Africa and the Bible: Corrective Lenses—Critical Essays
Ebook
Overview
Africa and the Bible is a collection of essays about the African influence on and presence in the Old Testament, written over Gene Rice’s more than fifty years of scholarly service at Howard University School of Divinity. They focus on characters with African heritage such as Ebed-melech and Jehudi in Jeremiah, and the prophet Zephaniah himself, as well as dealing with texts that have been misinterpreted to the detriment of African-Americans such as the story of the curse of Canaan, in which Ham and all his dark-skinned descendants are the ones viewed as cursed. One article provides evidence that the original worshippers of YHWH may have been from the land of Kush! One of Rice’s earliest articles deals with the story of Joseph and relates it to Jim Crow; Rice finds in the story a model for racial reconciliation that is still relevant today. With a foreword by his colleague of many years, Cain Hope Felder, Professor of New Testament at Howard University School of Divinity, now retired, and a preface by Jonathan Rice, Gene Rice’s son, the book is a treasure-trove of carefully researched, thought-provoking articles, and a perfect supplement to be used alongside a Hebrew Bible textbook.
“The scholarship of Professor Gene Rice, in and out of the
classroom, has nurtured the biblical literacy of generations of
seminarians and shaped the scholarly vocation of biblical scholars
at the Howard University School of Divinity, myself among both
categories. It is profoundly gratifying to have his critical essays
collected and reintroduced for new generations of students and
scholars. I found these essays enlightening as a student and
foundational as a scholar; they are referenced among my current
work. While no collection could offer the unacquainted reader the
experience of being taught and mentored by this great man, his
sagacity and careful thoughtfulness come through his written word.
It is my pleasure to commend them to the reader.”
—Wil Gafney, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity
School
“Gene Rice has spent half of a century opening our eyes and minds
to a wellspring of literary treasures deeply embedded in biblical
antiquity, and powerfully enriching for those whose blessings of
Ebony Grace have been systemically occluded by scholarly prejudice,
and white hermeneutical arrogance. In his inimitable diligence and
passionate search for cultural liberation and spiritual truth, he
has carefully peeled back many of the presumed myopic
interpretations and layers of texts in the Hebrew Scriptures. These
interpretations have tended to preclude the liberating vistas of
divine embrace of African and other Ebony virtues, values, and
visions that have been channeled through the rich stories of the
pervasive African presence in Sacred Scripture. This volume
re-echoes that divine command: Fiat Lux!!”
—D. H. Kortright Davis, Professor of Theology, Howard University
School of Divinity
- Title: Africa and the Bible: Corrective Lenses—Critical Essays
- Authors: Gene Rice, Alice Ogden Bellis, Cain Hope Felder, Jonathan Rice
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532658679, 9781532658648, 9781532658662, 1532658672, 1532658648, 1532658664
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532658679
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T13:27:55Z
Gene Rice was Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature
at the Howard University School of Religion for over fifty years
until his retirement. He is the author of 1 Kings: Nations Under
God.