Disability in the Hebrew Bible

Saul M. Olyan is Samuel Ungerleider Jr. Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University. His previous publications include: Biblical Mourning: Ritual and Social Dimensions (2004), Rites and Rank: Hierarchy in Biblical Representations of Cult (2000), A Thousand Thousands Served Him: Exegesis and the Naming of Angels in Ancient Judaism (1993), and Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel (1988). He has contributed to, and served as editor of, various journals and publications in the areas of biblical literature and ancient religions.

• Introduction; 1. Constructions of beauty and ugliness; 2. Physical disabilities classified as 'defects'; 3. Physical disabilities not classified as 'defects'; 4. Mental disability; 5. Disability in the prophetic Utopian vision; 6. Non-somatic parallels to bodily wholeness and 'defect'; 7. Exegetical perpetuations, elaborations and transformations: the case of Qumran; 8. Conclusion.

'[Olyan's] book is an important contribution and deserves full attention.' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Book List 2009