Constructions of Space III: Biblical Spatiality and the Sacred

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Constructions of Space III engages with the great variety of sacred spaces set out and given meaning in the texts of the Hebrew Bible, early Jewish literature and the New Testament. Spatial-critical, as well as anthropological, philosophical and narrative perspectives are interacted with in creative ways and brought to bear on the spaces encountered within the texts. Among the concepts and themes explored are oppositional aspects such as holiness and danger/the profane, fear and hope, utopia and dystopia, and purity and impurity. The social and mythological significance of more 'grounded' places such as Jerusalem and Egypt, temples, burial places and threshing floors is considered alongside more ethereal and symbolic spaces like those of heaven, the last judgement and the kingdom of God. What emerges is a dynamic and lively set of perspectives that illuminates relationships between texts, spaces and communities.

Author Bio

J. Cornelis de Vos is lecturer in New Testament and Judaism at the University of Mnster, Germany. He has published on land in the Bible and Early Judaism. Karen J. Wenell is Lecturer in New Testament and Theology at the University of Birmingham, UK. Jorunn Okland is Professor of Gender Studies in the Humanities, Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo, Norway.