Violence disturbs. And violent depictions, when encountered in the biblical texts, are all the more disconcerting. Isaiah 63:1-6 is an illustrative instance. The prophetic text presents the "Arriving One" in gory details ('trampling down people'; 'pouring out their lifeblood' v.6). Further, the introductory note that the Arriving One is “coming from Edom” (cf. v.1) may suggest Israel's unrelenting animosity towards Edom. These two themes: the "gory depiction" and "coming from Edom" are addressed in this book. Irudayaraj uses a social identity reading to show how Edom is consistently pictured as Israel's proximate and yet 'other'-ed entity. Approaching Edom as such thus helps situate the animosity within a larger prophetic vision of identity construction in the postexilic Third Isaian context. By adopting an iconographic reading of Isaiah 63:1-6, Irudayaraj shows how the prophetic portrayal of the 'Arriving One' in descriptions where it is clear that the 'Arriving One' is a marginalised identity correlates with the experiences of the "stooped" exiles (cf 51:14). He also demonstrates that the text leaves behind emphatic affirmations ('mighty' and 'splendidly robed' cf. v.1; “alone” cf. v.3), by which the relegated voice of the divine reasserts itself. It is in this divine reassertion that the hope of the Isaian community's reclamation of its own identity rests.

This collection argues that the final form of prophetic texts attempts a picture of stability; of a new world that emerges in the aftermath of the turbulent experiences of Israel/Judah's history, sustained by a coherent community and identity. The essays within both describe and analyse the various categories of otherness in prophetic literature which threaten such an identity, displaying the complex and contradictory nature of such depictions -- particularly given the reality that these texts emerge from communities considered other. The contributors provides an interdisciplinary exploration of otherness that draws upon multiple insights into the conception and expression of the other, beyond obvious examples traditionally examined in Biblical Studies. Touching upon the rhetoric associated with identity markers such as space, race/ethnicity, gender and religious activity, Prophetic Otherness allows for further consideration of the ethics of the prophetic corpus, and its understanding of fairness and justice in relation to broad communities.

What, according to the Book of Amos, does it mean to be the people of God? In this book, Andrew M. King employs a Social Identity Approach (SIA), comprised of Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory, to explore the relationship between identity formation and the biblical text. Specifically, he examines the identity-forming strategies embedded in the Book of Amos. King begins by outlining the Social Identity Approach, especially its use in Hebrew Bible scholarship. Turning to the Book of Amos, he analyzes group dynamics and intergroup conflicts (national and interpersonal), as well as Amos's presentation of Israel's history and Israel's future. King provides extensive insight into the rhetorical strategies in Amos that shape the trans-temporal audience's sense of self. To live as the people of God, according to Amos, readers and hearers must adopt norms defined by a proper relationship to God that results in the proper treatment of others.

"Violence disturbs. And violent depictions, when encountered in the biblical texts, are all the more disconcerting. Isaiah 63:1-6 is an illustrative instance. The prophetic text presents the "Arriving One" in gory details ('trampling down people'; 'pouring out their lifeblood' v.6). Further, the introductory note that the Arriving One is "coming from Edom" (cf. v.1) may suggest Israel's unrelenting animosity towards Edom. These two themes: the "gory depiction" and "coming from Edom" are addressed in this book. Irudayaraj uses a social identity reading to show how Edom is consistently pictured as Israel's proximate and yet 'othered entity. Approaching Edom as such thus helps situate the animosity within a larger prophetic vision of identity construction in the postexilic Third Isaian context. By adopting an iconographic reading of Isaiah 63:1-6, Irudayaraj shows how the prophetic portrayal of the 'Arriving One' in descriptions where it is clear that the 'Arriving One' is a marginalised identity correlates with the experiences of the "stooped" exiles (cf 51:14). He also demonstrates that the text leaves behind emphatic affirmations ('mighty' and 'splendidly robed' cf. v.1; "alone" cf. v.3), by which the relegated voice of the divine reasserts itself. It is in this divine reassertion that the hope of the Isaian community's reclamation of its own identity rests."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Violence disturbs. And violent depictions, when encountered in the biblical texts, are all the more disconcerting. Isaiah 63:1-6 is an illustrative instance. The prophetic text presents the Arriving One in glory details ("trampling down people"; "pouring out their lifeblood" cf. v.6). These descriptions sound particularly odd within the so-called "Trito-Isaiah" where appealing images of God occur (cf. "mother" in 66:13; "father" in 63:14; 64:8 ; "redeemer" in 59:20; 60:16; 63:16). Further, the introductory note that the Arriving One is "coming from Edom" (cf. v.1) adds to the arresting tone of the text. Whereas the expansive vision of "Trito-Isaiah" includes even the foreigners into house of the Lord (cf. 56:6-8), the unrelenting animosity towards Judah's nearest neighbor, Edom, takes a troubling story. The present project proposes that there is more to this text than mere violence and animosity. As the title of the thesis indicates, the inquiry engages two themes: the gory depiction and coming from Edom. A social identity reading begins by paying attention to the contested context of Third Isaiah, in which the chosen text resides. Building upon the growing scholarly consensus that dual relation (kindship and animosity) marks the Edom-Israel relationship, the proposed category-proximate "other"- is employed as a heuristic tool in order to highlight that Edom was Israel's persisting "other" which shared a permeable boundary with the former. As a result, ambivalence abounds in Israel's portrayal of Edom. The trajectory of the enquiry then moves from the larger Edom-Israel story to the three Isaian depictions of Edom (Isa 11;34;63). Finally, Isa 63:1-6 is read in the light of the delineated aspects (persisting category, permeable boundary, and ambivalence) of proximate "other." The proposed social identity reading not only grants the option of steering clear of an easily assumed decimation of Edom but also aids in reiterating the prophetic identity-reviving vision. An iconographic reading, on the other hand, engages the gory portrayals of the Coming One. Informed by the scholarly attestation that the Third Isaiah locus was a marginal context, the analysis pays particular attention to the descriptions of marginality in Isa 63:1-6. The setting, the two challenging questions, the depiction of the Trampling One, and the details of his action are all filled with such descriptions. As these details ("stooping," "without help," and "apalled [desolate]") can be correlated to the experiences of the exiles, the prophetic vision grants the scope of imagining the Arriving One as standing in solidarity with the once "stooped" exiles. Nonetheless, the descriptions of marginality make up only a part of the Isaian vision because the text also leaves behind other emphatic affirmations ("mighty" and "splendidly robed" cf. v.1; "alone" cf. v.3). And it is through these affirmations that the relegated voice of the divine reasserts itself and therein rests the hope of the margianl community's reclamation of its own correlated identity.