Genesis (25)

by John Calvin

Other authorsAlister McGrath (Editor), J.I. Packer (Editor)
Paperback, 2001

Status

Available

Call number

222.1

Collection

Publication

Crossway (2001), Edition: 1, 384 pages

Description

John Calvin's exploration of key passages of Genesis, a book of important beginnings and memorable accounts foundational to Christianity. A carefully abridged and stylistically adapted guide for today's reader.

User reviews

LibraryThing member cjsdg
Outstanding stuff from Calvin.

He is over-scrupulous in avoiding the Trinity in Gen. 1, but it's because he is adhering to a hermeneutic that is a vast improvement over most of his immediate predecessors.

He is too biblical to be stoic or ascetic, but many of his comments lean that way. Some tilt too
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far, such as his chastening description of Judah's blessing in Gen. 49. "Judah might be so extravagant as to wash his garments in wine, but this isn't to say God approves it." Possibly misses the hyperbole, and cf. Solomon's magic of turning silver into dirt because of its abundance.

He is very hard on the patriarchs - both in clear instances like polygamy and in murkier questions like the tricksinesses that often occur at points of covenantal succession. His is the more traditional read; James Jordan's Primeval Saints might provide some ballast here.

Great comments on the covenants - he clearly sees their fundamental unity, throughout their different expressions, and is quick to find the church in the OT, and excellent at extracting exhortations for us without simply moralizing.

His operating principle is that interpretation begins and ends with Christ, and that serves both Genesis and the reader very well.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

8.5 inches

ISBN

1856842096 / 9781856842099
Page: 0.139 seconds