Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 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 Nonsomatic Parallels to Bodily Wholeness and “Defect”
- 7 Exegetical Perpetuations, Elaborations, and Transformations: The Case of Qumran
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Subject Index
- Biblical and Non-Biblical Citation Index
5 - Disability in the Prophetic Utopian Vision
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 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 Nonsomatic Parallels to Bodily Wholeness and “Defect”
- 7 Exegetical Perpetuations, Elaborations, and Transformations: The Case of Qumran
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Subject Index
- Biblical and Non-Biblical Citation Index
Summary
Visions of an ideal future are not uncommon in biblical prophetic anthologies. Whether in response to a troubled past in which Israel has transgressed and been punished by Yhwh, often through the agency of foreign powers, or in reaction to a present characterized by the loss of central institutions such as the land, the monarchy, and the temple cult, or on account of the threat of impending disaster, prophetic utopian visions present a very different kind of reality. Mapping a world of ideal relations not infrequently characterized both by the restoration of things lost and by the creation of a novel reality never before seen, such visions give us some insight into an author's notions of what a model world might look like. In this chapter, I investigate the role of disability in the prophetic utopian vision. Although disability plays no role in some utopian visions, it is central to others. Some prophetic texts speak of a utopian future of changed circumstances for disabled persons in which they are able to accomplish uncharacteristic feats such as participation in plunder during wartime or making a long, arduous journey without difficulty, or in which restrictions on their involvement in the cult are eliminated. Other passages envision the physical transformation of persons with disabilities such as blindness and deafness into persons who can see and hear, with some texts even representing disabled persons becoming persons with abilities that exceed those of the average human being.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Disability in the Hebrew BibleInterpreting Mental and Physical Differences, pp. 78 - 92Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
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