Doing Biblical Masculinity Studies as Feminist Biblical Studies? Critical Interrogations
Published: Oct 2023
£60.00
This anthology presents a collaborative interrogation at the intersection of feminist biblical studies and biblical masculinity studies. The included essays make a compelling case for both feminist and masculist readers to recognize the advantage of engaging with each other. As they join forces, they produce research that not only brings female characters, gender issues or queer interpretation histories to the forefront but also interrogates critically male characters as well as androcentric and heteronormative conventions, viewpoints and norms. Connections to geopolitical, ethno-religious and other intersectional issues are part and parcel of the diverse range of approaches.
As a whole, then, the book expands the scholarly discourse from essentializing attention on ‘women’ or ‘men’ to a multifaceted (de)construction of gender that exposes gendered structures of domination in comprehensive ways. The shared goal is to halt reactionary gender discourses and to foster intersectional comprehension of texts and scholarship. Theoretical, historical, contemporary and textual considerations underscore the methodological, hermeneutical and exegetical value of this kind of work.
The volume is organized into three main parts. First, ‘Theoretical Considerations’, presents two essays illuminating meta-level assumptions and developments when biblical scholars embrace the interrelationship of feminist and masculinity studies in their work. Second, ‘Historical and Contemporary Considerations’, contains three essays examining the Bible in past and present cultural contexts. Third, ‘Textual Considerations’, features four essays focusing on specific passages with lenses informed by masculinity and feminist studies. All nine essays, and the three responses addressing them, invite readers to understand, critique and interrupt phallogocentric assumptions in texts, interpretation histories, and research of the Hebrew Bible.
Doing Biblical Masculinity Studies as Feminist Biblical Studies? Critical Interrogations
£60.00
This anthology presents a collaborative interrogation at the intersection of feminist biblical studies and biblical masculinity studies. The included essays make a compelling case for both feminist and masculist readers to recognize the advantage of engaging with each other. As they join forces, they produce research that not only brings female characters, gender issues or queer interpretation histories to the forefront but also interrogates critically male characters as well as androcentric and heteronormative conventions, viewpoints and norms. Connections to geopolitical, ethno-religious and other intersectional issues are part and parcel of the diverse range of approaches.
As a whole, then, the book expands the scholarly discourse from essentializing attention on ‘women’ or ‘men’ to a multifaceted (de)construction of gender that exposes gendered structures of domination in comprehensive ways. The shared goal is to halt reactionary gender discourses and to foster intersectional comprehension of texts and scholarship. Theoretical, historical, contemporary and textual considerations underscore the methodological, hermeneutical and exegetical value of this kind of work.
The volume is organized into three main parts. First, ‘Theoretical Considerations’, presents two essays illuminating meta-level assumptions and developments when biblical scholars embrace the interrelationship of feminist and masculinity studies in their work. Second, ‘Historical and Contemporary Considerations’, contains three essays examining the Bible in past and present cultural contexts. Third, ‘Textual Considerations’, features four essays focusing on specific passages with lenses informed by masculinity and feminist studies. All nine essays, and the three responses addressing them, invite readers to understand, critique and interrupt phallogocentric assumptions in texts, interpretation histories, and research of the Hebrew Bible.
Effective Stories: Genesis Through the Lens of Resilience
Published: July 2023
£70.00
This book is the first monograph-length reading of a biblical book through the lens of resilience. Megan Warner first defines the lens and outlines its boundaries, before training it upon Genesis—to draw new, and often surprising, meaning out of a much-mined text. This innovative reading responds to the need for sustained readings of biblical text, not just in the spheres of resilience and vulnerability, but also in the closely connected interpretative field of trauma.
Warner demonstrates that the authors and editors of Genesis wrote and presented ‘effective stories’—i.e. stories designed to effect change. The devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile and dispiriting return are nowhere explicitly addressed in Genesis. It relates the history of much earlier events. Nevertheless, this reading exposes intimate engagement with these seminal disasters and the formulation of responses to them. Genesis reaches back into ancient history for the purpose of preparing a new and resilient road into an uncertain future.
Amongst the contributions of this volume are:
a presentation of Genesis’ two creation stories as concerted and complementary responses to the Babylonian crisis;
the identification of an extensive book-wide project, focused on Abraham, to present a history of a united (albeit Judah-centred) Israel designed to challenge the Mosaic Yahwisms of the pre-exilic and exilic periods;
exploration of patterns of use and recruitment of female characters for political means; and
a sustained reading of the resilience of a single character, Joseph.
Warner’s critical approach exposes limitations of the use of resilience as lens, but ultimately demonstrates its potential to go beyond trauma-centred approaches, to recognise innovative, practical and above all, effective, strategies for the construction of viable futures.
Effective Stories: Genesis Through the Lens of Resilience
£70.00
This book is the first monograph-length reading of a biblical book through the lens of resilience. Megan Warner first defines the lens and outlines its boundaries, before training it upon Genesis—to draw new, and often surprising, meaning out of a much-mined text. This innovative reading responds to the need for sustained readings of biblical text, not just in the spheres of resilience and vulnerability, but also in the closely connected interpretative field of trauma.
Warner demonstrates that the authors and editors of Genesis wrote and presented ‘effective stories’—i.e. stories designed to effect change. The devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile and dispiriting return are nowhere explicitly addressed in Genesis. It relates the history of much earlier events. Nevertheless, this reading exposes intimate engagement with these seminal disasters and the formulation of responses to them. Genesis reaches back into ancient history for the purpose of preparing a new and resilient road into an uncertain future.
Amongst the contributions of this volume are:
a presentation of Genesis’ two creation stories as concerted and complementary responses to the Babylonian crisis;
the identification of an extensive book-wide project, focused on Abraham, to present a history of a united (albeit Judah-centred) Israel designed to challenge the Mosaic Yahwisms of the pre-exilic and exilic periods;
exploration of patterns of use and recruitment of female characters for political means; and
a sustained reading of the resilience of a single character, Joseph.
Warner’s critical approach exposes limitations of the use of resilience as lens, but ultimately demonstrates its potential to go beyond trauma-centred approaches, to recognise innovative, practical and above all, effective, strategies for the construction of viable futures.
From Qumran to Jude: A History of Social Crisis at Qumran and in Early Jewish Christianity
Published: Jun 2023
£65.00
Many have noted the Qumran-like language of Jude. Chris Armitage provides a detailed comparative consideration of the similarities between Jude and the Dead Sea Scrolls peshers in the Hebrew Bible. The writers, in each of these texts, frequently appeal to examples of eschatological punishment for deviant theology and conduct, from the Hebrew Bible.
This study delves systematically into Jude’s use of pesher technique—appropriating a Hebrew Bible example of deviant teaching and behaviour and its eschatological consequences and applying it to the present—and shows, across the divide of Koine Greek and Classical Hebrew, that this is same technique as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Armitage infers that similar socio-theological crises faced Jude’s and the Qumran community, requiring each to generate literature containing purity and pollution rhetoric, derived from remodelling Hebrew Bible predictions of eschatological punishment to fit its own time, in order to ensure internal solidarity.
From Qumran to Jude: A History of Social Crisis at Qumran and in Early Jewish Christianity
£65.00
Many have noted the Qumran-like language of Jude. Chris Armitage provides a detailed comparative consideration of the similarities between Jude and the Dead Sea Scrolls peshers in the Hebrew Bible. The writers, in each of these texts, frequently appeal to examples of eschatological punishment for deviant theology and conduct, from the Hebrew Bible.
This study delves systematically into Jude’s use of pesher technique—appropriating a Hebrew Bible example of deviant teaching and behaviour and its eschatological consequences and applying it to the present—and shows, across the divide of Koine Greek and Classical Hebrew, that this is same technique as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Armitage infers that similar socio-theological crises faced Jude’s and the Qumran community, requiring each to generate literature containing purity and pollution rhetoric, derived from remodelling Hebrew Bible predictions of eschatological punishment to fit its own time, in order to ensure internal solidarity.
The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40-55: Beyond New Exodus or Metaphor
Published: Jun 2023
£70.00
Entering into a longstanding debate in Isaiah research on 'way' language in chapters 40–55 comes The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40–55. This discussion concerns whether the 'way' is best understood as a new exodus of the exiles from Babylon or instead as a metaphor signifying the transformation of Jerusalem from a place of judgement to a place of redemption.
Caleb Gundlach’s study contributes to this debate by arguing that the pilgrimage to Zion becomes a prevalent aspect of the 'way' theme in Isaiah 40–55 and influences how the homecoming is envisioned in these chapters. Firstly, it lays out criteria for recognizing the pilgrimage to Zion as the predominant journey type in Isaiah 49–55. It then explores the relationship of this pilgrimage journey to the major theme of Zion’s restoration within Isaiah 40–55, a theme also emphasized by metaphorical interpretations of the 'way'.
Resituating the homecoming material within the perspective of pilgrimage to Zion sheds light on other interpretive debates on Isaiah 40–55, including:
- the Babylonian or Judahite provenance for the text;
- emphasis on either the text’s compositional stages or its thematic coherence;
- thematic tensions, such as between Zion’s restoration and the Servant’s mission to the nations.
Reconsidering Isaiah’s 'way' imagery under the paradigm of the pilgrimage to Zion provides new avenues for negotiating these issues and takes a further step towards understanding how Isaiah 40–55 coheres as a meaningful and complex unity.
The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40-55: Beyond New Exodus or Metaphor
£70.00
Entering into a longstanding debate in Isaiah research on 'way' language in chapters 40–55 comes The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40–55. This discussion concerns whether the 'way' is best understood as a new exodus of the exiles from Babylon or instead as a metaphor signifying the transformation of Jerusalem from a place of judgement to a place of redemption.
Caleb Gundlach’s study contributes to this debate by arguing that the pilgrimage to Zion becomes a prevalent aspect of the 'way' theme in Isaiah 40–55 and influences how the homecoming is envisioned in these chapters. Firstly, it lays out criteria for recognizing the pilgrimage to Zion as the predominant journey type in Isaiah 49–55. It then explores the relationship of this pilgrimage journey to the major theme of Zion’s restoration within Isaiah 40–55, a theme also emphasized by metaphorical interpretations of the 'way'.
Resituating the homecoming material within the perspective of pilgrimage to Zion sheds light on other interpretive debates on Isaiah 40–55, including:
- the Babylonian or Judahite provenance for the text;
- emphasis on either the text’s compositional stages or its thematic coherence;
- thematic tensions, such as between Zion’s restoration and the Servant’s mission to the nations.
Reconsidering Isaiah’s 'way' imagery under the paradigm of the pilgrimage to Zion provides new avenues for negotiating these issues and takes a further step towards understanding how Isaiah 40–55 coheres as a meaningful and complex unity.
When Psychology Meets the Bible
Published: Jun 2023
£85.00
This much-needed biblical studies encounter with the physiological and social sciences demonstrates ways these disciplines relate closely. A group of 17 scholars from across the world and from various psychological persuasions have considered texts—from many parts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The essays recognise the human emotional need of the embodied mind in both literary characters and readers, and respond to it with empathic understanding.
The newness of interpretative approach in this collection anchors its understanding of the texts within recognised, scientific, psychological theories. Refreshing, even exciting, readings are discerned by focusing understanding of the human mind on those writing, and existing in, the biblical texts. This initiative is in significant contrast to a long history of implied psychological exegesis.
Where else, but in the Bible, can such a wide range of human actions, interactions, motivations and tragedies be studied in a variety of social situations? Showcasing the psychological implications of these texts serves as an invitation to continue this new momentum in research. At the same time, the freedom to explore the Bible psychologically has brought the most urgent and pressing psychological struggles to the surface, proving the relevance of all these biblical texts in our present world.
When Psychology Meets the Bible
£85.00
This much-needed biblical studies encounter with the physiological and social sciences demonstrates ways these disciplines relate closely. A group of 17 scholars from across the world and from various psychological persuasions have considered texts—from many parts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The essays recognise the human emotional need of the embodied mind in both literary characters and readers, and respond to it with empathic understanding.
The newness of interpretative approach in this collection anchors its understanding of the texts within recognised, scientific, psychological theories. Refreshing, even exciting, readings are discerned by focusing understanding of the human mind on those writing, and existing in, the biblical texts. This initiative is in significant contrast to a long history of implied psychological exegesis.
Where else, but in the Bible, can such a wide range of human actions, interactions, motivations and tragedies be studied in a variety of social situations? Showcasing the psychological implications of these texts serves as an invitation to continue this new momentum in research. At the same time, the freedom to explore the Bible psychologically has brought the most urgent and pressing psychological struggles to the surface, proving the relevance of all these biblical texts in our present world.
Judges: Once Upon a Time in Israel
Published: Jun 2023
£60.00
Judges is the Bible’s end-of-the-frontier epic. It depicts the first generations of Israelite life in Canaan and portrays a set of memorable protagonists, the “judges,” who were wild enough to tame a wilderness, but too wild to persist into the next era of royal courts, central shrines, and political states. The core of Judges consists of a series of narratives about the outlaws, warlords and war-ladies, mercenaries, and jackleg and priests and prophets from ancient Ephraim whose exploits were recounted in a series of redacted documents that, to the chagrin of pious readers over the centuries, ended up in the Bible, of all places.
There is Ehud, the left-handed assassin on a grim solo labyrinthine mission in and out of an enemy fortress. There is Deborah, the alpha female who, in one chapter, commands an army and, in another, is credited with uttering her eponymous song, which deserves to be counted among the world’s great war poetry. There is Jael, the man-slaughtering Bedouin woman who is handy with a hammer. There is Gideon, the insecure hero who leads, in one story, an outnumbered elite band of warriors to victory over an enemy force of uncountable proportions and, in another story, a clannish vendetta filled with torture, arson, and revenge killings. There is the tale of Abimelech which traces the rise and fall of a gangster. There is Jephthah, the outcast summoned to rescue his tribe when they need his desperado skill set, but whose rash vow has fatal consequences for his daughter. Finally, there is Samson, one of folk literature’s most memorable characterizations, a walking, talking incarnation of unshaved, unbalanced hyper-masculinity.
This reading of the tales of Judges as a set of adventure stories from the early centuries of alphabetic literacy requires that we dig through mounds of didactic, theological, moralistic, messianic, and nationalistic landfill in order to reclaim the full glory—and horror—of their dark violence and eroticism, as well as to marvel at the coarse folk poetry in the tales’ narration and dialogue.
Judges: Once Upon a Time in Israel
£60.00
Judges is the Bible’s end-of-the-frontier epic. It depicts the first generations of Israelite life in Canaan and portrays a set of memorable protagonists, the “judges,” who were wild enough to tame a wilderness, but too wild to persist into the next era of royal courts, central shrines, and political states. The core of Judges consists of a series of narratives about the outlaws, warlords and war-ladies, mercenaries, and jackleg and priests and prophets from ancient Ephraim whose exploits were recounted in a series of redacted documents that, to the chagrin of pious readers over the centuries, ended up in the Bible, of all places.
There is Ehud, the left-handed assassin on a grim solo labyrinthine mission in and out of an enemy fortress. There is Deborah, the alpha female who, in one chapter, commands an army and, in another, is credited with uttering her eponymous song, which deserves to be counted among the world’s great war poetry. There is Jael, the man-slaughtering Bedouin woman who is handy with a hammer. There is Gideon, the insecure hero who leads, in one story, an outnumbered elite band of warriors to victory over an enemy force of uncountable proportions and, in another story, a clannish vendetta filled with torture, arson, and revenge killings. There is the tale of Abimelech which traces the rise and fall of a gangster. There is Jephthah, the outcast summoned to rescue his tribe when they need his desperado skill set, but whose rash vow has fatal consequences for his daughter. Finally, there is Samson, one of folk literature’s most memorable characterizations, a walking, talking incarnation of unshaved, unbalanced hyper-masculinity.
This reading of the tales of Judges as a set of adventure stories from the early centuries of alphabetic literacy requires that we dig through mounds of didactic, theological, moralistic, messianic, and nationalistic landfill in order to reclaim the full glory—and horror—of their dark violence and eroticism, as well as to marvel at the coarse folk poetry in the tales’ narration and dialogue.
Nahum, Habakkuk and Malachi
Published: May 2023
£20.00 – £60.00
Nahum, ironically named ‘the compassionate one’, Habakkuk who laments God’s failure to answer his questions about justice and violence, and the eponymous Malachi are the three characters whose record is the focus of this reading. The commentary offers a close reading of the Hebrew text of each book along with its rhetorical features. The three books are read from within their several ancient contexts, literary, cultural and theological.
Only Habakkuk is specifically identified as a ‘prophet’, while Nahum’s and Malachi’s editors studiously avoid the term, raising a question about why these three books have been honoured with a place in the Scroll of the Twelve rather than somewhere else. Each book is titled a Massa’ by its editor, identifying them as examples of an emerging literary trope that combines both prophetic and wisdom elements in a didactic purpose.
Nahum is identified not as a prophet but as a Visionary. He saw the dire situation of his people and expressed his longing for God’s intervention. The God of whom he spoke was one ‘jealous, and avenging’, one he longed would act against the overwhelming power of the Assyrians that threatened his people.
Habakkuk, though identified as a prophet, shows no evidence of any prophetic activity. He laments the failure of justice and consequent violence as witnessed (1.2-4). The Lament-form used has been torn in two by the editor for the purpose of inserting a Dialogue with God (1.5-2.20), a Dialogue that fails completely to answer Habakkuk’s ‘Why?’ questions in 1.1-2. The concluding portion of the Lament (3.2-19) witnesses to Habakkuk’s continued trust in his God despite the divine failure to resolve his questions.
The eponymous ‘Malachi’ is identified as a Messenger, never as a prophet, as the book reports six different and independent messages covering issues that arose during an extended period in early postexilic Judaean life. Using a frame of six Question-Response forms that feature rhetorical questions, his audiences deny the validity of each negative charge against them.
Graham Ogden has been a United Bible Societies’ Translation Consultant. He lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Nahum, Habakkuk and Malachi
£20.00 – £60.00
Nahum, ironically named ‘the compassionate one’, Habakkuk who laments God’s failure to answer his questions about justice and violence, and the eponymous Malachi are the three characters whose record is the focus of this reading. The commentary offers a close reading of the Hebrew text of each book along with its rhetorical features. The three books are read from within their several ancient contexts, literary, cultural and theological.
Only Habakkuk is specifically identified as a ‘prophet’, while Nahum’s and Malachi’s editors studiously avoid the term, raising a question about why these three books have been honoured with a place in the Scroll of the Twelve rather than somewhere else. Each book is titled a Massa’ by its editor, identifying them as examples of an emerging literary trope that combines both prophetic and wisdom elements in a didactic purpose.
Nahum is identified not as a prophet but as a Visionary. He saw the dire situation of his people and expressed his longing for God’s intervention. The God of whom he spoke was one ‘jealous, and avenging’, one he longed would act against the overwhelming power of the Assyrians that threatened his people.
Habakkuk, though identified as a prophet, shows no evidence of any prophetic activity. He laments the failure of justice and consequent violence as witnessed (1.2-4). The Lament-form used has been torn in two by the editor for the purpose of inserting a Dialogue with God (1.5-2.20), a Dialogue that fails completely to answer Habakkuk’s ‘Why?’ questions in 1.1-2. The concluding portion of the Lament (3.2-19) witnesses to Habakkuk’s continued trust in his God despite the divine failure to resolve his questions.
The eponymous ‘Malachi’ is identified as a Messenger, never as a prophet, as the book reports six different and independent messages covering issues that arose during an extended period in early postexilic Judaean life. Using a frame of six Question-Response forms that feature rhetorical questions, his audiences deny the validity of each negative charge against them.
Graham Ogden has been a United Bible Societies’ Translation Consultant. He lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Global Perspectives on Bible and Violence
Published: May 2023
£70.00
This volume brings global perspectives to the fore, in what is the fourth of, at least, five volumes providing resources for researchers and in the classroom exploring the intersection between violence and biblical texts. It is the outcome of proceedings from a 2021 Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (CSBV) conference, with contributors and participants from sixteen nations.
In addition to the geographical variety of contributions, the fifteen papers in this volume also reflect a group of scholars diverse in their discipline and field of interest. Some papers involve close textual study (such as Richard Middleton’s discussion of the Akedah) while others consider thematic subjects such as the contemporary problem of “Christianism” (Matthew Feldman) or the Bible’s entailment in the fetishization of virginity (Johanna Stiebert). Of particular note are three contributions from African scholars. Louis Ndekha brings the Malawian practice of Mob Justice into dialogue with Luke 6:27-29. Paul Chimhungwe writes on the problematic hermeneutical approaches which have informed the Apostles of Johanne Marange of Zimbabwe, which denies Western medicine to its followers. Lodewyk Sutton studies Psalm 58 to consider whether the imprecatory language used therein might constitute part of a ritual used to overcome trauma.
The CSBV is a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to working in the twin areas of the interpretation of biblical violence and the weaponization of the Bible.
Global Perspectives on Bible and Violence
£70.00
This volume brings global perspectives to the fore, in what is the fourth of, at least, five volumes providing resources for researchers and in the classroom exploring the intersection between violence and biblical texts. It is the outcome of proceedings from a 2021 Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (CSBV) conference, with contributors and participants from sixteen nations.
In addition to the geographical variety of contributions, the fifteen papers in this volume also reflect a group of scholars diverse in their discipline and field of interest. Some papers involve close textual study (such as Richard Middleton’s discussion of the Akedah) while others consider thematic subjects such as the contemporary problem of “Christianism” (Matthew Feldman) or the Bible’s entailment in the fetishization of virginity (Johanna Stiebert). Of particular note are three contributions from African scholars. Louis Ndekha brings the Malawian practice of Mob Justice into dialogue with Luke 6:27-29. Paul Chimhungwe writes on the problematic hermeneutical approaches which have informed the Apostles of Johanne Marange of Zimbabwe, which denies Western medicine to its followers. Lodewyk Sutton studies Psalm 58 to consider whether the imprecatory language used therein might constitute part of a ritual used to overcome trauma.
The CSBV is a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to working in the twin areas of the interpretation of biblical violence and the weaponization of the Bible.
The Great Lady: Restoring Her Story
Published: Apr 2023
£85.00
In this, the eighteenth of Margaret Barker’s sequence of works on Temple Theology, she returns to give further and fuller attention to the figure of the Great Lady. Barker surveys the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament and non- canonical texts from both Jewish and Christian traditions—and undertakes a re-telling of the story of the Great Lady’s shadowy but enduring presence in community memory and later writings.
This extensive volume has three parts:
The Great Lady in the first temple, revered as the heavenly Mother of the Davidic kings until King Josiah’s purge in 623BCE.
The Great Lady in the Book of Revelation, present in her ancient symbols and the hopes of her prophets, which Jesus knew.
The Great Lady hidden in the teaching of Jesus and stories about him, explaining why she was so important in the world of the early Church.
This close study of the Great Lady shows new significance in the words of the Hebrew prophets and the Qumran texts, and offers a new context for early Christian writings and so-called Gnostic texts. Barker shows how the first Christians brought the Great Lady back to their Temple Theology. She proposes that in this community Jesus her Son was the expected MelchiZedek and great high priest, and Mary of Nazareth was honoured as the Mother of God.
The Great Lady: Restoring Her Story
£85.00
In this, the eighteenth of Margaret Barker’s sequence of works on Temple Theology, she returns to give further and fuller attention to the figure of the Great Lady. Barker surveys the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament and non- canonical texts from both Jewish and Christian traditions—and undertakes a re-telling of the story of the Great Lady’s shadowy but enduring presence in community memory and later writings.
This extensive volume has three parts:
The Great Lady in the first temple, revered as the heavenly Mother of the Davidic kings until King Josiah’s purge in 623BCE.
The Great Lady in the Book of Revelation, present in her ancient symbols and the hopes of her prophets, which Jesus knew.
The Great Lady hidden in the teaching of Jesus and stories about him, explaining why she was so important in the world of the early Church.
This close study of the Great Lady shows new significance in the words of the Hebrew prophets and the Qumran texts, and offers a new context for early Christian writings and so-called Gnostic texts. Barker shows how the first Christians brought the Great Lady back to their Temple Theology. She proposes that in this community Jesus her Son was the expected MelchiZedek and great high priest, and Mary of Nazareth was honoured as the Mother of God.
Joban Papers
Published: Apr 2023
£75.00
In this volume, David J.A. Clines—known for his magisterial three-volume commentary on Job in the Word Biblical Commentary series (1989–2011)—brings together a sequence of 27 of his papers on his favourite biblical book from a variety of publications.
In two sections, the wide-ranging Syntheses and the more focused Probes on particular chapters, this collection is a necessary adjunct to his commentary.
Among the titles in the Syntheses are:
- On the Poetic Achievement of the Book of Job
- Why Is There a Book of Job, and What Does It Do to You If You Read It?
- Job’s Fifth Friend: An Ethical Critique of the Book of Job
- Deconstructing the Book of Job
Among the Probes the reader will find:
- False Naivety in the Prologue to Job
- In Search of the Indian Job
- Quarter Days Gone: Job 24 and the Absence of God
- Those Golden Days: Job and the Perils of Nostalgia
- Putting Elihu in his Place: A Proposal for the Relocation of Job 32–37
- One or Two Things You May Not Know about the Universe
- The Worth of Animals in the Book of Job
- Job’s Crafty Conclusion, and Seven Interesting Things about the Epilogue to Job
Joban Papers
£75.00
In this volume, David J.A. Clines—known for his magisterial three-volume commentary on Job in the Word Biblical Commentary series (1989–2011)—brings together a sequence of 27 of his papers on his favourite biblical book from a variety of publications.
In two sections, the wide-ranging Syntheses and the more focused Probes on particular chapters, this collection is a necessary adjunct to his commentary.
Among the titles in the Syntheses are:
- On the Poetic Achievement of the Book of Job
- Why Is There a Book of Job, and What Does It Do to You If You Read It?
- Job’s Fifth Friend: An Ethical Critique of the Book of Job
- Deconstructing the Book of Job
Among the Probes the reader will find:
- False Naivety in the Prologue to Job
- In Search of the Indian Job
- Quarter Days Gone: Job 24 and the Absence of God
- Those Golden Days: Job and the Perils of Nostalgia
- Putting Elihu in his Place: A Proposal for the Relocation of Job 32–37
- One or Two Things You May Not Know about the Universe
- The Worth of Animals in the Book of Job
- Job’s Crafty Conclusion, and Seven Interesting Things about the Epilogue to Job
Play the Man! Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity
Published: Apr 2023
£75.00
David J.A. Clines argues in Play the Man! that masculinity is a script, written for men by their societies, a script that men in their various cultures act out their whole lives long: 'no one is born a man'. He has been quick to deploy the insights of sociologists, historians, educationists, health professionals, psychologists and other scholars investigating masculinity in the contemporary and ancient worlds.
The book's title is a recognition of masculinity as performance, and the Bible's depictions of males in action as far more than information or entertainment; they function as demands on the men who read them or have them read to them. Hence the subtitle, Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity, presumes that every biblical reference to the masculine is some kind of authoritative command.
Clines—in this collection of writings prepared across three decades—has seen biblical texts as an excellent test bed for research into masculinity in one ancient culture as well as being an indubitable influence upon views and practices of masculinity in our own time.
The bulk of the book consists of studies of individual characters and texts of the Bible, analysing and profiling the masculinity that is there attested, assumed and encouraged. In conclusion, Clines reflects on the continuing impact of the biblical imperatives to masculinity, their effect on men, women and religion, in our own time.
Play the Man! Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity
£75.00
David J.A. Clines argues in Play the Man! that masculinity is a script, written for men by their societies, a script that men in their various cultures act out their whole lives long: 'no one is born a man'. He has been quick to deploy the insights of sociologists, historians, educationists, health professionals, psychologists and other scholars investigating masculinity in the contemporary and ancient worlds.
The book's title is a recognition of masculinity as performance, and the Bible's depictions of males in action as far more than information or entertainment; they function as demands on the men who read them or have them read to them. Hence the subtitle, Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity, presumes that every biblical reference to the masculine is some kind of authoritative command.
Clines—in this collection of writings prepared across three decades—has seen biblical texts as an excellent test bed for research into masculinity in one ancient culture as well as being an indubitable influence upon views and practices of masculinity in our own time.
The bulk of the book consists of studies of individual characters and texts of the Bible, analysing and profiling the masculinity that is there attested, assumed and encouraged. In conclusion, Clines reflects on the continuing impact of the biblical imperatives to masculinity, their effect on men, women and religion, in our own time.
Violent Biblical Texts: New Approaches
Published: Oct 2022
£70.00
This volume is one of the fruits of a series of international conferences held at the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, Bristol. The thirteen articles included here have been assembled for the specific purpose of offering explicitly religious perspectives on biblical violence from a globally diverse group of Christian scholars.
Each author faces the challenge of how to interpret violent biblical texts in ways that remain situated within a Christian construct of the Bible. These raise major challenges—via ethically confounding texts—to providing a theologically coherent interpretation of biblical violence. Each writer, in turn, offers creative and constructive ways forward in dealing with the most problematic biblical material, based on two criteria:
• addressing a particular text or hermeneutical issue in view;
• advancing an approach that is applicable to other biblical texts.
The hermeneutical approaches are neither naïve nor sceptical but rather seek to off er innovative and fruitful avenues for interpreting the text from within the Christian religion.
This book offers a variety of resources to aid the interpretation from within a specifically Christian frame of reference. Of particular note is the round-table discussion, where three leading scholars in the study of the Canaanite conquest (Paul Copan, David Firth and William Ford) dialogue with one another on the subject, in a conversation moderated by Helen Paynter.
Violent Biblical Texts: New Approaches
£70.00
This volume is one of the fruits of a series of international conferences held at the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, Bristol. The thirteen articles included here have been assembled for the specific purpose of offering explicitly religious perspectives on biblical violence from a globally diverse group of Christian scholars.
Each author faces the challenge of how to interpret violent biblical texts in ways that remain situated within a Christian construct of the Bible. These raise major challenges—via ethically confounding texts—to providing a theologically coherent interpretation of biblical violence. Each writer, in turn, offers creative and constructive ways forward in dealing with the most problematic biblical material, based on two criteria:
• addressing a particular text or hermeneutical issue in view;
• advancing an approach that is applicable to other biblical texts.
The hermeneutical approaches are neither naïve nor sceptical but rather seek to off er innovative and fruitful avenues for interpreting the text from within the Christian religion.
This book offers a variety of resources to aid the interpretation from within a specifically Christian frame of reference. Of particular note is the round-table discussion, where three leading scholars in the study of the Canaanite conquest (Paul Copan, David Firth and William Ford) dialogue with one another on the subject, in a conversation moderated by Helen Paynter.
Map or Compass? The Bible on Violence
Published: Oct 2022
£70.00
The interpretation of biblical violence continues to present a complex challenge to interpreters, including those from belief, no belief and religious perspectives. Placing this interpretative task within the frame of generous collaboration, irenic listening, and multidisciplinary scholarship allows new perspectives to surface.
These principles were key to the range of papers given at the second annual conference in 2020 of the Bristol Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence in 2020—a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to the interpretation of biblical texts of violence.
This edited book includes:
• three chapters which grapple with the violence of the conquest of Canaan —from Paul Copan, William Ford, and Helen Paynter;
• further explorations of violence in Deuteronomy, Judges, Ezekiel and Revelation;
• Mary Magdalene and modern sexual violence;
• Esther and Quentin Tarantino;
• contemporary representations of the crucifixion, forced marriage in Christian pedagogic materials, and a cross-reading of abattoirs
and the crucifixion.
This is the second of, at least, four volumes providing resources for researchers and in the classroom exploring the intersection between violence and biblical texts.
Map or Compass? The Bible on Violence
£70.00
The interpretation of biblical violence continues to present a complex challenge to interpreters, including those from belief, no belief and religious perspectives. Placing this interpretative task within the frame of generous collaboration, irenic listening, and multidisciplinary scholarship allows new perspectives to surface.
These principles were key to the range of papers given at the second annual conference in 2020 of the Bristol Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence in 2020—a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to the interpretation of biblical texts of violence.
This edited book includes:
• three chapters which grapple with the violence of the conquest of Canaan —from Paul Copan, William Ford, and Helen Paynter;
• further explorations of violence in Deuteronomy, Judges, Ezekiel and Revelation;
• Mary Magdalene and modern sexual violence;
• Esther and Quentin Tarantino;
• contemporary representations of the crucifixion, forced marriage in Christian pedagogic materials, and a cross-reading of abattoirs
and the crucifixion.
This is the second of, at least, four volumes providing resources for researchers and in the classroom exploring the intersection between violence and biblical texts.
Eschatological Approval: The Structure and Unifying Motif of James
Published: Oct 2022
£65.00
The letter of James is not a haphazard collection of wisdom sayings, but a carefully assembled document with a unifying motif, according to Daniel K. Eng. By examining the structure and content of the epistle, he shows that James contains a coherent and consistent message of eschatological approval, that is, a favourable verdict at end-time judgment.
Eng establishes that James begins with a prologue (1:1-27), indicating the author’s concern for the hearers to receive eschatological approval. After that, Eng studies the document’s structure indicated by cohesive ties and bracketing, offering an informed outline for James 2–5.
With the outline in view, Eng shows how the content of each subsection refers to a favourable eschatological outcome. Discourse analysis plays a crucial role here, because the epistle’s author indicates the prominence of certain concepts through word order and dependent clauses.
Finally, Eng argues that James 1:12 serves as a thesis statement for the whole epistle, pointing the hearers to their route to a favourable end-time judgment. His resulting outline of James resembles a fish skeleton, with the unifying motif serving as a spine. Ultimately, this volume shows how the epistle’s structure and content alike point to its unifying theme: eschatological approval.
Eschatological Approval: The Structure and Unifying Motif of James
£65.00
The letter of James is not a haphazard collection of wisdom sayings, but a carefully assembled document with a unifying motif, according to Daniel K. Eng. By examining the structure and content of the epistle, he shows that James contains a coherent and consistent message of eschatological approval, that is, a favourable verdict at end-time judgment.
Eng establishes that James begins with a prologue (1:1-27), indicating the author’s concern for the hearers to receive eschatological approval. After that, Eng studies the document’s structure indicated by cohesive ties and bracketing, offering an informed outline for James 2–5.
With the outline in view, Eng shows how the content of each subsection refers to a favourable eschatological outcome. Discourse analysis plays a crucial role here, because the epistle’s author indicates the prominence of certain concepts through word order and dependent clauses.
Finally, Eng argues that James 1:12 serves as a thesis statement for the whole epistle, pointing the hearers to their route to a favourable end-time judgment. His resulting outline of James resembles a fish skeleton, with the unifying motif serving as a spine. Ultimately, this volume shows how the epistle’s structure and content alike point to its unifying theme: eschatological approval.
When Seeing is Reading: Visualizing the Reception of Biblical and Other Texts
Published: Oct 2022
£75.00
- How do Christian and Jewish exegeses, opinions and polemics of all ages interact in producing the visual art interpretations in any work, age, place, circumstance?
- From the artist’s side, what factors – of time, place, religion, reception, theology etc. – influence the interpretation that become a fixed image?
- And from the audience’s side – how, why, when are these art images received as authoritative and “true”, even more so than an actual Bible text?
- What are the cultural needs such works fulfil, or create?
When Seeing is Reading: Visualizing the Reception of Biblical and Other Texts
£75.00
- How do Christian and Jewish exegeses, opinions and polemics of all ages interact in producing the visual art interpretations in any work, age, place, circumstance?
- From the artist’s side, what factors – of time, place, religion, reception, theology etc. – influence the interpretation that become a fixed image?
- And from the audience’s side – how, why, when are these art images received as authoritative and “true”, even more so than an actual Bible text?
- What are the cultural needs such works fulfil, or create?
Bodies without Organs in the Gospel of Mark
Published: Aug 2022
£50.00
In this stimulating monograph, Villalobos Mendoza leads the diligent reader to a re-appreciation of Mark’s Jesus as an enabler of human freedom. The freedom that ought to be every human’s birthright is, we know, everywhere constrained by custom, regulation and law. But for the Jesus of Mark, order itself is disruptive, boundaries are transgressed, hierarchies are dismantled, and the bodies of humans, animals and trees are interconnected.
Villalobos Mendoza—taking his theoretical inspiration from the philosopher Gilles Deleuze—proposes Mark’s Jesus as the first figure to accomplish the ‘Body without Organs’ (BwO), the one who frees us from the oppression of the priest / institution / power / hierarchy. According to Deleuze, ‘the body is the body / it is all by itself / and has no need of organs / the body is never an organism / organisms are the enemies of the body’. This notion is helpful for understanding Jesus as the BwO, how Jesus’ body affects other bodies, and how those bodies function (or assemble) as an interkingdom of no-bodies.
The analysis of several Markan texts (Mk. 3.20- 35; 6.1-6; 1.12-13; 13.32-35; 14.27; 11.12-14; 14.51-52; 15.42-47; 16.1-8), is done through the interpretative lens of Deleuze and Félix Guattari whose co-authored works deliberately self-create new philosophical constructs, alongside BwO, such as: ‘any-space-whatever’, ‘de-re-territorialization’, ‘assemblage’, ‘rhizome’, ‘threes’, ‘Becoming(s)’, ‘interkingdoms’, ‘affects’, ‘people-yet-to-come’, ‘nomadism’, ‘eternal return’, ‘repetition’. By putting into dialogue insights from Deleuze and the Markan Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom of God, Villalobos Mendoza suggests the character of Jesus as the exemplary opponent of the apparatus of state which: organized, signified, subdued and subjected the human as well as the nonhuman ‘body’. This representation of Jesus creates a new interplay with the riddle of Deleuzean thought that argues that God and the judgement of God are the eternal enemy of the BwO!
Bodies without Organs in the Gospel of Mark
£50.00
In this stimulating monograph, Villalobos Mendoza leads the diligent reader to a re-appreciation of Mark’s Jesus as an enabler of human freedom. The freedom that ought to be every human’s birthright is, we know, everywhere constrained by custom, regulation and law. But for the Jesus of Mark, order itself is disruptive, boundaries are transgressed, hierarchies are dismantled, and the bodies of humans, animals and trees are interconnected.
Villalobos Mendoza—taking his theoretical inspiration from the philosopher Gilles Deleuze—proposes Mark’s Jesus as the first figure to accomplish the ‘Body without Organs’ (BwO), the one who frees us from the oppression of the priest / institution / power / hierarchy. According to Deleuze, ‘the body is the body / it is all by itself / and has no need of organs / the body is never an organism / organisms are the enemies of the body’. This notion is helpful for understanding Jesus as the BwO, how Jesus’ body affects other bodies, and how those bodies function (or assemble) as an interkingdom of no-bodies.
The analysis of several Markan texts (Mk. 3.20- 35; 6.1-6; 1.12-13; 13.32-35; 14.27; 11.12-14; 14.51-52; 15.42-47; 16.1-8), is done through the interpretative lens of Deleuze and Félix Guattari whose co-authored works deliberately self-create new philosophical constructs, alongside BwO, such as: ‘any-space-whatever’, ‘de-re-territorialization’, ‘assemblage’, ‘rhizome’, ‘threes’, ‘Becoming(s)’, ‘interkingdoms’, ‘affects’, ‘people-yet-to-come’, ‘nomadism’, ‘eternal return’, ‘repetition’. By putting into dialogue insights from Deleuze and the Markan Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom of God, Villalobos Mendoza suggests the character of Jesus as the exemplary opponent of the apparatus of state which: organized, signified, subdued and subjected the human as well as the nonhuman ‘body’. This representation of Jesus creates a new interplay with the riddle of Deleuzean thought that argues that God and the judgement of God are the eternal enemy of the BwO!
Lamentations: From Despair to Prayer
Published: May 2022
£65.00
The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the sixth century bce brought its inhabitants pain, a feeling of abandonment by God, and the loss of self-identity—and engendered the six poems of the book of Lamentations. Previous studies of the book have sought for its theological centre, or have read the book solely as an expression of grief, but in this innovative interpretation Elie Assis claims that its main aim is to impart hope to its exiled readers. The intention of Lamentations is to transport the mourners from despair to prayer, and to offer its assurance that the destruction must only be temporary because God has not severed his covenant with the people. The people's wish to feel themselves desired by God can be fulfilled, and the divine commitment is forever binding. Through his sensitive literary analysis Assis lays bare a progression of thought within each poem and as well from poem to poem; it is a movement, theological and emotional, from despair in the first poem to prayer and hope in the last.
Lamentations: From Despair to Prayer
£65.00
The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the sixth century bce brought its inhabitants pain, a feeling of abandonment by God, and the loss of self-identity—and engendered the six poems of the book of Lamentations. Previous studies of the book have sought for its theological centre, or have read the book solely as an expression of grief, but in this innovative interpretation Elie Assis claims that its main aim is to impart hope to its exiled readers. The intention of Lamentations is to transport the mourners from despair to prayer, and to offer its assurance that the destruction must only be temporary because God has not severed his covenant with the people. The people's wish to feel themselves desired by God can be fulfilled, and the divine commitment is forever binding. Through his sensitive literary analysis Assis lays bare a progression of thought within each poem and as well from poem to poem; it is a movement, theological and emotional, from despair in the first poem to prayer and hope in the last.
Patronage in Ancient Palestine and in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader
Published: May 2022
£80.00
Patron—client relationships have been documented and studied by anthropologists and sociologists since the 1950s. They are known in rural settings and urban locations alike, and virtually in every region of the world. But it was only in the last decades of the twentieth century that this analytical model was slowly incorporated into the socio-political interpretation of biblical texts and other ancient Near Eastern sources. The patronage model proves to be a useful interpretative tool, casting new light on many aspects of the history of Israel and of other socio-political communities in the southern Levant. Moreover, the concept of patron—client relationships clarifies many of the implicit socio-politics found in the narratives and motifs of several biblical books.
This remarkable and comprehensive new reader collects over 20 studies by renowned scholars dealing with different aspects and situations of patronage: in the context of Southwest Asia (the 'Middle East') during the second millennium bce, in relation to the history of ancient Palestine during the first millennium bce, and as well with references to patron—client ties in texts of the Hebrew Bible. While these selected papers do not presume to offer an exhaustive treatment of periods, historical cases and themes in ancient Palestine and in Hebrew Bible literature, they variously illustrate the many possibilities of the concept of patronage to elucidate them.
Patronage in Ancient Palestine and in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader
£80.00
Patron—client relationships have been documented and studied by anthropologists and sociologists since the 1950s. They are known in rural settings and urban locations alike, and virtually in every region of the world. But it was only in the last decades of the twentieth century that this analytical model was slowly incorporated into the socio-political interpretation of biblical texts and other ancient Near Eastern sources. The patronage model proves to be a useful interpretative tool, casting new light on many aspects of the history of Israel and of other socio-political communities in the southern Levant. Moreover, the concept of patron—client relationships clarifies many of the implicit socio-politics found in the narratives and motifs of several biblical books.
This remarkable and comprehensive new reader collects over 20 studies by renowned scholars dealing with different aspects and situations of patronage: in the context of Southwest Asia (the 'Middle East') during the second millennium bce, in relation to the history of ancient Palestine during the first millennium bce, and as well with references to patron—client ties in texts of the Hebrew Bible. While these selected papers do not presume to offer an exhaustive treatment of periods, historical cases and themes in ancient Palestine and in Hebrew Bible literature, they variously illustrate the many possibilities of the concept of patronage to elucidate them.
Obadiah and Haggai
Published: May 2022
£15.00 – £35.00
This new commentary questions whether Obadiah’s ‘vision’ is a prophetic book in the traditional sense, or a communal appeal to God to deal with Edom, similar to the cry in Psalm 137.7-9. Ogden suggests an editorial structure for the document built around the numerically central v. 11 that provides a focus for the appeal, one which seeks an immediate response from God. The conclusion is that this is fundamentally an appeal for God to act, rather than a promise of a future possibility.
The Haggai commentary argues that the document is a collection of loosely related stories about the prophet Haggai’s encounters with Zerubbabel and
Joshua, Judaean leaders who did not share the prophet’s sense of urgency about providing God with a refurbished house. Haggai is seen as a somewhat distant figure whose narrow worldview and theology saw him in conflict with the openness of the two community leaders. Haggai’s explanation for the crisis confronting the community showed little concern for its impact on the community, his calls to ‘Consider…’ pressuring them to conform to his plan for God’s ‘house’.
Both commentaries take the view that from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 587 bce, and for many many years thereafter, there was a wide range of oral material in circulation that gave expression to Judaean pain and anger at what had happened, and to the deceitfulness of its ‘brother’ Edom’s participation in the demise of the southern kingdom. The editors of both Obadiah and Haggai drew upon that range of oral stories that existed in multiple forms to make their individual reports. Both documents have deep roots in Deuteronomic and nationalistic ideology.
Ogden provides a reading that prioritizes the rhetorical elements in the Hebrew text while noting its historical, social and theological settings.
Obadiah and Haggai
£15.00 – £35.00
This new commentary questions whether Obadiah’s ‘vision’ is a prophetic book in the traditional sense, or a communal appeal to God to deal with Edom, similar to the cry in Psalm 137.7-9. Ogden suggests an editorial structure for the document built around the numerically central v. 11 that provides a focus for the appeal, one which seeks an immediate response from God. The conclusion is that this is fundamentally an appeal for God to act, rather than a promise of a future possibility.
The Haggai commentary argues that the document is a collection of loosely related stories about the prophet Haggai’s encounters with Zerubbabel and
Joshua, Judaean leaders who did not share the prophet’s sense of urgency about providing God with a refurbished house. Haggai is seen as a somewhat distant figure whose narrow worldview and theology saw him in conflict with the openness of the two community leaders. Haggai’s explanation for the crisis confronting the community showed little concern for its impact on the community, his calls to ‘Consider…’ pressuring them to conform to his plan for God’s ‘house’.
Both commentaries take the view that from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 587 bce, and for many many years thereafter, there was a wide range of oral material in circulation that gave expression to Judaean pain and anger at what had happened, and to the deceitfulness of its ‘brother’ Edom’s participation in the demise of the southern kingdom. The editors of both Obadiah and Haggai drew upon that range of oral stories that existed in multiple forms to make their individual reports. Both documents have deep roots in Deuteronomic and nationalistic ideology.
Ogden provides a reading that prioritizes the rhetorical elements in the Hebrew text while noting its historical, social and theological settings.
Joel: Prophet of the Outpouring Spirit
Joel: Prophet of the Outpouring Spirit