Comprehensive, up-to-date and student-friendly introduction to Genesis: its structure, content, theological concerns, key interpretative debates and historical reception. Encourages students to engage with Genesis for themselves, by alerting them to key issues and questions raised by the text Explores and explains the approaches of a wide range of interpreters - both ancient and modern Special sections on the reception of Genesis and its distinctive influence on Christian history and culture This introduction to the interpretation of Genesis encourages in-depth study of the text, and genuine grappling with the theological and historical questions raised, by providing a critical assessment of key interpreters and interpretative debates. It draws on a range of methodological approaches (author-, text- and reader-centred), as complementary rather than mutually exclusive ways of understanding the text. It also reflects the growing scholarly attention to the reception history of biblical texts, increasingly viewed as a vital aspect of interpretation rather than an optional extra --.