The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters
John W Morehead editor Brandon R Grafius editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:18th Aug '25
Should be back in stock very soon
The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters brings together the work of world-renowned scholars in Bible, theology, religion, and cultural studies to explore the monsters that rampage through the biblical text. Essays provide in-depth analysis of the Ancient Near Eastern background of these creatures, explore how they have continued to live on after the biblical text, and discuss how they remain impactful through art and literature today. The chapters not only study where monsters came from, but continually focus on what they mean, and how these meanings are generated. These chapters work to bridge the perspectives of traditional scholarship and more postmodern ideas of monsters as cultural and rhetorical constructions. There are chapters on the Ghosts of Mesopotamia, Leviathan, and the Giants, but also on the Monstrous Jew in the Gospels and the Monstrosity of the Crucifixion. They serve both as foundational pieces of research for scholars looking to familiarize themselves with monsters and discourses of monstrosity, but also as creative and provocative examinations of how these monsters generate meaning. While working to summarize the research that has been done on biblical monsters up to the present day, this Handbook points the way forward towards new and exciting studies in unnatural creatures and the rhetoric of horror.
The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters offers a significant contribution to the study of monstrous figures in biblical traditions and their receptions. Situated within the renewed interest in the study of the "monster" in the humanities-at the intersection of biblical exegesis, cultural studies, literary theory, and monster studies-this edited volume provides an ambitious mapping of the monstrous creatures that inhabit biblical and parabiblical texts. The work is not limited to a descriptive inventory; rather, it examines the symbolic, theological, political, and anthropological functions of monstrosity. * Sébastien Doane, Laval théologique et philosophique *
The volume demonstrates the deep potential of monster theory as articulated by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, a methodological touchstone for many of its contributors, as are the theses on horror and the Bible by one of its editors, Brandon Grafius. ...it is undoubtedly a successful contribution to the burgeoning "monstrous turn" in the field that any scholar or student drawn to the monstrous will enjoy reading. * Matthew Goff, Review of Biblical Literature *
...this is a wonderful reader on monsters and the Bible (and modern culture). This volume would certainly be useful in undergraduate courses on monstrosity, monsters and religion, and similar courses. * Jacques Parker, Religious Studies Review *
ISBN: 9780197565056
Dimensions: 239mm x 180mm x 38mm
Weight: 930g
480 pages