Genesis (Believers Church Bible Commentary | BCBC)

by Eugene F. Roop

Publisher:

Herald Press

, 1987

Overview

The Believers Church Bible Commentary Series is published for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today—Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. The series is based on the conviction that God is still speaking to all who will listen, and that the Holy Spirit makes the Word a living and authoritative guide for all who want to know and do God’s will.

Each volume illuminates the Scriptures; provides historical and cultural background; shares necessary theological, sociological, and ethical meanings; and, in general, makes "the rough places plain." Critical issues are not avoided, but neither are they moved into the foreground as debates among scholars. The series aids in the interpretive process, but it does not attempt to supersede the authority of the Word and Spirit as discerned in the gathered church.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary is a cooperative project of Brethren in Christ Church, Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren Church, and Mennonite Church.

Overall Outline

The commentaries are organized into sections according to the major divisions of the text. Each section comprises five parts:

• An introductory preview
• A summary outline of the section
• Explanatory notes
• The text in its biblical context
• The text in the life of the church

Genesis

Eugene F. Roop focuses on the rich story line that traces the development of a community of faith in Genesis. He explores the important theological motifs of the book and their implications for our lives today. These themes include creation, disaster and reaction, promise and fulfillment, infertility and blessing. This commentary grew out of the study of Genesis in the congregational and seminary community. It is intended to promote and enhance study in those settings.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The image used here pictures God working as a potter, or at least an artist, forming a work of art. God, the artist, carefully crafts a model and then breathes into the figure the breath of life: behold, a person, ’adam, a living being.” (Page 39)

“God demands that the carrier of the promise give up any control or claim on the promise.” (Page 149)

“The man is not cursed, but he must deal with a curse, a curse placed on the ground.” (Page 46)

“Yahweh yireh, a name as ambiguous as this event has been. The word yireh can be a play on the Hebrew word ‘to see,’ which in 22:8 we normally translate ‘provide.’ But it can also play off the word ‘fear’/‘obey.’ So this may be the place where ‘Yahweh is seen’ or ‘Yahweh is obeyed’ or ‘Yahweh provides’—probably all of those. In the context of this event, it remains a place beyond naming.” (Page 148)

“But we have found no other narrative or poem organized like this ‘hymn’ about God, the Creator, with its symmetrical rhythm that flows from chaos to work to rest.” (Page 24)

Product Details

• Title: Genesis
• Author: Eugene F. Roop
• Publisher: Herald Press
• Publication Date: 1987
• Pages: 350

About Eugene F. Roop

Eugene F. Roop is president of Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Indiana, and Wieand Professor of Biblical Studies there. He has served as a pastor in the Church of the Brethren and is author of several books, including Ruth, Jonah, Esther in the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series.