This book is scholarly and well-written by a bona-fide Old Testament
Hebrew scholar (unlike Karen Armstrong, whose HISTORY OF GOD, if I
recall, was taken to task in a review in Bible Review magazine (hardly a
conservative magazine) - which makes me hesitant to read her Genesis book, but based on your comments, I'll check it out). Sailhamer is, I
think, conservative/evangelical, but his reading/interpretation of
Genesis, supported by his substantial learning, may finally crack the
extremely literalistic interpretation some Christians feel they have to
give any treatment of Genesis.
There is a briefer, paperback version called Genesis Unbound, which sets
forth the author's interpretation of Genesis - i.e., that it's a
prefigurement of the promised land.
I found an interesting WEB site by a Christian re: his book called The Origins Solution,
dealing with Genesis, human origins, and science - basically calling Creation Science
incompatible with both science and the Bible. Based on what he says,
Sailhamer might be good on the Hebrew but ill-informed about science vs. Genesis.
So I don't know what my complete evaluation of Sailhamer might be.
(BTW, it is in the December 1994 issue of BIBLE REVIEW that Karen Armstrong's
A HISTORY OF GOD is reviewed - and DEVASTATINGLY trashed by Richard Elliott Friedman,
scholar/author of WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?
Based on what Friedman writes, I don't know if I'd trust ANYTHING Armstrong
writes about the Biblical view of God - read his review and see if it causes
you to reevaluate her. If you want to quote me in order to expose his
Genesis/Tabernacle thesis, go ahead - I'd like Christians to see that there
are MANY ways to read Genesis, and that the simplistic Creationist view is
most likely not defensible.)