Genesis 1–11: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (NBBC)

by Joseph Coleson

Publisher:

Beacon Hill

, 2012

Overview

The New Beacon Bible Commentary series is an engaging, indispensable reference tool that equips you to study and meditate on God’s Word. Written from the Wesleyan theological perspective, it offers insightful scholarship to help you unlock Scripture’s deeper truths and garner an awareness of the history, culture, and context attributed to each book studied. Readable, relevant, and academically thorough, it offers a new standard for understanding and interpreting the Bible in the twenty-first century.

Genesis 1–11 is clear and accessible without sacrificing serious scholarship. In the Logos edition, each Scripture passage links to your favorite translation, and is easy to study side by side with your other Genesis commentaries. You can search by topic or Scripture with remarkably fast results.

Key Features

• The latest scholarship from a notable expert in the Wesleyan tradition
• Convenient introductory material, including information on authorship, dating, history, audience, sociological/cultural issues, purpose, literary features, theological themes, hermeneutical issues, and more
• Clear verse-by-verse explanations that offer a contemporary, Wesleyan-based understanding derived from the passage’s original language
• Comprehensive annotation divided into three sections:
  • Background elements behind the text
  • Verse-by-verse details and meanings
  • Significance, relevance, intertextuality, and application
• Insight into theological issues, word meanings, archaeological connections, historical relevance, cultural customs, and more
• Expanded bibliography for further study of historical elements, additional interpretations, and theological themes

Contents

Top Highlights

“What this opening of two innocent sets of eyes really accomplished, however, was the altering of how they saw the world. No longer did they see through the lens of a faithful relationship with the God they loved, whose instruction they trusted. Now they saw ‘entirely through their own eyes’” (Pages 122–123)

“First and foremost, if we are to hope at all, we must register the fact that God entered the garden again, even after the first human transgression. God did not abandon either the garden or those who called it home. Rather than walking away from them, God walked toward them, sought them out. To put it most directly, in theological terms, this is the first biblical expression of God’s grace in the face of sin. Our ongoing hope lies in the knowledge that it is not the last.” (Page 130)

“Because of our sin, humans naturally fear God’s judgment, but this kind of fear is not God’s permanent desire for us. God always desires, and has provided, restoration of the lost intimate relationship.” (Pages 130–131)

“What they hoped to achieve as the result of their efforts is expressed as a negative, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth. With this negative expression of purpose/result, the reader’s intuition is affirmed. This was not the first step in carrying out God’s instruction to fill the earth, but a deliberate plan to do just the opposite, to stick together permanently in resisting God’s blessing/mandate.” (Page 291)

“Genesis 1:1–2:3 is the great summary of creation, and it takes special care to establish that the natural phenomena worshipped by Israel’s neighbors as the pantheon of the great gods are, in fact, not gods themselves, but God’s creations.” (Page 35)

Product Details

• Title: Genesis 1–11: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition
• Author: Joseph Coleson
• Series: New Beacon Bible Commentary (NBBC)
• Publisher: Beacon Hill
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 304

About Joseph Coleson

Professor of Old Testament, Nazarene Theological Seminary.