The Bible and Disability: A Commentary ed. by Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Bible and Disability: A Commentary ed. by Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong Kirsty Jones sarah j. melcher, mikeal c. parsons, and amos yong (eds.), The Bible and Disability: A Commentary (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability; Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017). Pp. xi + 498. Paper $59.95. The Bible and Disability: A Commentary is a welcome addition to Baylor University Press's series entitled Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability, with a lineup of veritable experts in the field. Covering a huge amount of material, the volume "addresses both disability and non-disability imagery in each book on a case-by-case basis" (p. 94). For biblical scholars, the book issues an invitation to consider familiar and forgotten texts anew, with honest and sensitive exegesis. The authors remain grounded in more traditional academic biblical scholarship while at the same time engaging broader, critical questions about disability. None of the chapters falls prey to the desire to redeem or sugar-coat a problematic text. This is most refreshing and speaks well of the exegesis in the book. Despite the range [End Page 759] of perspectives of the various authors, the book has overall cohesion and Melcher, Parsons, and Yong are to be commended for masterful editing. Many of the authors choose to look at how embodiment and impairment are part of being fully human. Some chapters could use a little more nuance to avoid falling into an overly simplistic, facile presentation of disability, but on the whole the emphasis on embodiment is a helpful, unifying theme throughout the book. Authors do not only focus on figures with disabilities and disability language but also consider broader questions of embodiment, the senses, creation, and empowerment. Authors grapple with significant themes of disability studies and introduce core concepts that are generally well explained for a nonspecialist audience (though an index of key terms might be helpful). Repeatedly, authors refer to the difference between disability and impairment, explaining these concepts and applying them to texts. This divide, however, is somewhat out of vogue in disability studies today, and it would be interesting to see what the ancient texts have to say that might support or refute the move away from this system. In general, the integration of disability and biblical studies gives a useful heuristic lens for exegesis of texts. The authors use multiple approaches and refer to multiple disciplines with great ease and success. It is a difficult task to discuss Hebrew and Greek grammar, versions and authorship, source criticism and contemporary legislation, disability poetry and anecdotes in adjacent sentences, but the authors do so with success. The articles in the collection are the following: Sarah J. Melcher, "Genesis and Exodus"; David Tabb Stewart, "Leviticus–Deuteronomy"; Jeremy Schipper, "Joshua–Second Kings"; Kerry H. Wynn, "First and Second Chronicles–Esther"; Sarah J. Melcher, "Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes"; Jennifer L. Koosed, "Psalms, Lamentations, and Song of Songs"; J. Blake Couey, "Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Twelve"; Candida R. Moss, "Mark and Matthew"; David F. Watson, "Luke–Acts"; Jaime Clark-Soles, "John, First–Third John, and Revelation"; Arthur J. Dewey and Anna C. Miller, "Paul"; and Martin C. Albl, "Hebrews and the Catholic Letters." In her commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Melcher looks at creation in the image of God and the foundation of the nation through males and females with disability. Setting the tone for the book, she undertakes a striking exposition of how being imago dei underscores the divine–human relationship with implications for disability and identity. Noting that language about disability is often used to refer to things other than disabled people's actual experiences, Schipper looks at how disability is used in a narrative framework, the link between disability and divine punishment, "disability as a deviation from the norm" (p. 94), and disability as a structuring device. Schipper is keenly aware of normate biases and highlights how nondisability is assigned to characters even when the text does not evidence this (a common normate tendency). Schipper must also be commended for helpfully integrating rabbinic sources into his chapter and reminding readers of the myriad traditions of reading these central texts. Koosed's analysis of Lamentations...