Genesis Commentary

John Walton's commentary in the NIV Application Series is very good, but not yet in Logos

Wenham's Word Commentary is, and is very good, though more academic. Check out Matthew's in the New American Series as well.

It's hard to find a scholarly exegetical commentary that also contains application notes. Usually you get either one or the other. You're also limited by the fact that only a few commentary sets can be bought one volume at a time in Logos, so unless you're prepared to buy a whole set, you'd have only a few to choose from. I think the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary volume on Genesis & Exodus would be a good compromise. It can be bought stand-alone. It's by some well-respected scholars (somewhere on the conservative evangelical end of the spectrum, I think). It's based on the New Living Translation. It is mostly an exegetical commentary, but has a brief bit of application (about a paragraph) at the end of each section. I own it but am not extremely familiar with it, and unfortunately I can't find any reviews of it online other than the brief quotes in the Logos product description page which apply to the series as a whole, and as I'm sure you know there can be much variability in quality from volume to volume within a commentary set.

Here's an excerpt:

6. The Lord’s covenant promise to Abram (15:1–21)

Notes

15:1 I will protect you. Lit., "I am your shield." This word "shield" is from the same verbal root (mgn [^TH4042, ^ZH4481]) that was used by Melchizedek for "defeated" (14:20).

15:6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. The construction of this Hebrew sentence requires precise analysis. The verb "believe" used with its conjunction (a Waw disjunctive) is clearly not to be interpreted as in sequence with the verses that came before it. If the text had wanted to say that this faith came about after the object lesson of the stars (15:5), it would have used the Waw consecutive construction ("And then Abram believed"). But this sentence begins with a Waw on a perfect and could not be a Waw consecutive or the tense would be put into the future. Here we have instead a form of the Waw disjunctive to mark a parenthetical clause. For those who argue that Abram came to faith here after seeing the stars in the object lesson, there remains the question of what kind of faith prompted him to leave Ur (Heb 11:8). They end up saying it was faith but not true saving faith because it was here that God declared him righteous. But that interpretation is untenable. It does not do justice to the way the text is written, and it is theologically problematic. The Bible says that it was by faith that Abram left Ur.

Commentary

Abram the conqueror, Abram the man who gave all the possessions and people back to their king, now stood very much alone, and perhaps began to be overcome with a sense of fear. But the Lord brought his fears to an end with words of comfort: "Do not be afraid … I will protect you" (15:1, see note). God was Abram’s protection. God was also the one who would provide for him. But when the Lord said, "Your reward will be great," Abram immediately thought of the promises and responded: "What good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?" Abram’s vision had not been blinded by Bera’s offer (14:22–24); he still had one dominant hope, the promise of a seed (12:2–3). (It may be that this word "reward" in God’s promise is what inspired the psalmist to think of children as a reward from the Lord in Ps 127:3). But without a child, Abram was concerned that the inheritance would go to his household servant, Eliezer. That was the custom of those days, but God would have none of it. He did not even use the servant’s name, but said, "No, your servant will not be your heir." Instead, a son would be coming from the loins of Abram. To underscore the extent of the fulfillment of the promise, God then showed Abram the stars, pointing out that Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as they were (22:17; 26:4). The divine word that created the stars also promised to Abram innumerable descendants.

The text then says that "Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith" (15:6, see note). This is the central statement about Abram’s saving faith. More than that, this statement is quoted three times in the New Testament (Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6; Jas 2:23) as the foundational passage for the doctrine of justification by faith. Righteousness was credited to him for faith alone, and not for works. Genesis 15:6 therefore makes an important statement about Abram; and it has been strategically placed here as an introduction to the formal cutting of the covenant—God cut the covenant with Abram the believer, the one to whom he had reckoned righteousness (15:10).

Using a solemn ceremony, God "cut the covenant" (karath berith [^TH3772/1285, ^ZH4162/1382]) with Abram (15:7–10, 18). In making such a binding covenant, God was guaranteeing to the patriarch the fulfillment of the promises (15:7, 18–21). Abram obeyed God’s instructions and gathered the animals for the ceremony; he severed (15:10) three animals, a heifer, a goat, and a ram (15:9), and also set out a dove and a young pigeon. The idea of "cutting a covenant" literally involved cutting the animal as the symbolism of the oath, indicating that the maker of the covenant was staking his own life on his word. During the ceremony a sudden horror came upon Abram, as unclean birds of prey swooped down on the offering’s animals—clearly a bad omen in anybody’s book. Then Abram was covered with a terrifying darkness (15:11–12). God’s announcement of the enslavement (15:13–14) clarified the meaning of the attacking birds. There would be a period of 400 years of bondage for Abram’s descendants before the complete fulfillment of the covenant. But Abram could be assured that nothing could interfere with the plan to fulfill the covenant, not his death, not even a long enslavement. Egypt, like the birds of prey, would oppose the covenant Israel had, and try to destroy them or hinder its fulfillment. But ultimately the covenant would be fulfilled. When Abram got up and drove the birds of prey away, this symbolized his task to protect the covenant as much as possible.

One of the reasons for the Israelites’ long term of bondage in Egypt had to do with God’s justice toward the Amorites. God told Abram that the sins of the Amorites had not yet warranted their destruction (lit., "were not yet full"—15:16). In order to give the Promised Land to Israel, the inhabitants of the land had to be dispossessed—it was part of the curse on Canaan (9:25). God would give Israel the land, but not one day before the justice of God allowed it. God would tolerate the sins of the Amorites until they were fully deserving of judgment. Thus, the fulfillment of the promises to Abram involved a retributive judgment on the people of the land. Until then, God would send the family to Egypt, where it could become a great nation and where God could discipline them to make them fit to receive the promises. Abram’s seeing all this in advance was horrible on the one hand, but on the other hand it was comforting, for nothing could interfere with God’s plan to fulfill his promise.

Then, after sunset, God revealed himself with the image of a smoking firepot and a flaming torch (15:17), two objects that were connected with sacrificial ritual in the ancient world. Fire represents the consuming, cleansing zeal of the Lord, as well as his unapproachable holiness—two things that are interrelated (cf. Isa 6:3–7). Abram saw nothing else in the vision except these fiery elements as they passed between the pieces of the slaughtered animals. Thus, the holy God came down and cut the covenant with Abram. Since God could not swear by anyone greater, he swore by his own life (Heb 6:13). In other words, this was a unilateral covenant; its promises were absolutely sure because they did not depend on what Abram or his descendants might do. Of course, people would have to believe if they were to participate in the blessings of this covenant.

At the end of his proclamation, God specified the boundaries of the Promised Land—from the River of Egypt (probably the Wadi el-Arish) to the great river (the Euphrates). Israel has never possessed all this land in its entirety. In the days of the conquest, the Canaanite tribes listed (15:19–21) were largely dispossessed, but not completely. In the days of David and Solomon, Egypt still controlled the coastal region, and the Philistines and other groups remained a hindrance in the land promised to Israel. So the promise of the land was never fulfilled; it remained a hope for the believing Israelites and was carried forward in the royal psalms and messianic passages (Ps 72:8–17). And at Israel’s darkest moment, when it was being expelled from the land, the New Covenant reiterated the old promise of their dwelling in a land in complete peace and prosperity (Isa 54:1–14; Jer 31:31–37; Ezek 36:24–36). The restoration to the land after the Exile would not fulfill the promises made to the fathers, not without the coming of the Messiah, the forgiveness of sins, or the pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh. This hope will find ultimate fulfillment in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth where everlasting peace and righteousness will exist.

For Abram, God’s message was clear: In spite of the prospects of death and suffering (enslavement in bondage), he and his descendants would eventually receive the promises, for God had sworn to it. So Israel could be encouraged by this at the time of the Exodus and in subsequent times of distress. They would be encouraged, just as we are, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. God’s solemn covenant assures his chosen people of the ultimate fulfillment of all his promises, and those promises are bound to be fulfilled in a far more glorious way than anyone could have even imagined.

The Israelites under Moses would also notice the significant parallel wording at the beginning of this chapter and the beginning of the law: "I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur" (15:7) parallels Exodus 20:2, "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." This would have assured the Israelites that in spite of their bondage, in spite of the attempt to kill all the males, in spite of the armies of Egypt, God would judge their oppressors and deliver them.

This passage is an encouragement for New Testament believers as well. God affirms solemnly that he will fulfill all his promises to us that concern salvation and all his blessings that pertain to this life and the life to come (cf. 2 Pet 1:3–4) despite suffering, persecution, and even death. God has promised us eternal life, and death cannot nullify that promise. But because of the suffering and death in this world, for the promises of God to be fulfilled there must be a resurrection; otherwise our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:12–19). The Bible is clear: God will keep his promises to us, even if, like Abram, we die without receiving all the promises. Ultimately all the promises will be fulfilled in the life to come.

William Bingham said:

I am a new leader of our adult bible study.  We are going through the book of Genesis.  We have just covered Genesis 15 and I am wanting to find some really good commentary that has great academics and some good application.

Any suggestions?

 

Prepub: Walter Brueggemann, Genesis (Interpretation Series),
Atlanta:
John Knox, 1982.

Also on prepub, but coming in Jan: Studies on Genesis (11 vols.)

I have also suggested that this series be added to Logos: W.
Sibley Towner, Genesis (Westminster Bible Companion), Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press,
2001.

Can't go wrong with the holy trinity of Genesis Commentators: Waltke, Walton, Wenham.

Sadly only Wenham is in logos currently (as Mark points out Waltke is on pre-pub).

Westermann  is dated and too enamored with source criticism, but some helpful stuff there.

Brueggemann is always fun and challenging. I am curious about Goldingay's "Genesis for Everyone" (not in logos) which is a counterpoint to Tom Wright's NT For Everyone series now on Pre-Pub.

I can't think of a better one, though others are good, this is a 'can't do without' for me - blessings

http://www.logos.com/product/4901/creation-and-blessing

No one has mentioned this book yet - http://www.logos.com/product/8443/gleanings-in-genesis .

Pink's writing style makes you work, but he always has a nice balance between exposition and application. I especially appreciate his sovereignty-oriented view of God. He's not particularly academic, but I think I have enough of that in my Logos library (at least for now); so his work makes a good contribution from another angle.

Donnie

Let me add my voice of support for Arthur Pink.  He is great for bible study, always has a different insight (and he likes things in sevens, which is also fun!)...

I recommend H. C. Leupold Commentary Collection (Includes his 2 volumes on Genesis). It is still on Pre-pub at $69.95, due to ship Dec 29th.

Also, the Expositor's Bible Commentary vol2 by Sailhammer