A Hiﬆory of Jewish Literature from the Close of the Bible to Our Own Days

Every discipline which deals with the land question in Canaan-Palestine-Israel is afflicted by the problem of specialisation. The political scientist and historian usually discuss the issue of land in Israel purely in terms of interethnic and international relations, biblical scholars concentrate on the historical and archaeological question with virtually no reference to ethics, and scholars of human rights usually evade the question of God. What follows is an attempt, through theology and political history, to understand the history of the Israel-Palestine land question in a way which respects the complexity of the question. From a scrutiny of the language used in the Bible to the development of political Zionism from the late 19th century it is possible to see the way in which a secular movement mobilised the figurative language of religion into a literal ‘title deed’ to the land of Palestine signed by God.

Download Full-text

Review of What Have They Done to the Bible? A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation by John Sandys-Wunsch

Religious Studies and Theology ◽

10.1558/rsth.2006.25.2.240 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Christine Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Biblical Interpretation ◽

The Bible ◽

History Of

Download Full-text

How the Bible Feels

Postscripts The Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds ◽

10.1558/post.32589 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1-2) ◽

pp. 27-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dorina Miller Parmenter

Keyword(s):

Affect Theory ◽

Material Object ◽

Bodily Harm ◽

The Bible ◽

History Of ◽

The Senses ◽

Christian Leaders ◽

Christian History

Despite Christian leaders’ insistence that what is important about the Bible are the messages of the text, throughout Christian history the Bible as a material object, engaged by the senses, frequently has been perceived to be an effective object able to protect its users from bodily harm. This paper explores several examples where Christians view their Bibles as protective shields, and will situate those interpretations within the history of the material uses of the Bible. It will also explore how recent studies in affect theory might add to the understanding of what is communicated through sensory engagement with the Bible.

Download Full-text

‘Limping, Yet Made to Climb a Mountain!’ Re-Reading the Vashti Character in the Hiv And Aids South African Context

10.1093/oso/9780198722618.003.0030 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’A Mphahlele)

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

External Factor ◽

Hiv And Aids ◽

African Women ◽

South African Context ◽

Land Grabbing ◽

The Bible ◽

History Of ◽

African Context

The history of the Christian Bible’s reception in South Africa was part of a package that included among others, the importation of European patriarchy, land grabbing and its impoverishment of Africans and challenged masculinities of African men. The preceding factors, together with the history of the marginalization of African women in bible and theology, and how the Bible was and continues to be used in our HIV and AIDS contexts, have only made the proverbial limping animal to climb a mountain. Wa re o e bona a e hlotša, wa e nametša thaba (while limping, you still let it climb a mountain) simply means that a certain situation is being aggravated (by an external factor). In this chapter the preceding Northern Sotho proverb is used as a hermeneutical lens to present an HIV and AIDS gender sensitive re-reading of the Vashti character in the Hebrew Bible within the South African context.

Download Full-text

Holiness in Jewish Thought

10.1093/oso/9780198796497.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Jewish History ◽

Religious Discourse ◽

Jewish Tradition ◽

Jewish Literature ◽

Religious Thought ◽

Philosophical Reflection ◽

Jewish Thought ◽

History Of ◽

Ways Of Life

Holiness is a challenge for contemporary Jewish thought. The concept of holiness is crucial to religious discourse in general and to Jewish discourse in particular. “Holiness” seems to express an important feature of religious thought and of religious ways of life. Yet the concept is ill defined. This collection explores what concepts of holiness were operative in different periods of Jewish history and bodies of Jewish literature. It offers preliminary reflections on their theological and philosophical import today. The contributors illumine some of the major episodes concerning holiness in the history of the development of the Jewish tradition. They think about the problems and potential implicit in Judaic concepts of holiness, to make them explicit, and to try to retrieve the concepts for contemporary theological and philosophical reflection. Holiness is elusive but it need not be opaque. This volume makes Jewish concepts of holiness lucid, accessible, and intellectually engaging.

Download Full-text