Melville’s Bibles
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University of California Press
Published:29th Feb '08
Should be back in stock very soon
Many writers in antebellum America sought to reinvent the Bible, but no one, Ilana Pardes argues, was as insistent as Melville on redefining biblical exegesis while doing so. In "Moby-Dick," he not only ventured to fashion a grand new inverted Bible in which biblical rebels and outcasts assume center stage, but also aspired to comment on every imaginable mode of biblical interpretation, calling for a radical reconsideration of the politics of biblical reception. In "Melville's Bibles," Pardes traces Melville's response to a whole array of nineteenth-century exegetical writings -literary scriptures, biblical scholarship, Holy Land travel narratives, political sermons, and women's bibles. She shows how Melville raised with unparalleled verve the question of what counts as Bible and what counts as interpretation.
“A fascinating account.” * Review of Biblical Literature *
“A well-researched, attractively written examination of the larger biblical context of Melville’s masterpiece, and it provides a capable overview of a variety of nineteenth-century exegetical and hermeneutical traditions on the five Old Testament figures it scrutinizes.” * Christianity and Literature *
“Well argued and well written, this is a book for all students of Melville.” * CHOICE *
“Each of the book’s five chapters is deftly written and certainly demonstrates Pardes’ proficiency in the fields of literary criticism and biblical exegesis.” * Missiology *
ISBN: 9780520254558
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 13mm
Weight: 272g
206 pages