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Rating: 
Summary: Genesis: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary
Review: I am far from being a Bible scholar, but I found Speiser's commentary and his trasnlation informative and useful. He is a proponent of the source document theory, and faithfully incorporates this theory in his discussions. While decades have passed since its release, this book remains a valuable source of enlightenment for novices in Biblical studies.
Rating: 
Summary: Outdated
Review: Published in 1964, Speiser's commentary on Genesis exhibits the worst proclivities of modern Biblical scholarship. Speiser is enthralled with the documentary theory - the thesis that the Bible is redacted from several original sources commonly referred to as J, E, P, D, etc.... While I personally have no objection to this approach, Speiser seems content to try and identify which passages are from which sources and then move on to the next passage. Speiser spends so much time chopping up the text and parsing out the sources, that he tells you very little about the text itself. Speiser has no affinity for literary theory - how the telling of the story shapes it meaning - such has been demonstrated so magnificently by Robert Alter in his book, The Art of Biblical Narrative. Moreover, even much of the Higher Criticism theory that Speiser employs in his commentary has become outdated as scholars have refined the theory. There are many better commentaries on Genesis available and we can hope that one of these days Anchor Bible itself will publish one more enlightening than Spieser's.
Rating:
Summary: Genesis: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary
Review: Speiser was one of the greatest experts on Semitic languages of the 20th century. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the Hebrew really means. There is also a lot of helpful background material (though after nearly 40 years this is no longer up to date) and thoughtful analysis. Speiser was no fundamentalist, and was often prepared to say that the text is not to be taken literally, but he was less "critical" than many authors. He believed firmly in the Documentary Hypothesis, and each passage is carefully dissected into its J, E and P components, but this material can be ignored by anyone (including myself) who rejects that hypothesis. There is probably no single commentary that would suffice for a detailed study of Genesis, but this book should be one of the commentaries at hand for the serious student.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for the serious student
Review: Speiser was one of the greatest experts on Semitic languages of the 20th century. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the Hebrew really means. There is also a lot of helpful background material (though after nearly 40 years this is no longer up to date) and thoughtful analysis. Speiser was no fundamentalist, and was often prepared to say that the text is not to be taken literally, but he was less "critical" than many authors. He believed firmly in the Documentary Hypothesis, and each passage is carefully dissected into its J, E and P components, but this material can be ignored by anyone (including myself) who rejects that hypothesis. There is probably no single commentary that would suffice for a detailed study of Genesis, but this book should be one of the commentaries at hand for the serious student.
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