Disability Studies And the Hebrew Bible
Subtitle: Figuring Mephibosheth in the David Story (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)
Publisher: T. & T. Clark Publishers, Ltd.
Published: September 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 158
ISBN-13: 9780567027825
Subjects: Biblical studies, criticism & exegesis; Books of the Old Testament; Disability: social aspects; Mephibosheth; Biblical teaching; Religion; Religion - Commentaries / Reference; King of Israel; People with disabilities; Bible - Criticism  Interpretation - Old Testament; Bible - Study - Old Testament; Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - Old Testament; Biblical Studies - Old Testament; (Biblical figure); David,
Description: "This unique interdisciplinary book 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."--Publisher's website.