other cultures of the ancient Near East have long been a fundamental part of biblical scholarship, but more often than not, they have been presented in piecemeal, isolated fashion. In his new book, John Walton offers a much broader reach, giving us arguably the most extensive review of these cultural comparisons now available together with a serious meditation on what the enterprise of cultural comparison is all about in biblical study."

Analytical Book reviews:
- "... excellent survey of the interface between the ancient Near East and Israel. I especially appreciate his sidebars on 'Comparative Exploration,' which enable readers to 'zero in' on the comparative topic of their choice relatively easily."--Mark Chavalas, U. Wisconsin
- "... an important and useful guide to entering into some of the major worldviews and value systems found in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Israel. ..., bridges the gaps between ancient Near Eastern texts and the perspectives of the Bible." Richard Hess, Denver Seminary
- "Walton penetrates beyond the simple comparisons often made to bring back intelligence about the contexts and constitution of the ancient world, stressing the ideas Israel and its contemporaries held in common. Yet Walton repeatedly demonstrates how Israel's faith was distinct,..." Alan Millard, U. of Liverpool

First off I want to say that I audited a course by the author of this book, and read through the book throughout the semester. It is part of the core curriculum for an M.A. in New Testament or Old Testament Exegesis at Wheaton. I am a pastor who preaches regularly. This book has impacted my entire understanding of the Old Testament in a powerful way.

The logical format of this book gives the reader a simple and effective way to slowly enter into the worldview of ancient people. The author is very good at giving readers hinge concepts to help understand the distinctions between our worldview and their worldview.

The book categorizes ancient near eastern thought into topics that are actually enjoyable to read. Each topic could easily overlap with other topics, and Dr. Walton does a great job of separating the topics without distorting them (in my opinion).

This book tackles thorny issues that separate Evangelicals from Liberals in the land of scholars, without alienating either side of the issue. Walton's premise is that we should abandon the old approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Thought and simply understand what they believed, and how it was different from or the same as Old Testament thought.

One concept that emerges as the book develops is the idea that some Israelite prophets argued for the support of the covenant with God rather than for the reinforcement of the Kings authority (as the prophets of other cultures and sometimes Israeli culture did). This sets Israeli prophets who held to the covenant with God at odds with everyone else who prophecied in Israel and around Israel. Coupled with the exclusiveness of the Jewish religion, and the people soon became alienated from those around them and sometimes from their own religion or people.

Probably the most helpful aspect of this book is his excellent approach to comparative studies without labeling certain parts of the bible as extensions of other cultures or vice versa. His approach, when properly understood, is actually what both sides of the historical divide on this topic ought to be doing. I find it not only full of wisdom, but extremely helpful in preparing sermons from the Old Testament.

A nice companion to this volume is The Bible Background Commentary of the Old Testament. I think that this book shows you how to use the Bible Background Commentaries.

One criticism that I would like to mention is that some of the charts in this book are a bit difficult for me to understand. That's an area that the next edition may have to improve on. However, there are only a few pages like that and the rest of the book is really a very very good summary and introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament.

Some of the topics he covers include but are by no means limited to:

The Ancient View of the World.
The Ancient view of the heavens.
The Ancient view of Temples
The Ancient view of Omens and Magic.

I think he has around 13 topics in all. This book is well worth reading and if you plan to teach from the Old Testament over the years, you might want to pick up a copy for your personal library. It's packed with helpful references also.

very scholarly, but easily understood,; cogent discussion of how to understand the Hebrew Bible on its own terms, integrating science and archeology. a must have book.

Divided into five distinctive sections, this book provides an introductory look at the conceptual world surrounding the Hebrew Bible. The five sections are Comparative Studies, Literature of the Ancient Near East, Religion, Cosmos, and People.

The section on Literature of the Ancient Near East is is a good, although very brief, survey of the literature of the ancient near east including Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hittite. The author has included a good cross section of ritual texts, letters, chronicles, legal collections, hymns, wisdom literature, and prophecy.

The section on Religion is subdivided into The Gods, Temples and Rituals, and State and Family Religion. Here the reader is exposed to ancient thought on these subjects with the intent that they come to understand the common beliefs and practices well as beliefs and practices that differentiated them from each other.

The section on the Cosmos examines both the geography of the cosmos and the beliefs surrounding them. The section on the geography of the cosmos is excellent and includes an examination of the structure of heaven, the earth and the netherworld. I found this section to be particularly interesting and very informative with an excellent exposition on the Hebrew word "bara" and the functional aspects of naming.

The final section on People provides an excellent examination of the various concepts of creation of the human race as well as what it means to be human. It also includes a very good explanation of the interaction between the people and their religion including prophecy, oracles, and their perception of history as a nation. This section ends with a discussion of the beliefs about the future of the earth and what happens after death.

Throughout the book the author has included excellent side-bar sections offset in shaded boxes that further illuminate related ideas and concepts. These often contain some of the best and most interesting observations of the material if you are already somewhat familiar with the subject.

Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament provides a solid comparative study of the various literature from the ancient near east showing both commonalities and differences with the beliefs of the nation of Israel. The book clearly sets the culture of Israel in the Old Testament times alongside those of its neighbors and allows the reader to better understand the mindset of the time. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament is highly recommended.

Dr. Scott Hahn has the reputation of a brilliant scholar and a passionate follower of Christ. This breathtakingly beautiful book is a reflection of great love and devotion to Salvation History.

The beginning of the book - the Foreword - is worth the investment. The illustrations are nothing short of spectacular. Extremely well documented with Scripture and quotations from the Church Fathers and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this is a classic masterpiece.

I just want to say that I love this book. Me and my husband bought it during the 1st Annual Catholic Scripture Study Conference 2006 in Charlotte, NC last April. We studied Bible with the International Catholic Bible Society (SOBICAIN)in Venezuela and we were looking for a compendium in English that could help us prepare ourselves to teach Bible studies in our parish. This book is so beautifully made that makes the excellent content and the visual design a delight for both intellect and spirit. And I admit it, we are also Dr. Hahn's big fans since we read his conversation story (Rome Sweet Home) and some other of his books (Hail Holy Queen, The lamb's Supper, Lord Have Mercy and his contribution to the books Catholic for a Reason). May God bless him and his family aboundantely because thanks to his books a lot of craddle catholics are coming back to the Church with a renewed faith and he's gaining countless of converts from other Christian denominations. I definetely recommend this book for both people seeking to study Bible for themselves or to teach a complete course in their parishes... and I don't give more stars because Amazon doesn't have more!!!!!

Honestly, this is the single most incredible Scripture textbook for High School aged students that I have ever seen in my life.

I was first made aware of this series about a month ago, when I learned that a local Catholic High School had chosen to use one of the titles. One of my closest friends, the theology teacher at my son's High School, then ordered the entire series.

As a professional theologian -- and as a professional educator -- I can only sit back and be amazed. This is simply the BEST one-volume introduction to Scripture that I have ever seen. It is faithful to the text, without denying the contributions of higher criticism. It is faithful to the Teaching of the Church. It is brilliantly illustrated and laid out. As someone who examines texts for a living -- it simply blew me away. I will be ordering a copy for my parish library as soon as possible. I only wish that a parish edition, suitable for CCD classes (and the limitations under which they labor) could be forthcoming.

Dr. Hahn has outdone himself.

Very, very highly recommended!

As the director of adult faith formation at a Catholic parish, I am using this text in tandem with the Bible as the textbook for a 9-month course on the Bible (30 classes, one class per chapter in this book). Our adults are devouring the material and *absolutely love* the content, layout, font, sacred art, diagrams, and beautiful photographs, which make this book such a fabulous resource for any student of the Bible.

I wholly recommend this text to all high school classrooms as well as to all parishes and organizations that wish to facilitate a complete course on the Sacred Scriptures in order to give the student a Catholic Scriptural worldview and an overview, a framework, by which one may understand Salvation History as mediated by the Bible.

Also, if you simply want to learn the Bible in the privacy of your own home - perhaps with your spouse or a friend - you should acquire a copy for yourself and read through it (perhaps one chapter per week). The chapters are short, easy-to-read, and full of amazing information.

If sitting on your coffee table, the textbook looks enticing, and I guarantee, from personal experience that visitors will open it up and start flipping through the pages to view the eye-catching, colorful pages. Then, you'll hear the question, "Where did you get this?? How can I get my hands on one?"

I love this guy. I watch him on EWTN all the time and he is great. He is the smartest guy about the bible and he makes it all so accessible. EWTN sells these books for $45 - I only mention this because of all the more than $45 prices I see here.

We are doing this Bible study for a group of 14 moms on Thursday mornings this summer. Everyone loves it! This series is very well written and organized. It has an opening icebreaker question for each chapter and a page at the end for notes or prayer requests. It is very biblical and leads to lots of discussion. I would recommend this highly for any group of women meeting weekely, as well as independent study at home.

Wonderful!The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Revised Edition

I am a pretribulationist, and I have been on the prowl to see if there is a recent release that can match up to J. Dwight Pentecost's massive and classic tome, "Things to Come." This is not it.

Dr. Fruchtenbaum has weird ideas on almost every page, far too often to be a reliable resource for the student of prophecy. Where should I begin? First of all, he believs that the antichrist will be supernaturally born of a virgin just like Jesus was. He also applies nearly every Old Testament prophecy of judgment to the future Great Tribulation, when at least half of these prophecies probably refer to the judgment on Israel at the time of the Assyrians or to Judgment on Judah at the time of Nebuchadnezzar (a very common dispensational error which ignores the historical and biblical context of the prophecy).

Fruchtenbaum also believes that each one of the churches in Asia Minor represents a different era in history from the time of Christ to today, even though I doubt seriously whether the apostle John would have thought of this. Furthermore, who decides which historical events to use?

This problem is exacerbated even further with Fruchtenbaum's identification of the 4th beast of Daniel 7, which he applies to many different kingdoms stretching from the time of the Roman Empire until today. He regularly interprets the prophetic scriptures in a way which would be totally alien to the authors who wrote them down.

Certainly, there are OT passages which speak of a future tribulation - Deuteronomy 30, Jeremiah 30:4-7, etc), but not nearly as many as Dr. Fruchtenbaum would suggest.

There are many more strange and novel interpretations, and it is ironic because Dr. Fruchtenbaum presents himself as a champion of literal interpretation.

My recommendation is to skip this expensive book. It's not worth the money and you are far better served to get Pentecost's book.

This is an excellent resource for those who are interested in obtaining a Biblical view of eschatology. It is detailed, thorough, and well organized. As an undergraduate Bible and theology major, I found myself leaning toward an amillenial view of the end times. My study of the Bible and this book, however, have solidified my current "pre-trib./pre-mill." position. While my soteriology is still reformed and my form of worship Anglican, my eschatology is now dispensational.

I found this book phenomenal - an absolute must to anyone wishing to learn and understand God's word. It will help lay a solid foundation of understanding on which the rest of God's word and God's plan will sit.

This book will answer every question you have concerning the sequence of (and details of) yet-future prophetic events and God's future plan for mankind. The author with ease, points out God's teachings straight from the bible and inserts nearly all scripture text being discussed. He uses the King James bible translation so if you prefer NIV or NASB (etc.) be prepared to open your own bible while reading this book. This book is captivating, intriguing and amazing. This book also has some amazing content within its Appendix. This book is a must to anyone wishing to understand God's word.

A comprehensive study of Eschatology, that is as about as good as it gets. The exceptionally in-depth study of not only the scriptures, but how to study the scriptures, is a must for any serious follower of Yahushua (Yeshua) Hammashiach. Dr. Fruchtenbaum's grasp on the material, truly seems inspired, and I believe will allow most readers to get a firm grasp on "end-time" prophecies as well as help them receive the peace and hope that these prophecies are meant to provide. There is an accompanying study guide now available at Dr. Fruchtenbaum's website at [...], that makes for a marvelous Sunday School or Bible Study course on Eschatology.

Well written, precise and to the point. This book correlates with biblical passages and prophecies. Written with clarity, knowledgeable and very informational. It opens yet another door to allow the mind to expand and again, think outside of the box. As a reader myself, of over 5000 books, journals and publications; I can assure you that this book is one to definately have in your collection along with several other well knowns who are right on the same target.

Thank you.

This book is very real although some of the scenarios are stretched. I do believe in Genesis however and have personally encountered some of the entities he decribes in his book. I am glad to see someone out there willing to get the truth out. They are the ones behind the Illuminati, our government today, our media and even our churches..I do completely believe the Nephilim in paticular are he to reproduce and wreak havoc. I do believe it is the antichrist and his legion up to no good. For those of you who don't believe it sorry! I was once like you until lived in a haunted/possessed house. Wake up!!![...]

The majority of mainstream Fundamentalist Christians accept Dispensationalism uncritically. In truth, there is nothing new about L.A. Marzulli's thesis. This book is a combination of the 70's "Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsay and the 70's conclusion of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project that the entire UFO phenomenon is a demonic effort to "deceive the elect (if it were possible)." Marzulli has wisely qualified many of his assertions with the "belief" or "opinion" disclaimer for the benefit of those who do not share (a) his eschatalogical commitments for interpreting Old and New Testament prophecy or (b) his over simplification of a vastly complex world of extra biological entities.

However, given that a signigicant group of Fundamentalist Christians accepted Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Tim LaHaye's Left Behind without flinching, this explanation should be plausible to them as well.

Give L.A. Marzulli some credit here. At least he takes the road less traveled. Most Evangelical or Fundamentalist Christians (yes, folks there is a difference) dismiss the UFO phenomenon altogether. "Where the Bible is silent, we remain silent" is the usual path of resistance. Marzulli shows vision and proactive awareness by not denying the UFO phenomenon, but making a brave, biblical case for the existence of aliens and why they are here.

I actually agree with Marzulli:

(1) That a certain segment of Grays and Verdants (from a dominant collective who are major players in abductions) the will be the featured disclosure race and will pretend to be open to evangelism on the surface in order to complete their forced breeding program without interruption.

(2) That David Jacobs, et. al. are important resources for understanding what is going on behind the abduction scenes.

(3) That governments will have little choice but to go along with the deception because of prior agreements.

I disagree with Marzulli:

(1) That aliens are fallen angels or demonic personalities. Marzulli will be hard pressed to explain the metaphysics, physics and biology of fallen angels (demons) impregnating a human. The testimony of retired military personnel, scientists and many civilian witnesses remains on record that the aliens taken from various wreckage are extra BIOLOGICAL entities with physical DNA, not just demonic light beings. The biological material to be revealed at disclosure will bear this out.

(2) That the vast, galactic, exopolitical domain of at least 57 (and probably more) species of EBEs or ETs or aliens interacting with governments on earth can be simplified into a single-file fallen angel (demonic) masquerade party.

(3) That the only characterization of aliens, ETs or EBE's is doom and gloom. Accounting for a single (but indeed dominant) group of aliens within a certain collective does not do justice to other races who have extremely positive values and insights. What if the ultimate outcome could be a truly redemptive turn around in civilization thanks to the input of a superior race of ETs whose wisdom and technology could actually help our planet? What excludes this possibility? The circular argument that "aliens are demons, therefore aliens must be demons" just might.

Christians will respond in many ways to UFO disclosure. The Fundamentalist, Dispensational - "end timers" will likely buy into Marzulli's pre-determined, simplistic, demonic aliens model. The implications of the alternative are just too devastating to a Fundamentalist Christian belief system. Less critical, less informed Christians will be attracted to the wonder solutions of the disclosing collective (of some but not all Grays/Verdants), while ignoring reports of their abductions and forced breeding programs. A third group will see inadequacies on both sides and look for long term assistance from truly benevolent races--the identity of whom has already been documented by scores of former, credible military personnel and highly privileged government "ops" personnel. In other words, there are more witnesses to the benevolent races than just Billy Meier.

If you share the Dispensational, Millenarian, Zionistic assumptions of L.A. Marzulli, you will find this book to be meaningful, and possibly convincing. If you are less convinced by Fundamentalist, biblical hermeneutics and would like to consider a broader discussion as to the meaning of UFOs, encounters with EBEs and genuine disclosure--and the challenges that come with it--you may be better off looking elsewhere.

Very plausible arguments for what may seem at first to be ridiculous assertions. Very interesting, a real page turner!

In spite of the judicious observations found in this book, it is of rather annoying reading. It is a good example of what the Internet can give to authors who, in another way, would have few things to say. The most part of developments of the author are or borrowing in other books or of 'copy and paste' informations gleaned on the net. The problem remain that one can assert everything on the net. Readers longing for assured knowledge have to refrain.

I am a new convert and a true rebirth at the same time. I am a dry sponge in the desert and every book has advantages. The bibles are written on very thin paper....all of them, only a minor issue. The NASB is beautiful but then again, all of them are helpful.

I am older and like the references to a concordance and the original Greek and Hebrew meaning.

Would recommend this translation and study bible for serious students only.
I was told it was genuine leather though, and it is only bonded. That was my only disappointment.

I already owned their previous two volume NT-OT interlinear that had Strong's numbers for every word in every verse. This work has the numbers for about 5% of the words in scripture.

It also has red ink in certain passages. Since all scripture is "God breathed" I find this use of red ink an insult to the Holy Spirit which directed all of the writing of scripture.

If you want a quick reference for exegesis, this is a great Bible to use!
It's good on the fly and good for church, but great for Bible studies because it helps clarify our ambiguous english language when reading the text.

I am very pleased with this Study Bible.
Here are a few differences between this new edition and the old one:
1. This new edition has wider margins.
2. This edition adds notes from the AMG Greek Dictionary, and places them with the Strong's definitions. There used to be 2 sections, but now they are all joined together.
1 negative: Spiros Zodhiates' great notes that used to be in the back of the Bible have been removed, and replaced with the dictionary notes.
Other than that, I highly recommend this edition of the Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible.

Excellent book. Provides considerations I've not thought of and validates the Holy Bible in ways I previously did not know. I like this book!!!

The Genesis Record is subtitled: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. I found this book to be very helpful in helping me to understand the book of Genesis, especially regarding many of the cultural and historical elements to the Book. At 668 pages, it covers a lot of ground and doesn't leave many stones unturned. Morris also does a lot of cross-referencing, letting Scripture explain itself and teach its own concepts. Some of the parts that I found especially enlightening were the following: Morris explains what was going on in "the days of the Noah," and suddenly the parallels to our times stood out very clearly. He also offered an interesting perspective on Noah's sons, and the Hamitic curse, and some of the technological, intellectual, and spiritual trends among general groupings of people. I guess I hadn't really heard anyone explain their perspective on this before, and he takes a very reasonable approach to it (in opposition to those who justify African slavery with the curse of Ham). There was also an aspect to the story of Joseph that especially stuck out to me. I had never thought of Joseph as having a pride problem, but Morris explains his dream-telling in terms of pride, and his Egyptian servitude and imprisonment as God's means of humbling him, so that he could later become the right kind of man to lead a whole country-region without that pride getting in the way. All along the way, this commentary was filled with great insights into the workings of God and His plan as revealed in the book of Genesis.

That said, I had a few reservations:

Published in 1976, this book is one of the early-modern works detailing a scientific approach to a literal interpretation of Genesis. As such there are certain aspects of his explanations that are no longer in use; it's a little bit dated. Young earth creationist theories have grown, been tested, evaluated, discarded, innovated, etc. like a healthy science is supposed to be practiced. Morris helped lay much of the groundwork for this, but even some of his theories have been modified or discarded.

>In cases of doubtful meanings of Scripture, one must not be dogmatic; but, at the same time, he should not forget the cardinal rule of interpretation; the Bible was written to be understood, by commoner as well as scholar. Therefore it should normally be taken literally unless the context both indicates a nonliteral meaning and also makes it clear what the true meaning is intended to be.< (109)

Morris, in this work (as in others of his), like both of the flagship creationist organizations (ICR, AIG) refuses to address a geocentric approach to the scriptures and astronomy. This being the case, he (and they) leave themselves with one arm tied behind their back in their fight against naturalistic humanistic evolutionistic anti-Bible-ism. Watching a debate between Hugh Ross and Ken Ham, I could see clearly how Ham could have a knock down drag out argument against relativistic bigbangism, if only he would take the same approach to the geocentric scriptures as he takes to the first 11 chapters of Genesis. This double-mindedness is crippling the creationist cause.

>If we would be faithful Bible expositors, therefore, we must be guided by what God has actually said, not what we think He should have said. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).<

My final criticism was the dozens and dozens and dozens of times where Morris said "The English reading here is incorrect..." "a BETTER translation would be" "unfortunately this reading is confusing" "this obscures the point of the passage" etc, etc, etc. If only he would have taken his own advice (above) and applied it to the rest of his work. There's no problem saying "this word can also mean..." but when he goes about correcting God's word, he ends up standing on the same sandy humanistic foundation he so vigorously criticizes in its other forms.

These criticisms aside, I still highly recommend this work to those looking to more fully understand the Book of Beginnings.

Possibly the best commentary I've ever used. Writen in a way that draws you into the narative and gives insight into the text that makes it easy to teach and apply.

The Genesis Record is possibly the most challenging commentary on Genesis you could find. I mean this in terms of it's literal approach. It goes out of its way to determine the importance of plenary verbal inspiration. Most commentaries on Genesis have to ignore certain things to make a general summary that the whole point of the book was simply to get the reader to understand that the God of Abraham was also the creator. The Layman's Bible Commentary is a good example of this. Henry Morris, however, can soundly argue the truth of Genesis from the words themsleves. He backs his claims with scripture from an internal and external authenticity. He is also quite knoledgeable in extrabiblical writing to help from a historical standpoint. Another good trait of this commentary is that it has each section of commented scripture there to read so you are able to check for yourself. It is also, in part, an apologetic book, as commentaries should be. Studying the Bible goes hand in hand with defending the Bible. If you have a collection of Genesis commentaries, this would definitely be one to add to the collection.

A great resource for small group teachers and pastors. Dr. Morris takes complex scientific and theological issues and makes it understandable and applicable to the layman!
A wonderful value and well worth the investment in your spirit!