Groundbreaking and inspiring, this book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Asian feminist biblical criticism. It is a gift to the Asian churches and to the theological community. I highly recommend it to all who search for biblical insights to empower women and men to work for justice. --- Kwok Pui-lan, Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University This is a superb collection of the different approaches of feminist biblical scholars in Asia. I found it invigorating and thought-provoking to learn about the multiple ways in which Asian feminists made their "exodus" from Western biblical studies to interpret this foundational text in their own unique contexts. --- Gale A. Yee, Nancy W. King Professor of Biblical Studies Emerita, Episcopal Divinity School This collection of essays by mostly younger Asian biblical scholars is a welcome addition to a small but growing body of Asian feminist studies. The diversity of perspectives, methodologies and creative interpretations makes it an ideal introductory text for anyone wishing to learn more about Asian feminism. --- Simon Chan, Editor, Asia Journal of Theology

Exploring the Old Testament in Asia is the first evangelical Old Testament textbook written both from and for an Asian cultural context. Rooted in the theological conviction that God still speaks through the Old Testament in all its fullness, the twelve essays in this book address key theological issues pertinent to the diverse cultures and contexts of Asia. Touching on topics from polytheism and kinship bonds to Scripture translation and the biblical conception of wisdom, the writers position themselves in conversation with Asia’s rich spiritual, cultural, and literary heritage. The result is a theological contribution that is both contextually relevant and biblically faithful.

Christianity is often viewed in Asia as a Western imposition. Challenging this, Dr. Jerry Hwang examines the Old Testament’s cultural engagement of its ancient Near Eastern context, arguing that Scripture itself provides the ultimate model for contextualizing theology in Asia. While it is common for missiological studies to ignore the Old Testament in their discussion of contextualization, truly biblical contextualization must include the whole Bible, not simply the New Testament. This study provides insightful discourse between the Old Testament and various Asian contexts, while demonstrating how Asian perspectives can help overcome the Eurocentrism prevalent in Old Testament scholarship. This is an ideal resource for scholars and practitioners interested in a biblical perspective of contextualization, especially as related to constructing theology that honors the truth of Scripture in the context of Asia.

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.

This contextual biblical reading of Luke 18:18–30 (the encounter between Jesus and the rich ruler) foregrounds the political and economic context of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). The reading carefully explores the biblical text’s context, an exploration that includes looking at specific intertextual sources and engaging scholars from Asian and African contexts. The reading is then applied to a contextual biblical approach to poverty in Samoan society. The contextual biblical reading resituates the ruler in the Lukan narrative within the context of the household and the institutional constraints of its ecological environment. The theoretical framework for the contextual biblical reading is guided by the Samoan proverb seu le manu ae taga’i ile galu (catch the bird and watch the wave), symbolizing responsibility and restraint in biblical interpretation. At the end of the contextual biblical reading, a new way of reading Luke is presented, and three broad propositions are suggested for further consideration. The main argument of this deep contextual reading of the Lukan passage is that the rich ruler offers a different form of “following,” which is possible by “living responsibly with wealth.”

Theologies are constructed in and from lived contexts, and contexts are shaped by borders. While borders are barriers, they are also steppingstones for crossing over and invitations for moving further. This book offers theological and cultural reflections from the intersections of borders (real and imagined), bodies (physical, cultural, religious, ideological, political), and voices (that endorse as well as talk back). With and in the interests of natives and migrants, the authors of this book embrace bordered bodies and stir bothered voices. The essays are divided into four overlapping clusters that express the shared drives between the authors--Noble borders: some borders are not experienced as constricting because they are seen as noble; Negotiating bodies: bodies constantly negotiate and relocate borders; Troubling voices: bothered voices cannot be muted or silenced; Riotous bodies: embracing the wisdom in and of rejected and wounded bodies is a riot that this book invites. The authors engage their subjects out of their experiences as migrants and natives. This book is thus a step toward--and an invitation for more work on--migrant and native theologies.

Tremper Longman has studied and taught the Old Testament and its interpretation for four decades. Now, in a planned three-book project, he presents his mature thoughts on the essentials of Old Testament interpretation. This first volume explores the importance of reading the Old Testament as literature. We need to recognize that each culture tells its stories and writes its poems in different ways. To read and understand the Old Testament texts the way the ancient authors intended, we need to be aware of the conventions of Hebrew storytelling and poetry. In part one, dealing with literary theory, Longman investigates how texts create meaning, the history of the study of the Old Testament as literature, and how genre dictates reading strategy. He explores the Hebrew conventions of both narrative and poetry in conversation with contemporary literary analysis. Part two delves into practice, using the tools gained in part one to look at and interpret a variety of Old Testament narratives and poetry. Longman's accessible writing and balanced judgments make this book suitable for the classroom and the church.