The Book of Genesis

A magnificent tool for exegesis with an enormous store of information and sound analysis. Hamilton, an Asbury University professor, interacts extensively with Wenham’s earlier commentaries, arguing for a ten-division structure of the book. [Full Review]

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This careful 2-volume commentary by a Wesleyan scholar is both detailed and textual, addressing matters of literary structure and ANE background, while reflecting on the literary and theological point of the text. [Full Review]

I find the division between the volumes to be oddly placed (and really, could be a single volume). But I do think this is arguably the best choice on Genesis. It would benefit from a revision, given the work that's been published over the past almost 30 years. But it is still relevant, and in most ways exceeds more recent works. For example, it is far more balanced than Walton, giving proportionately less space to chapters 1-3.

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Most commentators on commentaries commend Hamilton for his thoroughness in examining the interpretive difficulties in Genesis and his generally conservative conclusions (though some are frustrated that he ends up ambiguous regarding Mosaic authorship). After a helpful examination of the various ways of understanding the creation story, he advocates a literary interpretation of Genesis 1. [Full Review]

Like Wenham and Mathews, Hamilton writes from a generally conservative evangelical perspective. I rank Mathews slightly higher simply because Hamilton is a rather dry read. He is, however, always worth consulting. [Full Review]

Hamilton is a conservative evangelical, and the series is generally seen as being more conservative than WBC, which is probably the reason he gets a little less attention from the less-conservative end of scholarship. I think the commentaries are about equivalent in quality, with Wenham perhaps winning out a little more often in terms of incisive exegesis but Hamilton giving a little more depth on more issues, especially in his introduction. Hamilton is particularly better on linguistic issues such as grammar and close analysis of particular words, but I think he may sometimes overdo it chasing lexical rabbit trails. He takes the time throughout his commentary to look at the New Testament use of Genesis. I would say that Hamilton and Wenham balance each other pretty well as a pair. Hamilton is also known for his Handbook on the Pentateuch. [Full Review]

Emphasis on comparative Semitics. Evangelical. [Full Review]