John M. Soden and Randal Emery Pelton, Genesis (Kerux)

Soden, John M. and Randal Emery Pelton. Genesis. A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Ministry, 2025. 752 pp. Hb. $54.99 Link to Kregel Ministry

Kregel’s Kerux commentary series combines a rich exegetical commentary with timely preaching in order to help pastors and teachers prepare sermons and lessons for the church. In this new commentary on Genesis, exegete John M. Soden (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) combines pastoral experience and academic credentials. Soden previously published In the Beginning… We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context (with Johnny V. Miller, Kregel, 2012). The preaching sections are written by Randal Emery Pelton (PhD, Capital Seminary & Graduate School; DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary). Pelton serves as senior pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania (since 2003), and adjunct faculty at Lancaster Bible College, Capital Bible Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell. He previously published Preaching with Accuracy (Kregel Ministry, 2015, reviewed here). His website, Pelton on Preaching, aims to help pastors preach with precision and passion.

Soden and Pelton divide Genesis into four major sections and forty-five preaching units.

Genesis 1:1-11:9—The Primeval Narratives
Genesis 11:10-25:11—The Abraham Narratives
Genesis 25:19-37:1—The Jacob Narratives
Genesis 37:2-50:26—The Fourth Generation Narratives

Notice that the genealogy in Genesis 25:12-18 is missing. They call this “Family History of Ismael.” They provide three paragraphs of explanation, but do not consider the genealogy a preaching unit. Each major section is introduced with several pages on its literary structure, theological themes, and preaching suggestions. This will be helpful, since most pastors and teachers will not teach the entire book of Genesis in a single long series. Pastors should select one of these four units as a sermon series (your congregation will appreciate this). Weird observation: these sections are a single column, while most of the rest of the commentary is two-column.

A “preaching unit” is a section that can reasonably be covered in a single sermon or teaching session. The authors provide a one-sentence exegetical idea, a theological focus, and a preaching idea for each unit. These should look familiar to those who have read Haddon Robinson on preaching. These are one-sentence summaries of what the sermon should look like. Following this are two paragraphs of “preaching pointers.” This material is gathered on pages 13-48 and repeated at the beginning of each preaching unit.

The twenty-page introduction seems brief, considering seven pages discuss structure and outline (contrasting the Tolodoth structure with Gary Rendsburg’s work on Genesis). This is the nature of the Kerux series; the commentary is much more interested in the text of Genesis than in typical introductory issues. If the book is taken at face value, Moses is the author. But this does not imply that Moses wrote every word in the book (although this introduction does not discuss source criticism, traditional history, etc.) A decision on authorship will affect the date and place of writing. Even if the traditional authorship is accepted, the date of the Exodus is an open question. Nevertheless, they conclude that the occasion and the original recipients were Israel after coming out of Egypt, likely during the wilderness period.

As with other volumes in the Kerux series, there are numerous sidebars discussing cultural and historical issues. In this, there are interesting sidebars on cosmic conflict, surrogate wives, dreams, Levirate marriage, covenant meals, the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh, the identity of Jacob’s assailant, household gods, and marriage contracts (and many, many more). In addition to these, there are extensive “translation analysis boxes. In these sections, Sodon discusses Hebrew lexical and syntactical issues by comparing popular English translations. This is helpful, especially for pastors, who must deal with a variety of translations in their congregation. Sodon explains the reasons why some translations choose a particular English word based on the Hebrew text.

The exegetical section proceeds through the text by paragraphs. Even in a commentary of this length, it is impossible to deal with every word and phrase in the book of Genesis. Soden comments on the Hebrew text, which often appears without a transliteration. Secondary sources are cited with in-text citations rather than footnotes. Each exegetical unit concludes with a comment on the text’s theological focus.

Pelton’s Preaching and Teaching Strategies begins with an exegetical and theological synthesis. These short reflections on the main point of the passage are followed by a repetition of the preaching idea. He then provides a series of comments on contemporary connections, the sorts of things an interpreter needs to consider before they preach or teach the passage. Sometimes these are canonical connections, others are warnings or advice to preachers as they prepare. The final section is “Creativity in Presentation.” These sections offer suggestions for drawing the congregation into the text (illustrations, for example). These seem shorter to me than other Kerux volumes, but also less gimmicky. The “Creativity” sections often include contemporary movies (The Lord of the Rings) or famous Christian writers (C. S. Lewis, and a host of ancient church writers). Pelton does some of that, but these sections are more concerned with how the narrative works within the larger story of Genesis and the Bible. Each preaching unit concludes with discussion questions that guide the sermon’s application.

Conclusion. Soden and Pelton’s commentary on Genesis will be a valuable resource for pastors and teachers presenting the first book of the Bible in the local church. They do not get bogged down in the fine details, which distract many (especially in the first eleven chapters). By focusing on the text’s meaning and narrative flow, Soden and Pelton provide a solid foundation for reading Genesis with clarity.

Other volumes reviewed in this series: