I read this simultaneously with Hamilton as I worked my way through the Masoretic text, and while Hamilton's work impressed me more (despite his conclusions and the alleged sea-worthiness and general plausibility of Noah's Ark (Where, I ask, did the dinosaurs stay?)) Speiser proved to be more than good enough for my purposes and provided a counter-point (sometimes an unintentionally comical counter-point) to Hamilton.

Speiser's an advocate for the source critical approach, and was writing at a time when JEPD & often R ruled the academic circles with an iron first and complete authority, and this particular book completely embraces the approach. Most critical commentaries, if not all, come with translations by the author of the commentary, and Spieser's is good. However, he goes the extra step and breaks down the text assigning each and every line a source. Sometimes this is compelling, other times less so, but a common reaction for me was exasperation; spending so much time and energy rushing to identify sources without adequate acknowledgement that, in the final wash, the whole thing together as a unit made sense to at least one redactor, seems to miss an opportunity and at least for me raises more questions than it answers. Too, assigning each and every line a source sans a compelling, well-supported argument is a lost cause with our current resources, and frankly, provided a bit of laughter on this end.

Why you should read this: first off, it's a great introduction to source criticism, even though sometimes it gets taken too far. Also, Speiser's no slouch: his Hebrew is more than solid, his scholarship (aside from snipe hunting sources) is obvious and respectable, and there are excellent and valuable insights to be had. The lay out is a little wonky, and the transliteration takes some getting used to, but in the end it's manageable.

Worth the effort in the final wash, snipe hunts be damned. ( )

This was a text in my Humanities class at Brandeis taught by Dr. Nahum Sarna. I can't remember the course title, but it was based on Genesis; we also read Kierkegaard, Freud, and The Ancient Near East in Text and Pictures. I sold my textbooks, but searched this one out 50 years later as my church is using the Narrative Lectionary and I wanted Speiser's book to help with Bible study. ( )

First book of the Bible with introduction, exegisis, notes and comment

series

Bible, O.T. Commentary