Umberto Cassuto Û 6 REVIEW
Clearly the best commentary on the first part of Genesis. Very in depth, with huge input from Cassuto's vast knowledge of ancient languages and literature. A must for the serious (or even the curious) student. English Simply an outstanding commentary. English A valuable resource for deconstructing Genesis, and reconstructing it again, as you follow along Cassuto's scholarly mind. I really appreciate the references on Ugaritic/Semitic languages that played with the OT biblical authors, here in Genesis for example, and also found myself adhering to his take on the sons of God on Genesis 6: they are members of God's divine council. This interpretation adds more depth and logical narrative on the deity-geography-people relationship that the population has at that time. Also, it helps in understanding some Exodus narratives, the conquests in the book of Joshua, and other verses that hints on the divine council of God.
As someone who is just simply doing a self-study on books of the Bible, Cassuto's book is a treasure mine. English I typically use commentaries as a reference, but this was one of the few I read cover-to-cover. It is an amazing in-depth dive into the first six chapters of Genesis. I first heard of this work in an interview between Tim Mackie and NT Wright who both recommended it.
Cassuto's research and perspective on the Genesis account was a major paradigm shift for me. Growing up in my church tradition, I often felt Genesis was either avoided or taught in a way that was missing the point. It was taught completely devoid of ANE historical and literary background. Unfortunately, these chapters often fall into a modern debate between creationist theory and evolution thereby throwing a blanket over the real principles presented in Genesis.
Cassuto explores the origins of the text, the surrounding ANE influences the Torah is trying to address, how the literature of the Israelites sages compared to that of the latter poets/prophets, and debates around difficult passages. He surfaces why the Torah is written the way it is and puts its literary style in its proper place in history. His discussions on Canaanite/Babylonian creation accounts, allegories and parallels, significance of the garden of Eden, mankind being in the image of God, the serpent motif, numerology, and Nephilim are all fascinating and handled with the utmost care.
This gave me plenty of additional research points, and I won't look at Genesis the same way again. English
Electronic edition of one of the most important biblical commentaries. A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I): from Adam to Noah (Volume 1)
