The OLT is my go-to for these conservative eyes to grasp the more liberal viewpoint. I know going in what to expect and that I’ll have a host of disagreements. I rate these volumes, though, on how interesting they are and how much imaginative theology is given. What did I find here? It was easy to read, it was not as extreme as I figured especially with this being on Genesis, and it was sufficiently imaginative. It gave me that out-of-my-box perspective I hoped it would.

The positions held in the Introduction were as expected, but without the usual pontificating. The raggedly worn Documentary Hypothesis theory was held to, but it seemed Petersen instinctively knew it would weary readers so he didn’t drone on about it. Some of his literary conclusions were still a bit much for me, but somehow he was still interesting in discussing it. Though I disagreed with much, there were a few nuggets along the way in the Introduction. Readers like me could safely skip the Introduction actually.

It’s when you get to the commentary proper that your time is repaid. If you work around a few subversive sentences, you will discover stimulating ones await you. I told you what I was looking for and I got it here. Better than some OTL volumes and better by far than Von Rad’s volume that preceded it, Petersen gives us a thoughtful work here. Liberal theologians should love it while we conservatives who admit we can learn from others can walk away with something worthwhile as well.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.