Genesis 1–11 (Reformation Commentary on Scripture Volume I)

"With regard to the express goals of this series, indeed, it broadens our exegetical horizons to include the voices of the Reformation. It will undoubtedly find its way into the contemporary preaching of the World, and as we are on the cusp of the 500th anniversary of the sixteenth-century Reformation, we will inevitable grow in our interest of the Reformers and their words, perspectives, theologies, and passions. What a better place to start this journey of reading the Bible with the Reformers than where the Bible begins—in Genesis. Not only is this commentary compilation of the Reformers enlightening and impactful but I must also admit that it is nothing short of--if I may use the word—fun."

"This particular volume and this series promise to be welcome resources for exegetes, preachers, and theologians."

"As you can imagine, this work is a goldmine of content on Genesis 1-11. . . . Fifty or more commentaries on Genesis appeared in the sixteenth century, and Thompson has concluded a labor of love in working through them and selecting useful excerpts. The Reformation was an era of biblical revival. May God use this series for similar work in our day."

"This volume is an example of the current trend in biblical scholarship that favors a theological interpretation of Scripture over a purely historical-critical analysis of the text. This new approach encourages pastors and theologians to learn once against to read the Bible as the church's book revealing God's Word to the world. "John Thompson, the editor of this volume, has compiled selections from the Reformers' commentaries on the first eleven chapters of Genesis that exhibit the practice of theological exegesis. As such, they are markedly in sync with the patristic doctrines of Nicene and Chalcedonian orthodoxy. "As precritical biblical theologians, the Reformers obviously did not have at hand the literary and historical methods of modern biblical criticism. Yet, such a lack did not prevent them from gaining a profound understanding of what God intended to reveal in the book of Genesis about the creation of the world, the fall of humankind, the reality of sin as the backdrop to the history of redemption that culminated in the New Testament gospel of Jesus Christ. All the Reformers were united in a thoroughgoing christological reading of the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture. "This volume makes refreshingly clear the extent to which the Reformation interpreters of Genesis did not get bogged down in the kinds of fruitless squabbles so prevalent in subsequent Protestantism, say, between fundamentalism and modernism, creationism and evolutionism. The Reformers read and interpreted Genesis in search of what is theologically significant for the Christian faith and the preaching of the church. This volume will help contemporary believers in Jesus Christ and members of His church to do the same today."

"This commentary provides a rich selection of interpretations, exposing readers to lesser-known interpreters like Christopher Pelargus rather than simply invoking the familiar names of Lutehr, Calvin and Swingli."