Perspectives on Nature and Environmental Ethics in the Hebrew Bible
edited by Johannes Unsok Ro, Kevin Chau, Mari Joerstad and William R. Stewart
Paperback (Published)
(November 2025)
ISBN: 9783161643385
6.06 x 9.09 inches
Price: $124.00
In stock
~ENG~The contributors to this volume critically reassess biblical texts through ecological and interdisciplinary lenses and demonstrate how the Bible can influence ethical discourses on sustainability, justice, and environmental responsibility today.
English summary: The contributors to this volume explore how the Hebrew Bible can inform contemporary ecological thought. In response to Lynn White Jr.’s 1967 thesis – accusing the Judeo-Christian tradition of fostering environmental degradation – they analyze key biblical texts through ecological hermeneutics, posthumanist theory, and comparative theology. Organized into three parts – Memory Studies, Comparative Studies, and Case Studies – the volume brings together perspectives from biblical studies, environmental theology, classical philosophy, and cultural memory theory. The contributors engage with texts from Genesis to the Prophets and post-exilic literature, drawing connections to Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, and early Christian thought. They investigate diverse hermeneutical frameworks, including theocentric and geocentric interpretations, and highlight themes such as the agency of non-human creation, covenantal models involving the Earth, and poetic visions of ecological justice. These analyses reveal that the Hebrew Bible contains complex, and at times contradictory, portrayals of the human-nature relationship. The contributors to this volume advance ecological biblical interpretation and demonstrate how ancient texts can shape ethical discourses on sustainability, justice, and environmental responsibility today. German description: Die Beitrager dieses Bandes bringen internationale und interdisziplinare Perspektiven auf die Hebraische Bibel mit aktuellen Fragen der Umweltethik ins Gesprach. Sie setzen sich mit der seit Lynn White Jr. kontrovers diskutierten These auseinander, der zufolge die judisch-christliche Tradition eine zentrale Rolle im Anthropozentrismus der Moderne spiele, und untersuchen einschlagige biblische Texte unter Einbezug okologischer Hermeneutik, kulturwissenschaftlicher Erinnerungstheorie und vergleichender Theologie. In drei thematischen Teilen – Memory Studies, Comparative Studies und Case Studies – analysieren sie Texte von Genesis bis zu den Propheten, beleuchten das Verhaltnis zur altorientalischen, griechisch-romischen und fruhchristlichen Umwelt und heben oft ubersehene okologische Motive hervor. Die Beitrager diskutieren unter anderem Bundeskonzepte, die die Erde mit einschliessen, die Wirksamkeit nichtmenschlicher Akteure sowie Spannungsverhaltnisse zwischen Schopfung und Herrschaft. Neben theozentrischen und geozentrischen Deutungen werden auch animistische und posthumanistische Ansatze fruchtbar gemacht. Als Beitrag zur okologischen Bibelhermeneutik wird aufgezeigt, wie altorientalische Vorstellungen von Natur und Verantwortung in die gegenwartige Debatte um Nachhaltigkeit hineinwirken konnen.
"~ENG~Johannes Unsok Ro, Mari Joerstad, Kevin Chau, and William R. Stewart: Introduction: Perspectives on Nature and Environmental Ethics in the Hebrew Bible Part I: Memory Studies Raymond F. Person, Jr.: Down in the Dirt with Deuteronomy: A Pig Farmer Reflects on Writing a Commentary - Daniel Bodi: The Living Waters Flowing from the Jerusalem Temple Regenerating and Healing the World - Johannes Unsok Ro and William R. Stewart: ""Give Ear, O Heavens, and I Will Speak"": Cultural Memory and the Non-Human Creation in Deuteronomy Part II: Comparative Studies Eckart Otto: Nature, Law and Dominion as the Key to an Environmental Ethics in Ancient Oriental Mythology, Biblical Theology and Greek Philosophy - Thomas Romer: How Much Did the Crisis of 587 BCE Trigger an Interest in Environmental Questions? A Comparison between the Deuteronomistic History and the Priestly Code - Yoshinori Sano: Ethical Functions of the Earth in Hesiod's Epic in Comparison with the Functions of the Earth in Genesis 1-6 - Thomas D. McGlothlin: The Anthropocentrism of Theophilus of Antioch Part III: Case Studies Mari Joerstad: I Have Healed These Waters: The Works of Elisha and Animism - Kevin Chau: Brotherly Nature and Nature Metaphors in Jacob's Farewell Poem - Laurie J. Braaten: Earth as Good Neighbor in Habakkuk ~GER~Johannes Unsok Ro, Mari Joerstad, Kevin Chau, and William R. Stewart: Introduction: Perspectives on Nature and Environmental Ethics in the Hebrew Bible Part I: Memory Studies Raymond F. Person, Jr.: Down in the Dirt with Deuteronomy: A Pig Farmer Reflects on Writing a Commentary - Daniel Bodi: The Living Waters Flowing from the Jerusalem Temple Regenerating and Healing the World - Johannes Unsok Ro and William R. Stewart: ""Give Ear, O Heavens, and I Will Speak"": Cultural Memory and the Non-Human Creation in Deuteronomy Part II: Comparative Studies Eckart Otto: Nature, Law and Dominion as the Key to an Environmental Ethics in Ancient Oriental Mythology, Biblical Theology and Greek Philosophy - Thomas Romer: How Much Did the Crisis of 587 BCE Trigger an Interest in Environmental Questions? A Comparison between the Deuteronomistic History and the Priestly Code - Yoshinori Sano: Ethical Functions of the Earth in Hesiod's Epic in Comparison with the Functions of the Earth in Genesis 1-6 - Thomas D. McGlothlin: The Anthropocentrism of Theophilus of Antioch Part III: Case Studies Mari Joerstad: I Have Healed These Waters: The Works of Elisha and Animism - Kevin Chau: Brotherly Nature and Nature Metaphors in Jacob's Farewell Poem - Laurie J. Braaten: Earth as Good Neighbor in Habakkuk "
- Edited by Kevin Chau
- Edited by Mari Joerstad
- Edited by Johannes Unsok Ro
- Edited by William R Stewart
Other Titles in this Series
The Feasts of the Calendar in the Book of Numbers
Num 28:16-30:1 in the Light of Related Biblical Texts and Some Ancient Sources of 200 BCE-100 CE
Volume 132
Monotheism in Late Prophetic and Early Apocalyptic Literature
Studies of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Research Group on Early Jewish Monotheism Vol. III
Volume 72
Post-Priestly Additions and Rewritings in Exodus 35-40
An Analysis of MT, LXX, and Vetus Latina
Volume 119
Texts, Contexts and Readings in Postexilic Literature
Explorations into Historiography and Identity Negotiation in Hebrew Bible and Related Texts
Rereading the relecture?
The Question of (Post)chronistic Influence in the Latest Redactions of the Books of Samuel
Volume 66
But the Wise Shall Understand
Reuse of Prophecies, Chronotope, and Merging of Eschatological Horizons in Daniel 10-12
Kronerben der Weisheit
Gott, Konig und Frommer in der didaktischen Literatur Agyptens und Israels
Volume 20
Inscribe It in a Book
Scribal Practice, Cultural Memory, and the Making of the Hebrew Scriptures
Volume 139
Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers
Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
The Translation Style of Old Greek Habakkuk
Methodological Advancement in Interpretative Studies of the Septuagint
Volume 86
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