Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Genesisby John Calvin
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesBelongs to Publisher Series
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. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)222.11077Religions Bible Historical Books Pentateuch GenesisLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
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 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. ( )