Constructions of Space IV

Constructions of Space IV
Author: Mark K. George
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2013-03-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567342832

An edited volume of papers presented in regional, national, and international meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Like Mount Zion

Like Mount Zion
Author: Wen-Pin Leow
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2024-03-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3647500062

Critical spatial approaches — particularly those informed by the scholarship of Lefebvre, Foucault, and Soja — have significantly impacted biblical scholarship over the last twenty years. However, these spatial approaches have been limited due to the methodological challenges inherent in transposing the social-scientific approaches of the aforementioned scholars to the task of biblical interpretation. This volume adapts conceptual metaphor theory as a methodological bridge to address such constraints. The first half of the volume begins by surveying the field of critical spatiality in biblical studies, arguing for the need for fresh methodological development. Thereafter, the volume delineates a particular critical spatial approach, inspired by Lefebvre and Foucault, for which conceptual metaphor theory is proposed as a methodological bridge. The second half of the volume begins by proposing the Psalms of Ascents as a case study upon which the method could be applied. It is then argued that the proposed method – if efficacious – should provide insight on corpus' "Zion theology" and its so-called pilgrimage character. Using the proposed method in conjunction with conventional historical-grammatical tools of poetic analysis, each psalm is analysed with regard to its metaphor and spatiality. The volume concludes that the case study demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed methods by allowing a rich reading of each psalm, especially by explicating the spatial narratives and/or spatial metaphorical conceptualisations that underlie each text, and providing fresh insight on the collection as a whole.

The Place of God at the Bookends of the Bible

The Place of God at the Bookends of the Bible
Author: David W. Larsen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2023-10-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666758205

What if everything in the Bible has a larger outer context than is usually accounted for? Missional and biblical theologies suggest that the Bible presents a grand story like a play with multiple acts. The acts typically include creation, fall, redemption, and finally restoration. But what if the whole story itself occurs in another larger setting, occurring within a mission running in the background throughout the whole Bible? How might this aid our research, reading, and application? And why is this being proposed now? This book explores these questions. The larger context is the production of the place of God—a home and homeland wherein God, with his people, dwell on earth. Since place is underdeveloped in biblical studies, the book presents a new method for interpreting place. Then the book lays out the case that a grand mission to produce the place of God becomes the outer context for the whole Bible. Finally, the book defends this proposal with an in-depth placial commentary of the bookends of the Bible, since these bookends provide keys to unlock this message, thereby inviting further study on the rest of the Bible and on the implications for this transformative perspective.

Conceptualizing Biblical Cities

Conceptualizing Biblical Cities
Author: Karolien Vermeulen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2020-07-23
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3030452700

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of the city image in the Hebrew Bible, with specific attention to stylistics. By engaging with spatial theory (Lefebvre 1974, Soja 1996), the author develops a new framework to analyse the concept of ‘city’, arguing that a set of conceptual images defines the Biblical Hebrew city, each of them constructed using the same linguistic toolkit. Contrary to previous studies, the book shows that biblical cities are not necessarily evil or female. In addition, there is no substantial difference between the metaphorical images used for Jerusalem and those used for other cities. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of stylistics, urban studies, critical-spatial theory and biblical studies (especially Biblical Hebrew).

Delivered from the Elements of the World

Delivered from the Elements of the World
Author: Peter J. Leithart
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2016-03-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830899715

In this wide-ranging study bursting with insights, Peter Leithart explores how and why Jesus' death and resurrection addresses the deepest realities of this world. This biblical and theological examination of atonement and justification challenges conventional perceptions and probes the depths of the death that changes everything.

Critical Spatiality in Genesis 1-11

Critical Spatiality in Genesis 1-11
Author: Zhenshuai Jiang
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2018-09-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3161563018

Space in the Hebrew Bible is increasingly studied from the perspective of critical spatiality, emphasizing the social and cultural dimension of space, how people experience space, and their creativity in constructing space. Zhenshuai Jiang investigates the discourses on space in Gen 1-11 and discusses the connection between social space and spatial narrative. He deals with various questions in different spatial terms, with a detailed textual analysis of Gen 1-11. How is space constructed in Gen 1-11? To what extent and how is this construction influenced by social and cultural elements? The author describes specifically how space in Gen 1-11 is constructed rhetorically, taking into account historical and social circumstances in which the texts were written.

The Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible
Author: John Barton
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 626
Release: 2021-08-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0691228434

This is a general-interest introduction to the Old Testament from many disciplines. There are 23 essays with 23 individual reference lists.

Constructions of Space V

Constructions of Space V
Author: Gert T.M. Prinsloo
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2013-02-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567255638

This volume investigates the inherent spatiality of human existence and how it affects human behaviour, ideology, identity, and orientation from different perspectives

The Theology of Craft and the Craft of Work

The Theology of Craft and the Craft of Work
Author: Jeremy Kidwell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2016-06-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317014324

An important reconceptualisation is taking place in the way people express creativity, work together, and engage in labour; particularly, suggests Kidwell, a surprising resurgence in recent years of manual and craft work. Noting the wide array of outlets that now market hand-made goods and the array of popular books which advocate ‘making’ as a basis for activism or personal improvement, this book seeks to understand how the micro-politics of craft work might offer insights for a broader theology of work. Why does it matter that we do work which is meaningful, excellent, and beautiful? Through a close reading of Christian scripture, The Theology of Craft and the Craft of Work examines the theology and ethics of work in light of original biblical exegesis. Kidwell presents a detailed exegetical study of temple construction accounts in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament. Illuminating a theological account of craft, and employing the ancient vision of ‘good work’ which is preserved in these biblical texts, Kidwell critically interrogates modern forms of industrial manufacture. This includes a variety of contemporary work problems particularly the instrumentalisation and exploitation of the non-human material world and the dehumanisation of workers. Primary themes taken up in the book include agency, aesthetics, sociality, skill, and the material culture of work, culminating with the conclusion that the church (or ‘new temple’) is both the product and the site of moral work. Arguing that Christian worship provides a moral context for work, this book also examines early Christian practices to suggest a theological reconceptualisation of work.