Disability Studies and the Hebrew Bible

This unique interdisciplinary book uses a fresh approach to explore issues of disability in the Hebrew Bible. This text uses a fresh approach to explore issues of disability in the Hebrew Bible. It examines how disability functions in the David Story ("1 Samuel" 16; "1 Kings" 2) by paying special attention to Mephibosheth, the only biblical character with a disability as a sustained character trait. "The David Story" contains some of the Bible's most striking images of disability. Nonetheless, interpreters tend to focus on legal material rather than narratives when studying disability in the Hebrew Bible. Often, they neglect the David Story's complex use of disability. They overlook its use of disability imagery as open to critical interpretation because its stereotypical meanings may seem so commonplace and transparent. Yet recent work in the burgeoning field of disability studies presents disability as a complicated motif that demands more critical engagement than it typically receives. Informed by exciting developments in the field, it argues that the David Story employs disability imagery as a subtle mode of narrating and organizing various ideological positions regarding national identity. Over the last 30 years this pioneering series has established an unrivaled reputation for cutting-edge international scholarship in Biblical Studies and has attracted leading authors and editors in the field. The series takes many original and creative approaches to its subjects, including innovative work from historical and theological perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and more recent developments in cultural studies and reception history.