Postcolonialism and the Bible: An Introduction

Postcolonial Biblical criticism has emerged as a major field of study in the last twenty-five years and has influenced conversations in biblical studies in significant ways. The postcolonial lens has brought the context of Empire in which the Bible was formed and the various ways in which biblical texts not only respond to their biblical milieu but were also shaped by them to the fore.

The book examines the origin, impact and relevance of the growing field of postcolonial biblical studies, calling attention to the legacies associated with the Bible and the challenges for reading it today. Beginning with the arrival of postcolonial criticism into the field of biblical studies, Nadella and Vernyl Davidson reveal how these issues have challenged presumptions made by Western biblical scholars and how postcolonial criticism can be related to contemporary biblical studies. In addition to the overview of the field, new topics including sexuality and ecological studies are addressed, enabling the reader to understand the Bible's role in the history of empire as well as its contribution to contemporary attempts to loosen the grip of academic imperial thought.