Clothing and Nudity in the Hebrew Bible - by Christoph Berner & Manuel Schäfer & Martin Schott (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The volume discusses nudity and clothing in the Hebrew Bible, covering anthropological, theological, archaeology and religious-historical aspects. These aspects are addressed in three separate sections, enhanced by over a hundred pictures and illustrations. Part I places nudity and clothing in its ancient Israelite context, with discussions of methodology, the ancient Near Eastern evidence (including material culture and iconography), and an assessment of central aspects of the biblical material such as fabrication and uses of textiles, lexicography, theological and anthropological implications. Part II looks at key themes such as mourning, death, encounters with the divine and issues of power and status. Finally, Part III presents several close studies of key passages from narrative, prophetic and wisdom texts where clothing and nudity play an important role.

Review Quotes

An interdisciplinary tour-de-force. This book covers (literally) so many different aspects of dress and nudity it may cause a problem concerning where to begin. It ranges from anthropological and archaeological to linguistic, political and religious studies, written by prominent scholars in their respective fields. Well worth having in any serious library.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Director of the Textile Research Centre, The Netherlands

Biblical studies and clothing studies both abound, but with the additional perspective of nudity, texts and clothing references can be read in entirely new ways. Moreover nudity embodies, so to speak, the textual and sartorial expressions in these contributions. Clothing is examined both in its literal and metaphorical sense, and important references to archaeology, historical texts and iconography, found in Palestine, the ancient Near East and Egypt, are used to contextualize the Biblical texts.
Marie-Louise B. Nosch, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Essential reading on the often-overlooked topic of clothes and lack of clothing in the Hebrew Bible and broader ancient Near East. The book features an astute and theoretically-informed analysis of how male and female bodies are dressed or undressed in the Bible and other nearby cultures, complete with exciting, cutting edge discussions, and a crucial bibliography.
David M. Carr, Union Theological Seminary New York, USA

About the Author

Christoph Berner is Professor of Old Testament at Christian-Albrechts- Universität, Kiel, Germany.

Manuel Schäfer is Assistant Lecturer in Old Testament at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

Martin Schott is Assistant Lecturer in Old Testament at Friedrich- Alexander-Universität, Erlangen- Nuremberg, Germany.

Sarah Schulz is Senior Lecturer in Old Testament at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

Martina Weingärtner is Lecturer at the Institute of Protestant Theology at the University of Augsburg, Germany.