Experiencing Scripture
The Five Senses in Biblical Interpretation
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2023
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Publisher's Description
Experiencing Scripture explores living environments of ancient Israel and the role the five senses play in understanding the Biblical text. The environments encompass both village and city, delve into life altering events like warfare, explore the sensual aspects of law, and showcase the role that religious practice and performance play in ancient Israel. In every chapter there is a systematic attempt to focus on each sense in turn while acknowledging that the senses seldom operate alone, but instead in combination. In addition, an effort is made whenever possible to examine the full sensual experience described or depicted in art, narrative, poetry, prophetic speech, wisdom literature, religious ritual speech, and in legal statements and activities. Like people in every time and place, the inhabitants of ancient Israel perceived and described their world through their senses. The rhythm of life in small villages and towns has its own pace governed by the seasons. Their lives, while simple by modern standards, found identity and pleasure in familiar sights and sounds. For those who lived in walled cities, the narrow streets zigzagged through the town and opened into the public square or a temple complex that would be filled with people going about their daily activities and with children at play. There was joy in the pain during the birth of a child, the shaping of a pot, the taste of a meal after a hard day of work, and in the celebrations associated with harvests and festivals. Their sensory experiences included strained muscles, nostrils choked with dust, the clamor of battle, and the sweet smell of incense. Because there are constant references to sensory aspects of their world, this volume is designed to point out, interpret, and provide or restore a fuller meaning to the text, including common metaphors and gestures that center on their sensory experience.
Endorsements (3)
“Matthews leads the reader on a tour of the biblical world, as incredible as it is visceral. Through its command of biblical literature, archaeology, and the texts and cultures of the ancient Near East, Experiencing Scripture enlivens the world of the Bible for a contemporary audience, shedding light on the sensory experiences of Israelite society and the centrality of the senses in biblical literature.”
“A truly evocative study from a veteran social scientific critic. Cassian and Augustine proposed interpreting the four senses of the Bible—literal, allegorical, moral, and mystical. Their method dominated scholarship until Baruch Spinoza launched historical criticism—the method of choice throughout the 20th century. Ironically, their four senses were not senses at all. They were anchored in the brain, not the body. Now Matthews proposes interpreting the Bible using the five senses that send information to the brain—touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. If you only read one book this year, make it Experiencing Scripture. It will revolutionize the way you understand and appreciate the world of the Bible.”
“In this vivid and illuminating work, Victor Matthews distills a career of cutting-edge scholarship on the social world of the Bible into an elegant study of the sensory experiences that informed these ancient writings. He leads us on a journey of how it felt to live in the lands that lay behind biblical storytelling, thereby drawing us closer to those who told these stories in antiquity and the audiences for whom they were performed. In doing so, the insights offered in this book on the sensory aspects of biblical literature make us more sensitive, empathetic readers of what these texts claim.”
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