Bibliography

Ancestral Story
Abraham and Jacob Cycles
Joseph Cycle
Unity of Genesis
Special Studies

For studies of the literary sources in Genesis see Torah Bibliography.

For specialty studies of the akedah, Binding of Isaac / Testing of Abraham, see Genesis 22: Special Bibliography.

Ancestral Story

Hess, R., G. J. Wenham, and P.E. Satterthwaite, eds. (1994). He Swore an Oath: Biblical Themes from Genesis 12-50. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2nd ed.

Tyndale House conference papers.

McKane, W. (1979). Studies in the Patriarchal Narratives. Edinburgh: Handsel.

Millard, A. R., and D. J. Wiseman, eds. (1980). Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Contains chapters on the patriarchs in scripture and history, methods of studying the patriarchal narratives as ancient texts, archaeological data and the dating of the patriarchs, comparative customs and the patriarchal age, the religion of the patriarchs, and the literary structure of Genesis.

Moberley, R. W. (1992). Genesis 12-50. Old Testament Guides. Sheffield: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament.

Discusses the major issues of interpretation, including composition, historicity of the ancestral figures, ancestral religion, and hermeneutical questions. A special section is devoted to Genesis 22.

Steinberg, N. (1993). Kinship and Marriage in Genesis. A Household Economics Perspective. Philadelphia: Fortress.

Examines Genesis 12-50 with a focus on inheritance, marriage, and land ownership. Argues that maternity and marriage partner are crucial factors in determining the choice of Isaac and Jacob as heirs.

Thompson, T. L. (1974). The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives. ZAW Supplement 133. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter.

Argues that the ancestral stories contain no authentic history, but are fictional stories created very late in Israel's history.

Thompson, T. L. (1992). Early History of the Israelite People : from the written and archaeological sources. Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East, 4. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Van Seters, J. (1975). Abraham in History and Tradition. New Haven, Conn. and London: Yale University.

This book, along with the preceding one by Thompson, challenges the authenticity of the Genesis portrayal of the ancestors as early figures, instead arguing that they have no historical basis in fact.

Abraham and Jacob Cycles

Abela, A. (1989). The Themes of the Abraham Narrative. Malta: Studia Editions.

Fishbane, M. (1975). "Composition and Structure in the Jacob Cycle (Gen. 25:19-35:22)." Journal of Jewish Studies 26: 15-38.

Gammie, J. G. (1979). "Theological Interpretation by Way of Literary and Traditional Analysis." In Buss 1979: 117-134.

Gossai, H. (1995). Power and Marginality in the Abraham Narrative. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Explores the Abraham story as giving voice to marginalized and submerged characters.

Hendel, R. (1987). The Epic of the Patriarch: The Jacob Cycle and the Narrative Traditions of Canaan and Israel. Harvard Semitic Monographs 42. Atlanta: Scholars.

Roth, W. M. W. (1979). "The Text is the Medium: An Interpretation of the Jacob Stories in Genesis." In Buss 1979: 103-155.

Westermann, C. (1976). The Promises to the Fathers. Studies on the Patriarchal Narratives. Philadelphia: Fortress.

A close reading of the crime-punishment narratives of Genesis 1-11, the Abraham cycle, and the Jacob cycle.

Westermann, C. (1985). Genesis 12-36: A Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.

Joseph Cycle

Coats, G. W. (1976). From Canaan to Egypt: Structural and Theological Context for the Joseph Story. Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 4. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America.

Green, B. (1996). "What Profit for Us?" -- Remembering the Story of Joseph. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

A literary reading of the Joseph story probing the function of characterization and the significance of the journey.

Humphreys, W. L. (1988). Joseph and His Family: A Literary Study. Columbia: University of South Carolina.

Kugel, J. L. (1990). In Potiphar's House: The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts. New York: HarperCollins.

Longacre, R. E. (1989). Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Redford, D. B. (1970). A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Gen. 37-50). Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Westermann, C. (1986). Genesis 37-50: A Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg.

Westermann, C. (1996). Joseph. Eleven Bible Studies on Genesis. Minneapolis: Fortress.

Informed reading of the Joseph story; each study chapter has an application section.

Whybray, R. N. (1968). "The Joseph Story and Pentateuchal Criticism." Vetus Testamentum 18: 522-528.

Unity of Genesis

Brisman, L. (1990). The Voice of Jacob. On the Composition of Genesis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: University of Indiana.

Using newer literary methods, argues that Genesis arose as a conversation between a pious traditionalist writer and a revisionist writer.

Carr, D. M. (1996). Reading the Fractures of Genesis. Historical and Literary Approaches. Louisville, Kent.: Westminster John Knox.

A close study of Genesis that seeks to bridge the diachronic source critical approach and the synchronic literary approach.

Cohn, R. (1983). "Narrative Structure and Canonical Perspective in Genesis." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25: 3-16.

Dahlberg, B. (1982). "The Unity of Genesis" in Literary Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, Volume 2. Ed. K. Gros Louis. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.

A literary reading of Genesis.

Rendsburg, G. (1986). The Redaction of Genesis. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Identifies editorial features of the text that serve to give it unity.

Special Studies

Clements, R. E. (1967). Abraham and David. Studies in Biblical Theology 2/5. London: SCM.

Weinfeld, M. (1970). The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament. Journal of the American Oriental Society 90: 184-203.