Book excerpt: Genesis for everyday readers Why another book on Genesis? It is a text that is inexhaustible, yielding something new at each reading. Authors Martin Kessler and Karel Deurloo contribute to its understanding with this concise, text-oriented, literary commentary on this fundamental book of the Bible. The authors maintain a clear focus on Genesis and what its words mean in themselves, in their narrative context, and in the context of the Bible. The unifying theme is the birth of Israel among the peoples of the world, beginning with the universal story of God's creation of earth, sky, and seas, moving toward the call of Abram, the first of the patriarchs, through Jacob, his grandson, and Jacob's sons, the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Clearly written and easy to follow, this book will encourage readers to reach beyond their usual assumptions to find not only information, but much illumination, about this richly layered text. Audience: --Bible study groups --introductory college courses --everyday readers who want to read the Bible with deeper meaning and understanding +