Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication

Body as Landscape, Love as Intoxication
Author: Brian P. Gault
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2019-09-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 088414383X

Explore metaphors in the exquisite and enigmatic poetry of Song of Songs One of the chief difficulties in interpreting the Song's lyrics is the unusual imagery used to depict the lovers' bodies. Why is the maiden's hair compared to a flock of goats (4:1), the man’s cheeks likened to garden beds of spice (5:13), and the eyes of both lovers described as doves (4:1; 5:12)? While scholars speculate on the significance of these images, a systematic inquiry into the Song's body metaphors is curiously absent. Based on insights from cognitive linguistics, this study incorporates biblical and comparative data to uncover the meaning of these metaphors surveying literature in the eastern Mediterranean (and beyond) that shares a similar form (poetry) and theme (love). Gault presents an interpretation of the Song's body imagery that sheds light on the perception of beauty in Israel and its relationship to surrounding cultures. Features Exploration of the Song's use of universal themes and culturally specific variations Discussion of the Song's literary structure and unity

Crossing Borders between the Domestic and the Wild

Crossing Borders between the Domestic and the Wild
Author: Mark J. Boda
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2024-01-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567696383

The present volume searches for different biblical perceptions of the wild, paying particular attention to the significance of fluid boundaries between the domestic and the wild, and to the options of crossing borders between them. Drawing on space, fauna, and flora, scholars investigate the ways biblical authors present the wild and the domestic and their interactions. In its six chapters and two responses, Hebrew Bible scholars, an archaeobotanist, an archaeologist, a geographer, and iconographers join forces to discuss the wild and its portrayals in biblical literature.The discussions bring to light the entire spectrum of real, imagined, metaphorized, and conceptualized forms of the wild that appear in biblical sources, as also in the material culture and agriculture of ancient Israel, and to some extent observe the great gap between biblical observations and modern studies of geography and of mapping that marks the distinctions between “the wilderness” and “the sown.” The book is the first written product presented on two consecutive years (2019, 2020) at the SBL Annual Meetings in the Section: “Nature Imagery and Conceptions of Nature in the Bible.”

Where Is the Way to the Dwelling of Light?

Where Is the Way to the Dwelling of Light?
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2022-11-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004536299

Nineteen friends and colleagues present this Festschrift to Ellen van Wolde, honouring her life-long contribution to Biblical studies. The contributions focus on the major topics that define her research: the books of Genesis and Job, and the Hebrew language.

Encountering the Old Testament (Encountering Biblical Studies)

Encountering the Old Testament (Encountering Biblical Studies)
Author: Bill T. Arnold
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 930
Release: 2024-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493445847

This new edition of a bestselling evangelical survey of the Old Testament has been updated throughout. It is lavishly illustrated with four-color images, maps, and charts and retains the pedagogical features that have made the book so popular: · chapter outlines, objectives, and summaries · study questions · sidebars featuring primary source material and ethical and theological issues · lists of key terms, people, and places · further reading recommendations Additional resources for students and instructors are available through Textbook eSources.

Reading the Bible amid the Environmental Crisis

Reading the Bible amid the Environmental Crisis
Author: Sébastien Doane
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2024-05-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666909890

Reading the Bible Amid the Environmental Crisis: Interdisciplinary Insights to Ecological Hermeneutics ventures into the realms of love, loss, despair, and compassion, demonstrating the profound interconnectedness of ecology with every facet of human existence. Drawing from diverse disciplines such as trauma theory, affect theory, ethics, animal studies, posthumanism philosophy, and environmental humanities. Sébastien Doane intertwines biblical texts and theoretical frameworks to challenge traditional methodologies, presenting a fresh perspective on the ecological crisis of our time. This book argues for a vital role of biblical studies in addressing the ecological challenge, acknowledging the Bible’s profound influence on Western cultures. Doane advocates for critical examination of anthropocentrism in biblical texts, exploring innovative ways to read the Bible in the Anthropocene.

Review of Biblical Literature, 2021

Review of Biblical Literature, 2021
Author: Alicia J. Batten
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0884145530

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.

Planting Letters and Weaving Lines

Planting Letters and Weaving Lines
Author: Jonathan Homrighausen
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2022-11-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814688411

The illuminations of The Saint John’s Bible have delighted many with their imaginative takes on Scripture. But many struggle to appreciate the calligraphy more deeply than merely noting its beauty. Does calligraphy mean something? How is it beautiful? This book, written by a biblical scholar who has spent years working with this Bible, shows how calligraphic art powerfully interplays visual form, textual content, and creative process. Homrighausen proposes five lenses for this art form: gardens, weaving, pilgrimage, touching, and enfleshing words. Each of these lenses springs from the poetry of the Song of Songs, its illuminations in The Saint John’s Bible, and medieval ways of understanding the scribe’s craft. While these metaphors for calligraphic art draw from this particular illuminated Bible, this book is aimed at all lovers of calligraphy, art, and sacred text.

Song of Songs: An Introduction and Study Guide

Song of Songs: An Introduction and Study Guide
Author: J. Cheryl Exum
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2022-07-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567674738

The Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is an unusual book to find in the Bible. As the Bible's only love poem, the Song offers a unique picture of relations between the sexes in biblical times. Unlike other biblical books, it consists entirely of dialogue. It looks at love from both a woman's and a man's point of view, and shows the reader what love is like exclusively through what lovers say about it. There are few issues in Song of Songs interpretation that are not open to debate, which makes it a fascinating book to study. In this Guide, Cheryl Exum provides a concise survey of the principal questions encountered in Song of Songs scholarship. She also takes the discussion beyond the traditional research questions to introduce readers to new and ongoing areas in Song of Songs research. Bibliographies and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter provide additional resources for readers interested in pursuing specific topics and exploring new directions in the study of the Song of Songs.

Reading the Song of Songs in a #MeToo Era

Reading the Song of Songs in a #MeToo Era
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2023-06-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004543937

The Song of Songs is the only book of the Bible to privilege the voice of a woman, and its poetry of love and eroticism also bears witness to violence. How do the contemporary #MeToo movement and other movements of protest and accountability renew questions about women, gender, sex, and the problematic of the public at the heart of this ancient poetry? This edited volume seeks to reinvigorate feminist scholarship on the Song by exploring diverse contexts of reading, from Akkadian love lyrics, to Hildegard of Bingen, to Marc Chagall.

Reading Wisdom and Psalms as Christian Scripture (Reading Christian Scripture)

Reading Wisdom and Psalms as Christian Scripture (Reading Christian Scripture)
Author: Christopher B. Ansberry
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2024-07-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493445812

This survey textbook offers an accessible introduction to the Wisdom books and the Psalter in their literary, theological, and canonical contexts. Written by an expert in the Old Testament wisdom tradition and Psalms, this book pays particular attention to theological themes in Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, and the Psalter. Christopher Ansberry skillfully connects these themes to comparable themes in the other books discussed in the volume and to the broader biblical canon. He also integrates philosophical concerns and questions. This addition to the Reading Christian Scripture series is an ideal faith-friendly introduction for students of the Old Testament, Wisdom literature, and Psalms. It features a beautiful full-color design with an abundance of sidebars, images, and other visual aids to enhance the reading experience and facilitate learning. Additional resources for instructors and students are available through Textbook eSources.