How to Read Genesis

Preaching Magazine's Year's Best Book for Preachers

Creation in six days

Woman from the side of man

"Sons of god" taking "daughters of men"

A massive disaster and an animal rescue boat of biblical proportions

Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and the ongoing saga of a dysfunctional family

These are just a few of the episodes that Genesis conjures up. But we miss the point if we focus on what seems strange to us. And we distort the message if we demand that this book answer questions that are strange to it. To read Genesis intelligently, we must consider the questions, the literature and the times in which Genesis was written.

In How to Read Genesis Tremper Longman III provides a welcome guide to reading and studying, understanding and savoring this panorama of beginnings--of both the world and of Israel. And importantly for Christian readers, we gain insight into how Genesis points to Christ and can be read in light of the gospel.

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of numerous books, including How to Read the Psalms and How to Read Proverbs.