This is an amateur Bible commentary by a student of the Bible. It is not an authoritative source, but just one reader’s opinion. My method of constructing this involves reading a chapter three times in three different translations, reading all of the cross-references in the KJV version in the Tecarta Bible app, and then formulating questions and answers.

In formulating questions, I simply ask myself what I do not quite understand, or not perfectly, and I ask and attempt to answer the question as best I can, primarily with the resources of an interlinear text and online dictionaries and cross-references. Sometimes I ask questions that I seem to know the answer to, but which probably (due to my familiarity with issues) would be enlightening to explore in depth. I typically discover that, in fact, I did not really understand all the relevant issues.

After answering all the answers on a chapter, I read through three different commentaries. On Genesis, these include:

• The Law volume of The Bible Knowledge Commentary. The Genesis section is written by Allen P. Ross.
• The Genesis-Leviticus volume of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. The Genesis section is written by John H. Sailhamer.
• Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. This is easily my favorite and most insightful of any commentary by anyone I have ever read. People often describe it as “devotional,” and while it is that, this description unfortunately dismisses the rich mine of insight that it contains about the Bible. Henry’s approach is one I aspire to, namely, to let the Bible comment on itself.

I use many other sources as well, as necessary, especially the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia of 1917 and Josephus (who I am reading as well; it takes very little time to go through).

More than any other general reference I use the BibleHub.com’s Interlinear, Strong’s/dictionary, parallel translation, and Septuagint pages.

I have no formal Bible training, but I have advanced degrees in another subject. I am new to Hebrew but am picking things up as I go along; I had a year of ancient Greek at college, which helps.

I plan this project to require perhaps 20 years.

I prefer to remain anonymous at this time.