Dr. Martin Luther's
Interpretation of the First Book of Moses.
Second part.
Therefore, already in 1523, when he published the first part of the Old Testament, namely the five books of Moses, in German translation, Luther wrote in the prefacing “Foreword to the Old Testament”, among other things, as follows:
“I faithfully ask and warn every pious Christian not to be offended by the simple speech and history, which he will often encounter, but do not doubt how badly it can always be seen, that it is pure words, works, judgments and history of the high divine majesty and wisdom. For this is the Scripture that makes fools of all the wise and prudent, and is open only to the small and foolish, as Christ says, Matt. 11:25. Therefore, let go of your arrogance and your feelings, and hold on to this Scripture as of the highest, noblest sanctuary, as of the richest treasure that can never be sufficiently filled, so that you may find the divine wisdom, which God here presents so foolishly and badly that it dampens all arrogance. Here you will find the swaddling clothes and the manger, where Christ lies, to which the angel also directs the shepherds Luke 2:11. Bad and insignificant swaddling clothes they are, but precious is the treasure, Christ, who lies within.” (XIV, 2) —
In his Commentary on Genesis, Luther has set down his entire pure and profound theology as if in a complete excerpt for all time. There is no article of our holy Christian faith and no doctrine of the Christian life which is not dealt with more extensively or more briefly in this Commentary on the basis of the divine Word and rich Christian experience. This writing is also the ripest fruit of the theological meditations, which were waving day and night through the mind of the highly enlightened man of God.
![the later interpreters of Scripture could [not] have “done better”](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-Icf773htwsEaj6gGWdBQxGbuWJkYKIAI9i2dFFHL6Tr-chTpAe5jONlbDXIaUi73NkcXWkiGU5C1SLrMGEKm4xailJRgJySmu6EPsJ22oby3FymYI9uoJpQOxBXiMuMn69hLtG5KuRlGGvtIbl1SR1U3G4aEifKDmAbyZkI02l0FieBfQnaebU/s281/StL%204b%20-%20the%20later%20interpreters%20of%20Scripture%20could%20%5Bnot%5D%20have%20%E2%80%98done%20better%E2%80%99-%202022-04-30%20131841.jpg "the later interpreters of Scripture could [not] have “done better”")
Luther spent ten years on these lectures on the first book of Moses, which are now included in the first two parts of his works in a new edition, namely the last years of his life in 1535 until November 17, 1545, on which day he concluded the [page 114] great work with the following words: “This is now the dear Genesis. Our Lord God grant that others may do better after me! I can no longer: I am weak. Pray God for me, that he may grant me a good blessed hour.” The first of these two wishes, of course, has not been fulfilled. Far from it, that the later interpreters of Scripture could have “done better”; so only those who faithfully exploited Luther's treasury wrote something righteous about the first book of Moses. But Luther's other wish was soon fulfilled, for just three months later, on February 18, 1546, God let His faithful servant enter into eternal rest and glory after unspeakable hard work and after uninterrupted hot struggle and strife. Incidentally, Luther had already written to Wenceslaus Link in Nuremberg on January 4, 1545 [sic, Jan. 17], StL21b, #3184, col. 3061]: “I am nearing the end of Genesis, having reached the 45th chapter. May the Lord give me the end of this dead and sinful life with the completion of Genesis, or even before, if it should please Him so, whatever you want to ask for me.” (See: Letters of Luther collected by de Wette. V, 714 [StL21b, #3184, col. 3061]) Quite beautifully, Melanchthon calls Luther's exposition of the first book of Moses “Luther's swan song”; for the ancient poets claim that the mortally wounded swans sing their sweetest song before they die.
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