Genesis 1-11: A Narrative-Theological Commentary

Genesis 1-11: A Narrative Theological Commentary combines critical acumen with concern for the theological message of Scripture. It is a commentary in two stages. First the text is allowed to speak for itself using a narrative approach. Then specific Jewish and Christian traditions flowing from the text are identified and the underlying hermeneutical moves analyzed. With new readings in dialogue with previous commentators Okoye takes the best insights of narrative theology and of the biblical author to produce a rewarding reading of this problematic book for today in a way that truly respects a Jewish reading in the context of a Christian one. --Carolyn Osiek RSCJ Archivist Society of the Sacred Heart United States-Canada Province A mosaic of supportive interpretations--early Jewish and Christian patristic extra-biblical inter-textual African and feminist--situate this narrative criticism of Genesis within a trajectory of theological interpretation religious meaning and methodology in the Old Testament. Its masterful in-depth analysis of biblical characters gives the reader easier access to a viewpoint from which to understand Gods involvement in the ambiguities of human life. --Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu author of Creation-Covenant Scheme and Justification by Faith This commentary is the product of one who has carefully listened to the voice of the narrator of the first eleven chapters of Genesis and then engages that narrator as a dialogue partner in drawing out meaning for the Christian faith. James Okoye has combined informed scholarship theological insight and pastoral sensitivity with a clarity of style to produce a commentary that readers will find informative engrossing and delightful. --Leslie J. Hoppe OFM Carroll Stuhlmueller Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union General Editor The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Okoye offers a fresh critical and evocative reading of Genesis 1-11 rooted in a Narrative Method/Reading. He adds illuminating insights from West African traditions that are absent from western theology. He includes perspectives from coloniality with finesse yet allows these views to deeply challenge earlier exposes of Genesis 1-11. This is a must-read for biblical scholars and theologians. --George Worgul Professor of Theology Duquesne University James Chukwuma Okoye CSSp is Director of the Center for Spiritan Studies at Duquesne University Pittsburgh. He was the Stuhlmueller Professor of Old Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union Chicago. He studied in the Pontifical Biblical Institute Rome and Oxford University England.