This volume advances the scholarly discussion of Jeremiah via rigorous feminist and postcolonialist theorizing of texts and interpretive issues in that prophetic book. The essays here, by seasoned scholars of Jeremiah, offer significant traction on the biblical book's construction of the persona of Jeremiah and the subjectivity of Judah as subaltern; analysis of gendered imagery for the speaking subject in Jeremiah and for the Judean social body; exploration of rhetorics of imperialism and resistance; and theological implications of feminist-critical perspectives on YHWH and other deities represented in Jeremiah. Essays here deftly synthesize historical, literary, and ideological-critical insights in service of nuanced inquiry into Jeremiah as complex cultural production. The collection represents the growing edge of recent critical thinking on Jeremiah in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. It should prove invaluable in shaping the parameters of the continuing scholarly conversation on the Book of Jeremiah.

This guide provides a concise introduction to the ways the book of Jeremiah has been interpreted by scholars, and to new possibilities of interpretation still open to readers. Outlining approaches the reader encountering the book may best adopt, Mary E. Mills moves into the reception of the prophetic book in the modern period. The role of historical criticism has been fundamental but she shows how it should be supplemented by recent explorations into the rhetorical structures and devices by which the book communicates its messages. Historically oriented scholars drew upon the book as a record of the words and career of a prophet in monarchical Judah. Literary investigation, on the other hand, focuses on the mood and tone of the literary work. Both interpretative strands acknowledge the persistence of a mood of terror and fragmentation within Jeremiah, the result of its origins in a period of great political upheaval. Examination of the poetic devices a society uses to process its social and cultural trauma leads the reader to a deeper appreciation of the variety of sources and genres found in Jeremiah. This study guide provides reading tools which readers can then develop at their own pace.

"This essay provides an overview of the book of Jeremiah, its historical background, distinctive literary character, language of trauma and resilience, dominant ideologies, and the state of 20th and 21st century Jeremian scholarship. It concludes with an explanation of the goals and structure of the Handbook"--

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.

C. L. Crouch provides a clear and concise introduction to the complex text of Jeremiah. Readers are introduced to the diverse approaches to the book, with attention paid to the way that these approaches differ from but also relate to one another. After a brief introduction, Crouch addresses the formation of the book, especially in relation to its Hebrew and Greek versions; the theological interests of the book and the challenges posed by attempts to link these to an actual man 'Jeremiah'; and the relationship of Jeremiah to other biblical prophets. Crouch focuses clearly on method and on approaches to the text, as is the mark of this series. This makes the book especially useful for students in the quest to navigate the diverse body of scholarly literature that surrounds this troublesome biblical book.

In Uncovering Jewish Creativity in Book III of the Sibylline Oracles, Ashley L. Bacchi reclaims the importance of the Sibyl as a female voice of prophecy, revealing intertextual references and political commentary on second-century events in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Of the Major Prophets, Jeremiah is perhaps the least straightforward. It is variously comprised of stories about the prophet Jeremiah, exchanges between Jeremiah and Yahweh, and messages directly from Yahweh—meaning a consciousness of form is essential to the understanding of its content. At times it is written in poetry, resembling Isaiah, while at other times it is written in prose, more similar to Ezekiel. And it is without doubt the darkest and most threatening of the Major Prophets, inviting comparisons to Amos and Hosea. John Goldingay, a widely respected biblical scholar who has written extensively on the entire Old Testament, navigates these complexities in the same spirit as other volumes of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series—rooted in Jeremiah’s historical context but with an eye always trained on its meaning and use as Christian Scripture. After a thorough introduction that explores matters of background, composition, and theology, Goldingay provides an original translation and verse-by-verse commentary of all fifty-two chapters, making this an authoritative and indispensable reference for scholars and pastors as they engage with Jeremiah from a contemporary Christian standpoint.

The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Approaches to the Hebrew Bible brings together 37 essential essays written by leading international scholars, examining crucial points of analysis within the field of feminist Hebrew Bible studies. Organized into four major areas - globalization, neoliberalism, media, and intersectionality - the essays collectively provide vibrant, relevant, and innovative contributions to the field. The topics of analysis focus heavily on gender and queer identity, with essays touching on African, Korean, and European feminist hermeneutics, womanist and interreligious readings, ecofeminist and animal biblical studies, migration biblical studies, the role of gender binary voices in evangelical-egalitarian approaches, and the examination of scripture in light of trans women's voices. The volume also includes essays examining the Old Testament as recited in music, literature, film, and video games. The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Approaches to the Hebrew Bible charts a culturally, hermeneutically, and exegetically cutting-edge path for the ongoing development of biblical studies grounded in feminist, womanist, gender, and queer perspectives.

Uses migration research, trauma studies, and postcolonial theory to explore the Babylonian exiles effect on Israelite and Judahite identity.

Since the mid-1700s, poets and scholars have been deeply entangled in the project of reinventing prophecy. Moving between literary and biblical studies, this book reveals how Romantic poetry is linked to modern biblical scholarship's development. On the one hand, scholars, intellectuals, and artists discovered models of strong prophecy in biblical texts, shoring up aesthetic and nationalist ideals, while on the other, poets drew upon a counter-tradition of destabilizing, indeterminate, weak prophetic power. Yosefa Raz considers British and German Romanticism alongside their margins, incorporating Hebrew literature written at the turn of the twentieth century in the Russia Empire. Ultimately she explains the weakness of modern poet-prophets not only as a crisis of secularism but also, strikingly, as part of the instability of the biblical text itself. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.