Jeremy Schipper

In recent years, students, scholars, and lay readers of the Bible have been increasingly drawn to the book of Ruth. Delving deeply into the complicated nature of its characters’ relationships, Jeremy Schipper encourages readers to consider the roles that categories of difference involving gender, disability, household status, ethnicity, and sexual desire play throughout the text. This fresh translation of the deceptively simple book is more literal and less idiosyncratic than its predecessors. Combining the traditional strengths of the Anchor Yale Bible series with the latest research in biblical scholarship, Schipper’s much-needed volume will succeed Edward F. Campbell’s 1975 edition as the go-to commentary for years to come.

Before Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King was identified with Moses, African Americans identified those who challenged racial oppression in America with Samson. In Black Samson: The Untold Story of an American Icon, Nyasha Junior and Jeremy Schipper tell the story of how this biblical character became an icon of African American literature. Along the way, Schipper and Junior introduce readers to a cast of historical characters-many of whom became American icons themselves-including Fredrick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton and others. From stories of slave rebellions to the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights era and the Black Power movement, invoking the biblical character of Samson became a powerful way for African American intellectuals, activists, and artists to voice strategies and opinions about race relations in America. As this provocative book reveals, the story of Black Samson became the story of our nation's contested racial history.

A timely and provocative account of the Bible’s role in one of the most consequential episodes in the history of slaveryOn July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt. While sentencing Vesey to death, Lionel Henry Kennedy, a magistrate at the trial, accused Vesey not only of treason but also of “attempting to pervert the sacred words of God into a sanction for crimes of the blackest hue.” Denmark Vesey’s Bible tells the story of this momentous trial, examining the role of scriptural interpretation in the deadly struggle against American white supremacy and its brutal enforcement. Jeremy Schipper brings the trial and its aftermath vividly to life, drawing on court documents, personal letters, sermons, speeches, and editorials. He shows how Vesey compared people of African descent with enslaved Israelites in the Bible, while his accusers portrayed plantation owners as benevolent biblical patriarchs responsible for providing religious instruction to the enslaved. What emerges is an explosive portrait of an antebellum city in the grips of racial terror, violence, and contending visions of biblical truth. Shedding light on the uses of scripture in America’s troubled racial history, Denmark Vesey’s Bible draws vital lessons from a terrible moment in the nation’s past, enabling us to confront racism and religious discord today with renewed urgency and understanding.

A timely and provocative account of the Bible’s role in one of the most consequential episodes in the history of slaveryOn July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt. While sentencing Vesey to death, Lionel Henry Kennedy, a magistrate at the trial, accused Vesey not only of treason but also of “attempting to pervert the sacred words of God into a sanction for crimes of the blackest hue.” Denmark Vesey’s Bible tells the story of this momentous trial, examining the role of scriptural interpretation in the deadly struggle against American white supremacy and its brutal enforcement. Jeremy Schipper brings the trial and its aftermath vividly to life, drawing on court documents, personal letters, sermons, speeches, and editorials. He shows how Vesey compared people of African descent with enslaved Israelites in the Bible, while his accusers portrayed plantation owners as benevolent biblical patriarchs responsible for providing religious instruction to the enslaved. What emerges is an explosive portrait of an antebellum city in the grips of racial terror, violence, and contending visions of biblical truth. Shedding light on the uses of scripture in America’s troubled racial history, Denmark Vesey’s Bible draws vital lessons from a terrible moment in the nation’s past, enabling us to confront racism and religious discord today with renewed urgency and understanding.

This book invites its readers to an exploration of some of the greatest theologians in Christian history through the lens of disability theology in order to understand how the Christian Church is intended to deal with the ever-evolving concept and reality that is the disabled human experience. This books brings together an account of the history of disability civil rights, beginning in the early twentieth century and evolving to the present day. It takes a look at some of the foremost theologians in Christian history as seen through the lens of disability theology, in order to help the reader gain an understanding of a diverse, unique, and ever-evolving culture. According to the CDC, as of 2015 approximately 53 million Americans live with some form of disability. This book attempts to offer a new way forward for the church to engage with this incredibly diverse, unique, and wonderful culture by offering first a brief introduction to the history of disability civil rights to allow the reader to understand and experience how many of the trends and forces that shape civil rights on a broad national level were present from the very beginning within the disabled community and the movement towards the ADA. Then, by exploring some of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, this book hopes to illuminate the ways in which the church has served those with disabilities well, and in many cases not so well, throughout its history. Finally, the book will close with a hopeful, optimistic, and yet practical way forward rooted in the concepts of hospitality, community, and mutuality that we call the Julian Way. ""The Julian Way brings a vision of community in which all the members are valued, and all forms of gifted-ness are incorporated into the whole. This vision allows all people to have pride in who they are and to fully experience self-worth within the context of the greater Christian community. Hancock brings the reader an historical and theological overview of the world of disability and calls for a new day of empowerment and grace."" --Peggy A. Johnson, Bishop, Philadelphia Area of the United Methodist Church ""This book is a beautiful and deeply thoughtful exploration of disability theology from a practitioner whose hard-won wisdom will increasingly impact the church in the years ahead. A must read for Christian leaders."" --Elaine A. Heath, Dean, Professor of Missional and Pastoral Theology, Duke University ""Religious leaders reading scriptures from an able-bodied perspective will in this deeply moving book find a more inclusive understanding of God's presence in the world. This book breaks new ground for religious communities to systematically reflect on the human rights of differently abled-persons and widens the knowledge base of the church to articulate a theology of a disabled and vulnerable God. Must read for disability and church studies."" --Harold J. Recinos, author of Breathing Space ""The Julian Way opened my eyes to see each person as a gift from God. The stories challenge the Church to see with new eyes those we consider handicapped. Every congregation needs to read this book before examining where and how God is calling them to make disciples of Jesus Christ in their community."" --D. Max Whitfield, Bishop in Residence, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University Rev. Justin Hancock is co-founder, with his wife Lisa, of the Julian Way, a ministry of community, advocacy, and empowerment for those with disabilities. He is also serving as the prior of the Epworth Project, a ministry of the Missional Wisdom Foundation in Dallas, Texas. He holds a MA in Christian Ministry from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.

This book invites its readers to an exploration of some of the greatest theologians in Christian history through the lens of disability theology in order to understand how the Christian Church is intended to deal with the ever-evolving concept and reality that is the disabled human experience. This books brings together an account of the history of disability civil rights, beginning in the early twentieth century and evolving to the present day. It takes a look at some of the foremost theologians in Christian history as seen through the lens of disability theology, in order to help the reader gain an understanding of a diverse, unique, and ever-evolving culture. According to the CDC, as of 2015 approximately 53 million Americans live with some form of disability. This book attempts to offer a new way forward for the church to engage with this incredibly diverse, unique, and wonderful culture by offering first a brief introduction to the history of disability civil rights to allow the reader to understand and experience how many of the trends and forces that shape civil rights on a broad national level were present from the very beginning within the disabled community and the movement towards the ADA. Then, by exploring some of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, this book hopes to illuminate the ways in which the church has served those with disabilities well, and in many cases not so well, throughout its history. Finally, the book will close with a hopeful, optimistic, and yet practical way forward rooted in the concepts of hospitality, community, and mutuality that we call the Julian Way.

Although disability imagery is ubiquitous in the Hebrew Bible, characters with disabilities are not. The presence of the former does not guarantee the presence of the later. While interpreters explain away disabilities in specific characters, they celebrate the rhetorical contributions that disability imagery makes to the literary artistry of biblical prose and poetry, often as a trope to describe the suffering or struggles of a presumably nondisabled person or community. This situation contributes to the appearance (or illusion) of a Hebrew Bible that uses disability as a rich literary trope while disavowing the presence of figures or characters with disabilities. Isaiah 53 provides a wonderful example of this dynamic at work. The "Suffering Servant" figure in Isaiah 53 has captured the imagination of readers since very early in the history of biblical interpretation. Most interpreters understand the servant as an otherwise able bodied person who suffers. By contrast, Jeremy Schipper's study shows that Isaiah 53 describes the servant with language and imagery typically associated with disability in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern literature. Informed by recent work in disability studies from across the humanities, it traces both the disappearance of the servant's disability from the interpretative history of Isaiah 53 and the scholarly creation of the able bodied suffering servant.

Although disability imagery is ubiquitous in the Hebrew Bible, characters with disabilities are not. The presence of the former does not guarantee the presence of the later. While interpreters explain away disabilities in specific characters, they celebrate the rhetorical contributions that disability imagery makes to the literary artistry of biblical prose and poetry, often as a trope to describe the suffering or struggles of a presumably nondisabled person or community. This situation contributes to the appearance (or illusion) of a Hebrew Bible that uses disability as a rich literary trope while disavowing the presence of figures or characters with disabilities. Isaiah 53 provides a wonderful example of this dynamic at work. The "Suffering Servant" figure in Isaiah 53 has captured the imagination of readers since very early in the history of biblical interpretation. Most interpreters understand the servant as an otherwise able bodied person who suffers. By contrast, Jeremy Schipper's study shows that Isaiah 53 describes the servant with language and imagery typically associated with disability in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern literature. Informed by recent work in disability studies from across the humanities, it traces both the disappearance of the servant's disability from the interpretative history of Isaiah 53 and the scholarly creation of the able bodied suffering servant.

This unique interdisciplinary book uses a fresh approach to explore issues of disability in the Hebrew Bible. It examines how disability functions in the David Story (1 Samuel 16; 1 Kings 2) by paying special attention to Mephibosheth, the only biblical character with a disability as a sustained character trait. The David Story contains some of the Bible's most striking images of disability. Nonetheless, interpreters tend to focus on legal material rather than narratives when studying disability in the Hebrew Bible. Often, they neglect the David Story's complex use of disability. They overlook its use of disability imagery as open to critical interpretation because its stereotypical meanings may seem so commonplace and transparent. Yet recent work in the burgeoning field of disability studies presents disability as a complicated motif that demands more critical engagement than it typically receives. Informed by exciting developments in the field, it argues that the David Story employs disability imagery as a subtle mode of narrating and organizing various ideological positions regarding national identity.

Parables and Conflict in the Hebrew Bible examines the intimate relationship between parables and conflict in the Hebrew Bible. Challenging the scholarly consensus, Jeremy Schipper argues that parables do not function as appeals to change their audience's behavior. Nor do they serve to diffuse tensions in regards to the various conflicts in which their audiences are involved. Rather, the parables function to help create, intensify, and justify judgments and hostile actions against their audiences. In order to examine how the parables accomplish these functions, this book pays particular attention to issues of genre and recent developments in genre theory, shifting the central issues in the interpretation of Hebrew Bible parables.