Luther’s Works: The American Edition, published by Concordia and Fortress Press between 1955 and 1986, comprises fifty-five volumes. These are a selection representing only about a third of Luther’s works in the Latin and German of the standard Weimar Edition, not including the German Bible.
To achieve an adequate understanding of Luther’s supreme importance in the field of theology, examining his biographies is not enough; the student of Luther must delve into his writings to observe this human being as a scholar, as a teacher, as a mighty and intrepid writer, as a humble Christian, and as a theologian who never toadies or cringes.
The Lectures on Genesis, which were delivered in Latin, reveal an amazing familiarity with what may be called the genius of the language. Just as Luther was a master of his native German, so he acquired an all-embracing command of Latin. The editors of this series successfully permit the clarity, force, and pungency of Luther’s language to radiate just as it does in Latin.
Among the topics covered in this volume (Genesis 38—44) are: Judah and Tamar, whom many interpreters of Scripture neglect; Joseph, whom Potiphar had brought from the Ishmaelites and had brought down to Egypt, his interaction with Potiphar’s wife, his imprisonment, and the interpretation of his dreams; and the provisions against the famine that had been foretold.