The Bible and Disability: A Commentary (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability)

515 Pages·2017·14.36 MB·English

by  Sarah J. Melcher (editor), Mikeal C. Parsons (editor), Amos Yong (editor)

THE B IB L E AND
D ISA B IL IT Y
A COMMENTARY
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“For many readers, this collection of fine essays will constitute a steep
learning curve for seeing what we had not seen in the text, and think­
ing what we had not thought as a result of new seeing. The writers
and editors are to be congratulated on this impressive and instructive
study.”
—Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters
Professor of Old Testament Emeritus,
Columbia Theological Seminary
“The Bible and Disability: A Commentary offers groundbreaking work
in linking two distinct areas of scholarship: biblical studies and dis­
ability studies. The authors read the Bible’s narratives, oracles, and
letters while asking how the categories of ‘temporarily abled,’ ‘ill,’
‘possessed,’ and others are framed in Scripture. Their overriding
question is: what counts for ‘normal’ human experience in the Bible?
Anyone interested in the fields of biblical studies and disability studies
will need to engage with this volume.”
—Kathryn Greene-McCreight, author of
Darkness Is My Only Companion:
A Christian Response to Mental Illness
“This commentary consolidates much of the wisdom on offer in
recent disability studies approaches to the Bible. It will offer an espe­
cially helpful resource for readers—whether temporarily able-bodied
or not—who are not yet familiar with this way of engaging Scripture.
This is a welcome addition to my library.”
—John Carroll, Harriet Robertson Fitts
Memorial Professor of New Testament,
Union Presbyterian Seminary
SRID
STUDIES IN RELIGION, THEOLOGY, AND DISABILITY
SERIES EDITORS
Sarah /. Melcher
Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
and
Amos Yong
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California
The Bible and Disability
A Commentary
Sarah J. Melcher
Mikeal C. Parsons
Amos Yong
Editors
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS
© 2017 by Baylor University Press
Waco, Texas 76798
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission
in writing of Baylor University Press.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Kristi Shuey
Cover image: Ethiopian Eunuch, serigraph, by Paul Goodnight. Used with
permission of the artist.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Melcher, Sarah J., editor. I Parsons, Mikeal C. (Mikeal Carl), 1957-,
editor. I Yong, Amos, editor.
Title: The Bible and disability : a commentary / Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C.
Parsons, and Amos Yong, editors.
Description: Waco, Texas : Baylor University Press, [2017] I Series: Studies in
religion, theology, and disability I Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017003706 (print) I LCCN 2017027034 (ebook) I
ISBN 9781481307291 (ePub) I ISBN 9781481307307 (ebook-Mobi/Kindle) I
ISBN 9781602586222 (web PDF) I ISBN 9781602586215 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: People with disabilities in the Bible.
Classification: LCC BS680.P435 (ebook) I LCC BS680.P435 D56 2017 (print) I
DDC 220.8/3624—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017003706
Series Introduction
Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability brings newly established
and emerging scholars together to explore issues at the intersection of
religion, theology, and disability. The series editors encourage theoretical
engagement with secular disability studies while supporting the reexam­
ination of established religious doctrine and practice. The series fosters
research that takes account of the voices of people with disabilities and the
voices of their family and friends.
The volumes in the series address issues and concerns of the global reli­
gious studies / theological studies academy. Authors come from a variety of
religious traditions with diverse perspectives to reflect on the intersection of
the study of religion/theology and the human experience of disability. This
series is intentional about seeking out and publishing books that engage
with disability in dialogue with Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or other reli­
gious and philosophical perspectives.
Themes explored include religious life, ethics, doctrine, proclamation,
liturgical practices, physical space, spirituality, and the interpretation of
sacred texts through the lens of disability. Authors in the series are aware
of conversation in the field of disability studies and bring that discussion
to bear methodologically and theoretically in their analyses at the intersec­
tion of religion and disability.
Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability reflects the follow­
ing developments in the field: First, the emergence of disability studies
as an interdisciplinary endeavor that has had an impact on theological
studies, broadly defined. More and more scholars are deploying disability
VI SERIES INTRODUCTION
perspectives in their work, and this applies also to those working in the
theological academy. Second, there is a growing need for critical reflection
on disability in world religions. While books from a Christian standpoint
have dominated the discussion at the interface of religion and disability
so far, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu scholars, among those from
other religious traditions, have begun to resource their own religious tra­
ditions to rethink disability in the twenty-first century. Third, passage of
the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States has raised the
consciousness of the general public about the importance of critical reflec­
tion on disability in religious communities. General and intelligent lay
readers are looking for scholarly discussions of religion and disability as
these bring together and address two of the most important existential
aspects of human lives. Fourth, the work of activists in the disability rights
movement has mandated fresh critical reflection by religious practitioners
and theologians. Persons with disabilities remain the most disaffected
group from religious organizations. Fifth, government representatives in
several countries have prioritized the greater social inclusion of persons
with disabilities. Disability policy often proceeds from core cultural and
worldview assumptions that are religiously informed. Work at the inter­
face of religion and disability thus could have much broader purchase in
social, economic, political, and legal domains.
Under the general topic of thoughtful reflection on the religious
understanding of disability, Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability
includes shorter crisply argued volumes that articulate a bold vision within
a field; longer scholarly monographs, more fully developed and meticu­
lously documented, with the same goal of engaging wider conversations;
textbooks that provide a state of the discussion at this intersection and
chart constructive ways forward; and select edited volumes that achieve
one or more of the preceding goals.
Contents
Preface ix
Introduction 1
Sarah /. Melcher
BEGINNINGS
1 Genesis and Exodus 29
Sarah J. Melcher
LAW
2 Leviticus—Deuteronomy 57
David Tabb Stewart
HISTORY
3 Joshua—Second Kings 93
Jeremy Schipper
4 First and Second Chronicles-Esther 121
Kerry H. Wynn
WISDOM
5 Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes 159
Sarah )’ Melcher
6 Psalms, Lamentations, and Song of Songs 189
Jennifer L. Koosed
vii
viii CONTENTS
PROPHETS
7 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Twelve 215
/. Blaf^e Couey
SYNOPTIC GOSPELS AND ACTS
8 Mark and Matthew 275
Candida R. Moss
9 Luke—Acts 303
David F. Watson
JOHANNINE LITERATURE
10 John, First-Third John, and Revelation 333
Jaime Clar\-Soles
PAULINE LETTERS
11 Paul 379
Arthur ]. Dewey and Anna C. Miller
THE GENERAL LETTERS
12 Hebrews and the Catholic Letters 427
Martin C. Albl
Contributors 459
Scripture and Ancient Literature Index 461
Author Index 484
Subject Index 489
Preface
In 2011, upon successfully launching the Studies in Religion, Theology,
and Disability series with Baylor University Press, the series editors
(Melcher, a Hebrew Bible scholar, and Yong, a systematician) immedi­
ately began to discuss the possibility of the commentary you hold in your
hands. Upon securing an additional set of perspectives (Parsons, a New
Testament scholar), we wrestled with how to conceptualize the volume. A
traditional verse-by-verse commentary seemed out of the question, even
as it seemed impossible that we might be able to generate hermeneutical
and methodological consensus on how to proceed given the diversity of
subject positions, disciplinary expertise, ecclesial/religious commitments,
and scholarly preferences that existed at the intersection where biblical
studies and disability studies met. In the end we sought to combine some
of the best features of existing perspectivally produced commentaries—for
example, Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, and Jacqueline E. Lapsley,
The Womens Bible Commentary, 3rd ed., revised and updated (Louisville,
Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2012), and Brian K. Blount et al., True to Our
Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary (Minneap­
olis: Fortress, 2007)—but yet to give our contributors the freedom, within
certain parameters, to prosecute their task. That meant that we proceeded
to invite biblical scholars trained in specific genres or certain segments of
the scriptural traditions but who had already deployed disability studies
perspective in their interpretive and exegetical work.
Our invitation stipulated that each contributor would have the
°pportunity to begin with an introduction that developed the specific
IX