Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 39:1 (Apr 2025)
Article: Book Review: "Genesis"
Author: Anonymous

SATS 39:1 (April 2025) p. 106

Book Review: Genesis

Phillips, Richard D. 2023. Genesis. 2 vols. Reformed Expository Commentary. Philipsburg: P&R Publishing. xvi, 669 pp.; ix, 867 pp. ISBN: 978–1–62995–782–1. Approx. 1224.58 ZAR (68.13 USD). Hardcover.

There is always the need for a fresh exposition and application of Scripture for the Church at large. The Reformed Expository Commentary (REC) series addresses this need by offering an integrated treatment of entire passages of Scripture, rather than focusing on a word-by-word or verse-by-verse exegetical approach.

Rooted in a commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith (and its Catechisms), the REC is unapologetically doctrinal, following a redemptive-historical approach. That is, its contributors emphasize the overarching unity of Scripture and its central message of salvation in Christ. They are committed to a Christ-centered reading of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, seeing its people, events, and institutions as foreshadowing Christ and his gospel while also providing tangible examples for effectively living by faith. Finally, the series is deeply practical, applying Scripture to both the public and private spheres of contemporary life (pp. xi–xii).

Richard D. Phillips is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina. He serves as a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, and as a council member of The Gospel Coalition. Phillips is also the co-editor of the Reformed Expository Commentary series. This two-volume commentary on Genesis stands as a prime example of the Reformed Expository Commentary approach and showcases Phillips’s exceptional skill as an expositor.

Phillips divides the commentary into two volumes and seven main parts. Volume one covers Genesis 12:1–19:38: 1) The Creator and His Cosmos (1:1–2:25), 2) The Fall of Man (3:1–5:32), 3) Noah’s Flood (6:1–11:32), and 4) The Abrahamic Covenant. Volume two covers Genesis 20–50: 5) God’s Covenant with Isaac and Jacob (25:12–37:1), 6) The Trials and Triumph of Joseph (37:2–45:28), and 7) Israel in Egypt (46:1–50:26). The bibliography (pp. 603–616) and subject (pp. 645–687) and Scripture (pp. 617–643) indices cover both volumes. Certain key Hebrew words, such as adam, (man),...