Description
This book tells the story of the family of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar—a story that recounts the drama of their inspiring and heart-rending experiences and their personal encounters with God and his envoys in breathtaking intimacy. Abraham’s yearning to enter a covenant relationship with God and the lengths he went to in demonstrating his lifelong faithfulness to that relationship inspire awe in every serious disciple. And yet, as Hugh Nibley pointed out, this superman was an every-man. Abraham’s life fascinates us precisely because the degree of unwavering focus required to bring about the near perfection of a common man is so uncommon. We admire Abraham because his supreme feats were spiritual in nature. They were neither demonstrations of Herculean physical prowess nor a triumph over global political powers but rather were quiet results of inner good-ness and generosity—gifts that are within our reach if we are wise and good enough to follow the example of Abraham and his family.
In this volume you will find the most beautiful and comprehensive Latter-day Saint commentary ever published on the beautiful and doctrinally rich chapters of Genesis 12–22. Perspectives from the three major Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—are explored, while also drawing extensively from Latter-day Saint scrip-ture and teachings. The commentary combines prophetic insights, excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation, ancient texts, and up-to-date biblical scholarship—all presented from a perspective of faith. Each section of the book is prefaced by an overview illuminating major themes and issues. This is followed by the text of each chapter of scripture, accompanied by a detailed phrase-by-phrase commentary designed to give the modern reader both an understanding of the plain sense of the words as well as their significance in context. Significant textual variants from the Joseph Smith Translation are identified and discussed.
Of special interest to Latter-day Saint readers is the new light that these chapters shed on temple worship and its relationship to the Abrahamic Covenant and the Melchizedek priesthood. The teachings of modern prophets, as well as relevant extracts from the works of Hugh Nibley and other religious scholars, historians, philosophers, literary specialists, playwrights, musicians, and artists are found on nearly every page. The book also features maps, and photographs pertaining to what can be inferred about the geographical settings of the stories. An additional highlight is the collection of more than two hundred carefully chosen color figures, diagrams, and artwork relating to the text—themselves also the subject of detailed commentary.
823 pages
