Brent A. Strawn

Izaak J. de Hulster

Ryan P. Bonfiglio

Iconographic exegesis combines the study of biblical texts (exegesis) with the study of ancient expressions of visual art (iconography).Studying ancient visual art that is contemporary with the documents of the Old Testament gives remarkable insight, not only on the meaning and historical context of the biblical text, but also because it facilitates greater understanding of how the ancient authors and audiences saw, thought, and made sense of the world. Iconography thus merits close attention as another avenue that can lead to a more nuanced and more complete understanding of the biblical text.Each chapter of this book provides an exegesis of a particular biblical text or theme. The book is organized around the tripartite structure of the Hebrew Bible, and demonstrates that iconographical exegesis is pertinent to "every nook and cranny" of the Bible.Within the three parts, there is special emphasis on Genesis, Isaiah, and the Psalms in order to make the book attractive for classes that deal with one or more of these books and might therefore include an iconographic perspective.In addition to connecting with a major issue in biblical interpretation, theology, or visual studies each chapter will end with one or two exercises directing the reader/student to comparable texts and images, enabling them to apply what was described in the chapter for themselves. This approach enables beginners as well as advanced readers to integrate iconography into their toolbox of exegetical skills.

An Introduction to Its Theory, Method, and Practice

Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament

In recent years, a growing number of biblical scholars have turned to ancient art as a vital resource for understanding the historical and conceptual background of the Bible. While these "iconographic" approaches have done much to advance findings from more traditional text-based studies, they have yet to fully address issues pertaining to the nature, power, and meaning of ancient art as well as the social practices, effects, and responses that are derived from and inform how images functioned in ancient visual culture. This volume offers a sustained engagement of theories of visual culture with the goal of further refining how images are utilized in biblical research. Issues addressed include: the function of images as a language of communication and its implications for debates about textual literacy in ancient Israel (ch. 2); the nature of the image-text relationship and how it informs methods of iconographic exegesis as well as the analysis of ancient mixed-media artifacts (ch. 3); approaches to visual analysis that take into account how linguistic and non-linguistic signs convey meaning in different ways (ch. 4); how theories about the ontology and social agency of art shed new light on the history of visual response in the ancient world, including image theft and destruction (ch. 5); and how a consideration of visual practices and the social and religious dimensions of sight can advance understandings of the nature of Israelite aniconism and the search for Yahweh's cult image (ch. 6). Insights gained from these analyses are synthesized into a hermeneutical framework that outlines a more critical approach to working with images in the field of biblical studies.

Ryan P. Bonfiglio

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