AP

Title: ESV Expository Commentary: Vol. 1 Genesis-Numbers

Authors: Ian Duguid, Jay Sklar, Christine Palmer, Ronald Bergey

Publisher: Crossway

Year: 2025

Reviewed by Mark Powell

The ESV Commentary series as a whole is making a significant contribution to people’s understanding of Scripture. In a publishing world dominated by numerous commentaries on every book of the Bible, Crossway is filling a unique niche in that its commentary series is concise but not simplistic. This makes it perfect for the busy pastor or dedicated Bible Study leader who is looking to interact more with the text.

Volume 1 of the ESV Commentary Series covers Genesis to Numbers making it a massive volume of over 1200 pages. While it’s useful to have all of the material in one place, I personally would have preferred it to be divided over at least a couple of volumes. This makes it psychologically more “digestible” and less intimidating. But that’s just me. Perhaps there is a cost analysis here I am missing.

Each of the books has an excellent introduction outlining all the major issues such as: Overview, Title and Author, Date and Occasion, Genre and Literary Features, Purpose and Theology, Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ, Preaching and Interpretative Challenges, as well as an Outline. All of these are offered from a conservative evangelical perspective.

The thing to really appreciate about the commentary is how succinct it is. Much like the older Tyndale Commentaries, the ESV Commentary Series takes the reader immediately to the issues without a long and protracted debate with other authors. However, this is not to say that the commentary series is not academically rigorous. There is extensive footnoting to secondary literature throughout. The major focus remains on explaining and applying the text.

I have started to collect a number of volumes in this series, and I can say confidently that they are definitely worth having. They are an excellent resource and will serve the church well for many years to come. I can especially see it as being useful for those who preach and teach, but there is also a great opportunity here for anyone who simply wants to dig more deeply into God’s Word.

Having recently preached through the book of Exodus, I was especially interested to see how many of the pertinent questions I had were handled. I was pleased to see that they were addressed in a way which left me disappointed that I didn’t have this as a resource then.

The ESV commentary series is an excellent addition to any library, with Volume 1 being no exception. I’d strongly recommend anyone interested in the study of God’s Word to purchase a set.