This is the first volume to provide a wide range of postcolonial interpretations of and commentaries upon significant texts in the Hebrew Bible. The volume intersects with the work of the key theorists in postcolonial studies such as Fanon, Senghor, Said and Spivak as well as with scholars such as Sugirtharajah, Kwok Pui-lan, and Segovia who have applied this theory to biblical studies. Texts have been chosen specifically for their relevance to postcolonial discourse, rather than seeking to cover each biblical document. This volume is designed to demonstrate how historical criticism, postmodernism, and the important concerns of postcolonial readings may be integrated to obtain an informed explanation of the Hebrew Bible and the writings of early Judaism. The chapters are written by scholars who represent a spectrum of national, indigenous, and diasporic contexts. Taken together these perspectives and the interpretations they yield represent a continued expansion of the manner in which Old Testament texts are read and interpreted through postcolonial lenses, reminding readers that the interpretive trajectories of these texts are almost inexhaustible. As such the volume serves as not only an addition to ongoing scholarship on postcolonialism but also as an expansion of the horizon for dialogue.

A comprehensive analysis of the New Testament from the perspective of postcolonial criticism, this title enables readers to relate biblical texts more sharply to the perennial geopolitical issues of imperialism and colonialism.

The Oxford Handbook of Postcolonial Biblical Criticism is a comprehensive treatment of a relatively new form of scholarship-one of the most compelling and contested theories to emerge in recent times, and a topic that actively seeks to expand the ways in which the Bible can be studied, interpreted, and applied. Generally speaking, postcolonialism aims to critique and dismantle hegemonic worldviews and power structures, while giving voice to previously marginalized peoples and systems of thought. This approach, often varied in form, has inevitably engaged with the text and reception of the Bible, a scripture that Western colonizers introduced to-and often imposed upon-their colonial subjects. With a globally diverse list of contributors, the Handbook aims to cover the perspective and context of the authors of the Bible, as well as the modern experiences of imperialism, resistance, decolonization, and nationalism. Moreover, the volume includes both a theoretical overview and an exploration of how the field intersects with related areas, such as gender studies, race, postmodernism, and liberation theology.

This is the first volume to provide a wide range of postcolonial interpretations of and commentaries upon significant texts in the Hebrew Bible. The volume intersects with the work of the key theorists in postcolonial studies such as Fanon, Senghor, Said and Spivak as well as with scholars such as Sugirtharajah, Kwok Pui-lan, and Segovia who have applied this theory to biblical studies. Texts have been chosen specifically for their relevance to postcolonial discourse, rather than seeking to cover each biblical document. This volume is designed to demonstrate how historical criticism, postmodernism, and the important concerns of postcolonial readings may be integrated to obtain an informed explanation of the Hebrew Bible and the writings of early Judaism. The chapters are written by scholars who represent a spectrum of national, indigenous, and diasporic contexts. Taken together these perspectives and the interpretations they yield represent a continued expansion of the manner in which Old Testament texts are read and interpreted through postcolonial lenses, reminding readers that the interpretive trajectories of these texts are almost inexhaustible. As such the volume serves as not only an addition to ongoing scholarship on postcolonialism but also as an expansion of the horizon for dialogue.

For centuries, the Bible has been used by colonial powers to undergird their imperial designs--an ironic situation when so much of the Bible was conceived by way of resistance to empires. In this thoughtful book, Mark Brett draws upon his experience of the colonial heritage in Australia to identify a remarkable range of areas where God needs to be decolonized--freed from the bonds of the colonial. Writing in a context where landmark legal cases have ruled that Indigenous (Aboriginal) rights have been 'washed away by the tide of history', Brett re-examines land rights in the biblical traditions, Deuteronomy's genocidal imagination, and other key topics in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament where the effects of colonialism can be traced. Drawing out the implications for theology and ethics, this book provides a comprehensive new proposal for addressing the legacies of colonialism. A ground-breaking work of scholarship that makes a major intervention into post-colonial studies. This book confirms the relevance of post-colonial theory to biblical scholarship and provides an exciting and original approach to biblical interpretation. Bill Ashcroft, University of Hong Kong and University of New South Wales; author of The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures (2002). Acutely sensitive to the historical as well as theological complexity of the Bible, Mark Brett's Decolonizing God brilliantly demonstrates the value of a critical assessment of the Bible as a tool for rethinking contemporary possibilities. The contribution of this book to ethical and theological discourse in a global perspective and to a politics of hope is immense. Tamara C. Eskenazi, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles; editor of The Torah: A Women's Commentary (2007).

Includes various reports of the Association.

In a contribution to approaching the ancient texts of the Old testament from contemporary African perspectives and using African experiences to express African concerns, Holter (Old Testament, School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger, Norway) identifies and annotates doctoral dissertations on the Old Testament written by African scholars. He discusses them in sections on bibliographical, institutional, and thematic analysis. Authors, subjects, and Biblical passages are indexed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

One of the major forces in postcolonialism is the recapturing of tradition and the retelling of history. The replacement of the metanarratives of the imperialist countries requires the return to indigenous traditions and the formulation of national histories and narratives. Postcolonial scholars recognise that western biblical scholars have used western tools to shape the colonial "other." As Edward Said noted, this often has been done to force the Asian peoples into a falsely construed, western myth of the "Orient" and the "Oriental" as seductive, passionate, mysterious, irrational, alluring but dangerous. Postcolonialist scholars seek to dislodge the major metanarratives of the colonizing and neocolonizing West. They engage in a direct confrontation with the system of thought and the values of the West in order to achieve emancipation from all dominant, external structures. Postcolonialists re-read classic texts in order either to find their own place within them or to point to the questionable assumptions that the dominant cultures produce in interpreting these narratives (this includes the Bible). This requires the detection of the prejudices of the world views that produced these interpretations and then the necessity to subvert them. Postcolonialists also construct their own narratives of meanings free of extraneous myths that seek to portray the world in ways that will support the self-interests of those who construct them. This has led to local interpretation of texts that reject the hegemony of western interpretations of the Bible and theology. Thus, postcolonialism will be used to gain insight into these two areas: the social history and worldviews of the cultures of the Bible and the engagement of these with the interests of marginalized peoples who speak largely from the Third World. A Postcolonial Commentary on the Old Testament consists of three parts: Introduction (a survey of seminal postcolonial interpretations in the Old Testament in non-Western and Western Biblical interpretation, and an overview of Israel's move from state to empire to colony); Modes of Postcolonial Discourse that focuses on the major theorists who have shaped this approach to interpreting culture and literature (Fanon, Senghor, Said, Spivak, Bhabha, Sugirtharajah, Kwok Pui-lan, and Fernando Segovia); and Postcolonial Interpretations of Old Testament texts. Thus the volume moves from a survey of the field of Old Testament postcolonial texts, to an examination of leading theorists in postcolonialism, to postcolonial interpretations of significant Old Testament texts. This volume is designed to demonstrate how historical criticism, postmodernism, and the important concerns of postcolonial readings may be integrated to obtain an informed explanation of the Hebrew Bible and the writings of Early Judaism. Old Testament literature will thereby be open to a new understanding through the lens of postcolonialism. Israel and Early Judaism participated in the experiences of colonialism, imperialism, postcolonialism, and even neo-imperialism especially during the Persian and Graeco-Roman periods. Many Jews also migrated into various regions in becoming what are called the communities of the Diaspora. This collection will give specificity to the variety of postcolonial views and insights by providing examples of how this lens provides insight into the nature and meaning of Old Testament texts.

This volume aims to explore the implications of post colonial theory, one of the most challenging and contentious critical categories of our time - for biblical texts and interpretation.