Commentary on the Book of Genesis

“Commentary on the Book of Genesis” was written by St. Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov) in 1816. The book is a detailed interpretation of the literal and mysterious meaning of the book of Genesis. The work is divided into three parts. Part 1 contains an interpretation of Genesis 1-8:19 (from the creation of the world until Noah left the ark at the end of the flood). Part 2 – interpretation of Genesis 8:20-25:18 (from the renewal of the world to the resettlement of the family of Ishmael). Part 3 – interpretation of Genesis 25:19-50:26 (from the birth of Isaac to the last days of Joseph’s life). Saint Philaret prefaces his interpretation with an introduction (“preliminary”), which explains the title of the book, talks about its time of origin, subject, purpose, writer and authenticity. The main pillar of evidence for the authenticity of the book of Genesis is faith in God, the Revelation of God, confidence in the holiness and inspiration of biblical books. Each section also contains thematic subsections that reveal the meaning of individual episodes, their theological and historical significance. Interpretation of St. Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov) on the book of Genesis is not only one of the first, but also one of the main works on the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures translated into Russian. The saint, considering knowledge of Hebrew and Greek the best aid for understanding the Holy Scriptures, himself turned to the original when interpreting the book of Genesis. He provides his own translation of the entire book from the Hebrew text, completed in 1819. This translation, missing from the first edition of 1816, was included in the second and subsequent editions of the work. When analyzing words and determining their meaning in the original text, the saint makes a comparison with the most ancient translations - Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, as well as the Syriac translation, Arabic, Latin, Samaritan, etc. It should also be noted that St. Filaret used almost all the Fathers and Teachers of the Church when interpreting creation. "And I gave my heart to explore and test with wisdom all that is done under heaven: God gave this hard work to the sons of men, that they may exercise themselves in it” (Eccl. 1:13). You might be interested in: