In this volume nineteen biblical scholars collaborate to provide an informed and focused treatment of biblical perspectives on children and childhood. Looking at the Bible through the -lens- of the child exposes new aspects of biblical texts and themes. Some of the authors focus on selected biblical texts -- Genesis, Proverbs, Mark, and more -- while others examine such biblical themes as training and disciplining, children and the image of God, the metaphor of Israel as a child, and so on. In discussing a vast array of themes and questions, the chapters also invite readers to reconsider the roles that children can or should play in religious communities today.
Contributors:
Reidar Aasgaard
David L. Bartlett
William P. Brown
Walter Brueggemann
Marcia J. Bunge
John T. Carroll
Terence E. Fretheim
Beverly Roberts Gaventa
Joel B. Green
Judith M. Gundry
Jacqueline E. Lapsley
Margaret Y. MacDonald
Claire R. Mathews McGinnis
Esther M. Menn
Patrick D. Miller
Brent A. Strawn
Marianne Meye Thompson
W. Sibley Towner
Keith J. White
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction / Marcia J. Bunge
Part I. Texts from the Hebrew Scriptures
-- 1. God Was with the Boy (Genesis 21:20): Children in the Book of Genesis / Terence E. Fretheim
-- 2. Exodus as a Text of Terror for Children / Claire R. Mathews McGinnis
-- 3. That the Children May Know: Children in Deuteronomy / Patrick D. Miller
-- 4. To Discipline without Destruction: The Multifaceted Profile of the Child in Proverbs / William P. Brown
-- 5. Look! The Children and I Are as Signs and Portents in Israel: Children in Isaiah / Jacqueline E. Lapsley
-- 6. Israel, My Child: The Ethics of a Biblical Metaphor / Brent A. Strawn
Part II. Texts from the New Testament
-- 7. Children in the Gospel of Mark, with Special Attention to Jesus' Blessing of the Children (Mark 10:13-16) and the Purpose of Mark / Judith M. Gundry
-- 8. What Then Will This Child Become?: Perspectives on Children in the Gospel of Luke / John T. Carroll
-- 9. Children in the Gospel of John / Marianne Meye Thompson
-- 10. Tell Me a Story: Perspectives on Children from the Acts of the Apostles / Joel B. Green
-- 11. Finding a Place for Children in the Letters of Paul / Beverly Roberts Gaventa
-- 12. Like a Child: Paul's Rhetorical Uses of Childhood / Reidar Aasgaard
-- 13. A Place of Belonging: Perspectives on Children from Colossians and Ephesians / Margaret Y. MacDonald
Part III. Thematic Essays
-- 14. Children and the Image of God / W. Sibley Towner
-- 15. Child Characters in Biblical Narratives: The Young David (1 Samuel 16-17) and the Little Israelite Servant Girl (2 Kings 5:1-19) / Esther M. Menn
-- 16. He Placed a Little Child in the Midst: Jesus, the Kingdom, and Children / Keith J. White
-- 17. Adoption in the Bible / David L. Bartlett
-- 18. Vulnerable Children, Divine Passion, and Human Obligation / Walter Brueggemann
-- Select Bibliography -- Contributors -- Consultants -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature.
Carolyn Osiek
-- Brite Divinity School
"The Bible is not a child-centered book. This informative volume shows what can be found -- when one really knows how to look -- in texts that do not seem to hold much promise. Children were real members of biblical communities but also symbolic figures. These thoughtful essays begin to reveal both how biblical authors saw children and how what they wrote has shaped the attitudes of others after them."
Cathy Stonehouse
-- Asbury Theological Seminary
"In this excellent volume biblical scholars make visible the many children hidden from most of us in the pages of the Old and New Testaments. As we enter the narrative of these chapters we discover that the children we had barely noticed have major roles to play in the drama of Scripture. The authors take easily misunderstood phrases, explore their context and the meanings of words used, and uncover significant implications for children and adults. In texts where children seem to be virtually absent, the authors discover main themes and theological perspectives to guide our relationships with children. The Child in the Bible provides a wealth of insight for persons seeking to more fully understand children and their place in God's kingdom."
James Limburg
-- Luther Seminary
"START SEEING CHILDREN! might well be the bumper sticker advertising this book. While there has frequently been 'no room for the child in the inn of theology, ' these essays point out the often unnoticed presence of children in biblical narratives . . . Children are also present in the Bible as metaphors, serving as a lens sharpening the focus of texts into high definition. On occasion essays move out of the biblical world to point out the implications of biblical insights for contemporary issues such as adoption, foster care, or children living in single-parent or nontraditional families. A wide-ranging international bibliography and an introduction to the recent discipline of childhood studies make the book a natural for religion and education courses and also for adult study groups in congregations."
Michael Welker
-- University of Heidelberg
"The Child in the Bible is a highly welcome follow-up to Marcia Bunge's successful book The Child in Christian Thought. Here leading biblical scholars explore the polyphony of voices in the biblical traditions that refer to the child or children and to childhood. They offer most valuable insights into the blessing children bring with them, into the conditions that make them flourish, and into their relationship with parents and adults with regard to teaching each other and learning from each other. These insights also bear on many central religious, cultural, and ethical issues correlated with children. In addition, the contributions shed new light on various biblical passages that use the terms 'child' or 'children' metaphorically."
Marcia J. Bunge is the Drell and Adeline Bernhardson Distinguished Professor in Religion at Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minnesota.
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Pub date: September 1, 2008
1.1" H x 8.9" L x 5.9" W
493 Pages
Paperback