The Bible and Disability - (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability) by Sarah J Melcher & Mikeal C Parsons & Amos Yong (Paperback)

About the Book

The result is a close reading of the Bible that gives long-overdue attention to the fullness of human identity narrated in the Scriptures.

Book Synopsis

The Bible and Disability: A Commentary (BDC) is the first comprehensive commentary on the Bible from the perspective of disability. The BDC examines how the Bible constructs or reflects human wholeness, impairment, and disability in all their expressions. Biblical texts do envision the ideal body, but they also present visions of the body that deviate from this ideal, whether physically or through cognitive impairments or mental illness. The BDC engages the full range of these depictions of body and mind, exploring their meaning through close readings and comparative analysis.

The BDC enshrines the distinctive interpretive imagination required to span the worlds of biblical studies and disability studies. Each of the fourteen contributors has worked at this intersection; and through their combined expertise, the very best of both biblical studies and disability studies culminates in detailed textual work of description, interpretation, and application to provide a synthetic and synoptic whole. The result is a close reading of the Bible that gives long-overdue attention to the fullness of human identity narrated in the Scriptures.

Review Quotes

...A valuable teaching and research resource for years to come.

--Susannah Cornwall "Reading Religion"

A stimulating collection of diverse essays, which are suggestive and engaging for anyone who is fairly new to this field.

--Jane Heath "Journal for the Study of the New Testament"

An exceedingly valuable collection.

--Tim Vermande "H-NET Reviews"

The combined enthusiasm and insights of its contributors provide an encouraging starting point for additional scholarship of this kind, especially as future interpreters explore other subject positions and methodologies relevant to disability perspectives. I strongly recommend this text as both required reading in religious studies courses and a personal resource for research and homiletics.

--David N. Scott "Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology"

The Bible and Disability: A Commentary will be an invaluable resource for biblical scholars, who cannot afford to remain ignorant of disability in the Bible, as well as for disability scholars who seek insight about disability in the ancient world, and for students and lay readers of the Bible.

--Kirsty Jones "Catholic Biblical Quarterly"

This groundbreaking volume brings the perspectives of disability studies to the interpretation of the Bible. Conceived and written by a team of scholars, the essays in this work scan the entirety of the Bible, zeroing in on key passages and motifs with special relevance for the topic.

--John R. Barker "The Bible Today"

Thus, The Bible and Disability is not only a useful handbook for biblical scholars, but for any disability scholar interested in the history of disability and the continued impact of the Bible on notions of disability.

--Anna Rebecca Solevåg "Journal of Disability & Religion"

About the Author

Sarah J. Melcher is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Scriptures at Xavier University.

Mikeal C. Parsons is Professor and Macon Chair of Religion at Baylor University.

Amos Yong is Professor of Theology & Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary.