1st Edition

Power and Responsibility in Biblical Interpretation Reading the Book of Job with Edward Said

By Alissa Jones Nelson Copyright 2012
    272 Pages
    by Routledge

    270 Pages
    by Routledge

    'Power and Responsibility in Biblical Interpretation' addresses the interpretive challenges now facing much biblical interpretation. Incorporating the methodologies of poststructuralism, postcolonialism, and liberation theology, the study presents a possible methodology which integrates scholarly and vernacular hermeneutics. The approach is based on the theories of Edward Said, adapting his concept of contrapuntal reading to the interpretation of 'Job'. The book sets this study in the broader context of a survey of current work in the field. The analysis of 'Job' examines the possibilities for dialogue between those interpretations that view suffering as a key theme in the book and those that do not. Interpretations of the 'Book of Job' are then compared to the psychology of suffering as experienced in various contexts today. The conclusion argues for pedagogical reform based upon the ethical and interpretive insights of contrapuntal hermeneutics.

    Introduction; Part 1; Chapter 1 A Brief Introduction to Edward W. Said: A Review of Said’s Concepts of Subjectivity, Power, Intellectual Responsibility, and the Secular; Chapter 2 Reading Contrapuntally: Adapting Said’s Concept of Contrapuntal Reading to the Field of Biblical Hermeneutics; Chapter 3 Attempting to Bridge the Gap: A Review of Contemporary Efforts to Integrate Academic and Vernacular Voices in Biblical Hermeneutics; Part 2 Interlude: Why Job?; Chapter 4 A Joban Fugue: Addressing the Issue of Suffering in the Book of Job with Gerhard Von Rad and Gustavo Gutiérrez; Chapter 5 Psychology, Physiology, Society, and Spirituality: Interpreting Job with Insight from Psychological and HIV-Positive Perspectives; Chapter 6 The Integration of Chaos and Order: Exploring Asian Interpretations of the Book of Job; conclusion; Conclusion;

    Biography

    Alissa Jones Nelson completed her doctorate at the University of St Andrews in 2009. Her recent publications focus on the intersections of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and contemporary socio-political issues such as globalization, pedagogy and sexuality as well as the use of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in popular culture.