“Extraordinary. . . . Its analyses and hypotheses will leave no reader’s understanding of Genesis unchanged. . . . Mr. Kass, with his relentless questioning and devotion, suggests that one way to find first principles is to begin by taking the idea seriously.”

Edward Rothstein | New York Times Book Review

“Genesis allows its readers a greater freedom to ponder its meaning than the other books of the Pentateuch. And Kass has taken full advantage of that freedom to ponder the idea of human nature in Genesis. What he says in this regard is rich and profound.” <David Novak, New Republic>

David Novak | New Republic

“A learned and fluent, delightfully overstuffed stroll through the Gates of Eden. . . . Mix Harold Bloom with Stephen Jay Gould and you’ll get something like Kass. A wonderfully intelligent reading of Genesis.” <Kirkus Reviews, starred>

Kirkus Reviews

"Kass’s long and detailed text considers nearly every scene in the Book of Genesis, and some of its brilliant readings will stay with the reader forever, particularly the discussion of Abraham’s quarrel with God, the binding of Isaac, and the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. My copy is already dog-eared and annotated."

Gary A. Anderson | The Weekly Standard

"This is a book not merely rich, but prodigiously rich with insight. Kass is a marvelous reader, sensitive and careful. His interpretations surprise again and again with their cogency and poignancy."

David Wolpe | The Jerusalem Post

"With this uncommonly rich and stimulating book, Leon R. Kass has refreshed a magnificent tradition and grandly joined its ranks. There are genuine profundities in these pages. They teach by example that there is nothing more beautiful than philosophy."

Leon Wieseltier

"With observational power bordering on spectacular, Kass probes the economically worded narrative and excavates carefully implanted, though seldom detected, structures, parallels, omissions, progressions. recurrences, and other subtleties, which generate meaning and expose the concerns of the narrator."

John Makujina | Christianity Today