Table Of Content------.------~::_c:_-.,..,__:;:_=
. The Old Testament Library
REVISED EDITION
•• ~I .:._ ,. "'._
GERHARD VON RAD
GENEs)Is)
A Commentary
REVISED EDITION
The Westminster Press
Philadelphia
THE OLD TESTAMENT LIBRARY
General Editors
PETER ACKROYD, University of London
JAMES BARR, Oxford University
BERNHARD W. ANDERSON, Princeton Theological Seminary
JAMES L. MAYS, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
Advisory Editor
JOHN BRIGHT, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
Copyright © MCMLXI W. L. Jenkins
© SCM Press Ltd 1972
All rights reserved-no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher.
except by a reviewer who wishes to quote
brief passages in connection with a review
in magazine or newspaper.
Original translation by John H. Marks
from the German Das erste Buch Mose
J
Genesis (Das Alte Testament Deutsch 2-4)
published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Gottingen. Text revised on the basis of
the ninth German edition. 1972.
Scripture quotations are from the Revised
Standard Version of the Bible. copyright.
1946 and 1952. by the Division of Chris
tian Education of the National Council of
Churches. and are used by permission.
Published by The Westminster Press®
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
8 9 10
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Rad. Gerhard von. 1901-1971.
Genesis: a commentary.
(The Old Testament library)
Translation of Das erste Buch Mose: Genesis. v. 2-4
of Das Alte Testament deutsch. Text revised on the
basis of the 9th German ed .• 1972.
Bibliography: p.
1. Bible. O. T. Genesi~ommentaries. I. Bible.
O. T. Genesis. English. Revised standard. 1975.
II. Title. III. Series.
BSI285.8.R8218 1978 222'.11'07 72-6415
ISBN 0-664-20957-2
CONTENTS
Abbreviatioru 8
Publisher's Note 9
Foreword to the First Edition II
I. Introduction
I. Genesis as part of the Hexateuch
2. The three narrative sources
3. The theological problem of the Yahwist
4. Hermeneutical problems of the Genesis narratives
II. The Biblical Primeval History 45
I. The creation of the world. Chs. 1.1 to 2.4a (P) 46
2. Genealogical table oft he patriarchs from Adam to Noah. Ch. 5 67
3. The Yahwistic story of Paradise. Ch. 2·4b-25 73
4. The story of the Fall. ChI 3 86
5. The story of Cain and Abel. Ch. 4.1-16 102
6. The genealogy of the Kenites. Ch. 4.17-26 log
7. The angel marriages. Ch. 6.1-4 113
8. The prologue to the Flood. Ch. 6.5-8 116
9. The Flood (J) 118
10. The epilogue to the Flood. Ch. 8.21-22 121
II. The Flood (P) 125
12. God's covenant with Noah. Ch. 9.1-17 130
13. Noah's curse and blessing. Ch. 9.18-29 134
14. The table of nations (P) 139
15. Fragments of the Yahwistic table of nations 145
16. The story of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of
language. Ch. 11.1-9 147
17· ThefathersfromShemtoAbraham. (P) Ch. 11.10-27.31-32 155
18. Abraham's origin and call. (J) Chs. 11.28-30; 12.1-3 158
19· Abraham's departure. (J) Ch. 12.4-9 161
III. The Biblical Patriarchal History
I. Abraham and Sarah in Egypt. Chs. 12.10 to 13.1
2. The separation from Lot. Ch. 13.2-18
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6 CONTENTS
3. Abraham's victory over the eastern kings and his encounter
with Melchizedek. Ch. 14 174
4. God's promise and covenant with Abraham. Ch. 15 181
5. Hagar. Ishmael's birth. Ch. 16 190
6. God's covenant with Abraham. Institution of circumcision.
Ch. 17.1-14 197
7. The promise ofa son. Ch. 17.15-27 202
8. God's visit with Abraham. Ch. 18.1-16 203
9. God's soliloquy. Ch. 18.17-19 209
10. Abraham's dialogue with God. Ch. '18.20-33 210
II. Sodom's destruction. Lot's deliverance. Ch. 19.1-29 215
12. Lot's daughters. Ch. 19.30-38 222
13. Abraham and Sarah in Gerar. Ch. 20 225
14. Isaac's birth. Ishmael's expulsion. Ch. 21.1-21 230
15. Abraham and Abimelech of Gerar. Ch. 21.22-34 235
16. The great temptation. Ch. 22.1-19 237
17. Nahor's descendants. Ch. 22.20-24 245
18. Sarah's death and the purchase of the burial plot. Ch. 23 245
19. The matchmaking. Ch. 24 250
20. Keturah's sons. Abraham's death. Ishmael's descendants.
Ch.25·1-18 260
21. The birth of Esau and Jacob. The sale of the birthright.
Ch. 25.19-34 264
·22. Isaac stories. Ch. 26 268
23. The cunning acquisition of the blessing. Ch. 27.1-45 274
24. Jacob's departure for Aram. Chs. 27.46 to 28.9 281
25. Jacob's dream in Bethel. Ch. 28.10-22 .282
26. Jacob's arrival at Laban's house. Ch. 29.1-14 287
27. Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel. Ch. 29.15-30 289
28. The birth and naming of Jacob's children. Chs. 29.31 to
~~
29· Jacob's wealth. Ch. 30.25-43 297
30. Jacob's flight; his contract with Laban. Ch. 31 3 3
0
31. The angels of Mahanaim. Ch. 32.1-2 313
32. Jacob's preparations to meet Esau. Ch. 32.3-21 316
33. Jacob's struggle at Penuel. Ch. 32.22-32 319
34· Jacob's meeting with Esau. Ch. 33 326
35· The rape of Dinah. Ch. 34 329
36. Jacob's return to Bethel. Ch. 35.1-8, 14-15 335
37· God's appearance at Bethel. Ch. 35.9-13 338
38. Benjamin's birth, Jacob's sons, Isaac's death. Ch. 35.16-29 339
39· Edomite lists. Chs. 36.1 to 37.1 342
40. The story ofJ oseph 347
a. Joseph's dreams and sale into Egypt. Ch. 37.2-36 348
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CONTENTS
41. Judah and Tamar. Ch. 38 355
b. Joseph's temptation. Ch. 39 362
c. The interpretations of the dreams in prison. Ch. 40 368
d. The interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. Joseph's
elevation to power. Ch. 41 372
e. The brothers' first journey to Egypt. Ch. 42 379
f. The brothers' second journey to Egypt. Ch. 43 384
g. The final test of the brothers. Ch. 44 389
h. The recognition. Ch. 45 395
i. Jacob's removal to Egypt. Ch. 46 400
k. Jacob before Pharaoh. Joseph's agrarian policy. Ch.
47.1-27 404
1. The blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. Chs. 47.28 to
48.22 411
m. Jacob's blessing. Ch. 49·1-28a 419
n. Jacob's death and burial. Joseph's forgiveness. Chs.
49.28b to 50.26 428
ABBREVIATIONS
ANET James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the
Old Testament. Princeton University Press, 2d ed., 1955
AOT Altorientalische Texte, ed. Hugo Gressmann. Walter de
Gruyter & Company, Berlin & Leipzig, 2d ed., 1926
AOB Altorientalische Bilder, ed. Hugo Gressmann. WaIter de
Gruyter & Company, 2d ed., 1927
ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch, V. Herntrich and A. Weiser,
eds. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Gottingen
BH Biblia Hebraica, 3d ed. by Rud. Kittel, ed. by A. Alt and
O. Eissfeldt. Priv. WUrtt. Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart, 1945
BL Hans Bauer-Pontus Leander, Historische Grammatik tier
hebriiischen Sprache des Alten Testamentes. M. Niemeyer,
Halle, 1922
Del. Franz Delitzsch, Neuer Commentar iiber die Genesis. DorfHing
und Franke, Leipzig, 1887
Di. August Dillmann, Die Genesis. S. Hirzel, Leipzig, 1892
Fr. Hellmut Frey, Das Buch der Arifiinge. Calwer Vereinsbh.,
Stuttgart, 1935
G.A. Eduard Meyer, Geschichte des Alterturns, 2d ed. J. G. Cotta
N achf., Stuttgart, 1909
Gu. Hermann Gunkel, Genesis, iibersetzt und erkliirt, 5th ed.
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Gottingen, 1922
Jac. Benno Jacob, Das erste Buch der Tora, Genesis. Berlin, 1934
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
L Luther's translation of the Bible
LXX Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septu4gint)
MT Masoretic Text, Hebrew Bible
Pro Otto Procksch, Die Genesis, 3d ed. A. Deichert, Leipzig, l.924
RSV Revised Standard Version
SVT Supplements to Vetus Testamentum
WA Weimar Edition of Luther's works
ZAW ZeitschriJt fiir die Alttestamentliche WissenschaJt
ZDMG ZeitschriJt der Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesellschaft
Walther Zimmerli, Mos. (Prophezei). Zwingli-
~i. I. I-II
Verlag, ZUrich, 1943
8
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
T
HE LAST W 0 R K undertaken by Professor von Rad before his
death in the autumn of 1971 was a revision of his commentary
on Genesis, the first part of which originally appeared in
German as long ago as 1949. He completed the work personally, but
the degree of revision he felt to be necessary varied through the book.
The Introduction has been very extensively rewritten, and the early
chapters of the commentary have been reworked equally thoroughly.
In the later part of the book, however, alterations become much less
frequent, apart from a new postscript to the Joseph story, and many
of them concern little more than points of style.
The German text was revised in the context of a resetting of the
whole commentary in a new format, where minor alterations caused
no problem. These alterations do, however, cause difficulties for the
English edition. It would have been possible to follow the German
revision entirely, but to have reset the whole of the text would have
been very costly indeed and would have increased the price of what
has become a classic textbook beyond all reason. We have therefore
compromised. The first part of the book has been reset, but Part III,
from Genesis 12 onwards, has only been altered to the extent possible
in a photographic reproduction of the text. We believe that in this
way we have incorporated Professor von Rad's last thoughts in sub
stance, if not to the final detail.
As in earlier editions, the biblical text used is that of the Revised
Standard Version. It will be clear where von Rad's proposed trans
lation, printed in the German text of his commentary, differs materi
ally. Italic type has been used to distinguish the Priestly document
(P) from the earlier strata of Genesis.
March 1972
9
