The Postcolonial Biblical Reader

This wide-ranging Reader provides a comprehensive survey of the interaction between postcolonial criticism and biblical studies.

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• Examines how various empires such as the Persian and Roman affected biblical narratives.
  
• Demonstrates how different biblical writers such as Paul, Matthew and Mark handled the challenges of empire.
  
• Includes examples of the practical application of postcolonial criticism to biblical texts.
  
• Considers contemporary issues such as diaspora, race, representation and territory.
  
• Editorial commentary draws out the key points to be made and creates a coherent narrative.

List of Contributors viii

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1
R. S. Sugirtharajah

Part I: Theoretical Practices 3

Introduction: Theoretical Practices 5
R. S. Sugirtharajah

1 Charting the Aftermath: A Review of Postcolonial Criticism 7
R. S. Sugirtharajah

2 Biblical Criticism and Postcolonial Studies: Toward a Postcolonial Optic 33
Fernando F. Segovia

3 Making the Connections: Postcolonial Studies and Feminist Biblical Interpretation 45
Kwok Pui-lan

Part II: Empires Old and New 65

Introduction: Empires Old and New 67
R. S. Sugirtharajah

4 Renewal Movements and Resistance to Empire in Ancient Judea 69
Richard A. Horsley

5 Postcolonialism and Imperial Motives for Canonization 78
Jon L. Berquist

6 Roman Imperialism and Early Christian Scribality 96
Werner H. Kelber

7 Desiring War: Apocalypse, Commodity Fetish, and the End of History 112
Erin Runions

Part III: Empire and Exegesis 129

Introduction: Empire and Exegesis 131
R. S. Sugirtharajah

8 The Implications of the Text of Esther for African Women’s Struggle for Liberation in South Africa 134
Itumeleng J. Mosala

9 Rahab Says Hello to Judith: A Decolonizing Feminist Reading 142
Musa W. Dube

10 The Sign of Orpah: Reading Ruth through Native Eyes 159
Laura E. Donaldson

11 On Naming the Subject: Postcolonial Reading of Daniel 1 171
Philip Chia

12 Decolonizing Yahweh: A Postcolonial Reading of 2 Kings 24–25 186
Kari Latvus

13 Mark and Empire: ‘‘Zealot’’ and ‘‘Postcolonial’’ Readings 193
Stephen D. Moore

14 Tyranny, Boundary, and Might: Colonial Mimicry in Mark’s Gospel 206
Tat-siong Benny Liew

15 Maori ‘‘Jews’’ and a Resistant Reading of John 5.10–47 224
Mary Huie-Jolly

16 God at the Crossroads: A Postcolonial Reading of Sophia 238
Mayra Rivera

Part IV: Postcolonial Concerns 255

Introduction: Postcolonial Concerns 257
R. S. Sugirtharajah

17 How Local Divine Powers were Suppressed: A Case of Mwari of the Shona 259
Dora R. Mbuwayesango

18 Cutchery Tamil versus Pure Tamil: Contesting Language Use in the Translated Bible in the Early Nineteenth-Century Protestant Tamil Community 269
Hephzibah Israel

19 Canonization and Marginalization: Mary of Magdala 284
Karen L. King

20 Exodus-toward-Egypt: Filipino-Americans’ Struggle to Realize the Promised Land in America 291
Eleazar S. Fernandez

Index of Biblical References 305

Index of Names and Subjects 313

"This book, edited by one of the foremost proponents of postcolonial biblical criticism, will provide a useful entrée into this important area of study and a representative and wide-ranging selection of essays with which to engage." (Journal for the Study of the New Testament) R. S. Sugirtharajah is Professor of Biblical Hermeneutics at the University of Birmingham. Prior to his current appointment, he was Senior Lecturer in Third World Theologies at Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham. His previous publications include Postcolonial Reconfigurations (2003), Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation (2002), The Bible and the Third World (2001), and The Bible and Empire: Postcolonial Explorations (2005). This wide-ranging readerprovides an extensive survey of the interaction between postcolonial criticism and biblical studies.

The readings illustrate the relevance of postcolonial criticism to biblical studies. They examine how various past empires such as those of Persia and Rome affected the narratives of the Bible, how different biblical writers handled the challenges of empire, and show how such modern empires as those of Britain, Russia, and America have affected interpretation. Theyalso include illuminating examples of the practical application of postcolonial criticism to biblical texts, and explore major preoccupations of postcolonialism, such as migration, representation, and the politics of translation.

The volume will be essential reading for those interested in the contemporary debate surrounding the Bible and critical theory, and for those interested in empire.