Genesis

Biblia Americana. America's First Bible Commentary. A Synoptic Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Volume 1

Edited by Reiner Smolinski By (author) Cotton Mather

Book cover: Genesis

Extent: 1337 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Biblia Americana

Series volume number: 1

Language: English

Hardback (Unspecified)

(August 2010)

ISBN: 9783161501906

6.38 x 9.37 inches

Price: $40.00

In stock

Scheduled to appear in ten volumes, this scholarly edition of Cotton Mather’s Biblia Americana (16931728) makes available for the first time the oldest comprehensive commentary on the Bible composed in British North America. Combining encyclopedic discussions of biblical scholarship with scientific speculations and advice for practical piety, Biblia represents one of the most significant untapped sources in American religious and intellectual history. Mathers commentary not only reflects the growing influence of Enlightenment thought (Descartes, Newton) and the rise of the transatlantic evangelical awakening; it also marks the beginning of historical criticism of the Bible as text in New England.


Volume 1 (Genesis) of Cotton Mather’ Biblia Americana (1693-1728) is particularly valuable because Mather addresses some of the most hotly debated questions of his age: Are the six days of God’s creation to be taken literally? Can the geological record of the earth’s age be reconciled with biblical chronology? Were there men before Adam? Why are the religions of the ancient Canaanites, Egyptians, and Greeks so similar to the revealed religion of Moses? Did God dictate the Bible to his prophets, and how many (if any) of the books of the Pentateuch did Moses write? Such questions were as relevant during the early Enlightenment as, indeed, they are to many believers today. Edited, introduced, annotated, and indexed by Reiner Smolinski, Mather’s commentary on Genesis is as rich in its critical texture as it is surprisingly modern in its answers to many central concerns of the Christian faith.Published in North America by Baker Academic, Grand Rapids

  • Edited by Reiner Smolinski
  • By (author) Cotton Mather