Episode 23: Disentangling Disability in the Hebrew Bible with Eric J Harvey

It Means What It Means

In this conversation, Eric J. Harvey discusses his research on blindness in the ancient Middle East, particularly in the Hebrew Bible. He explains the differences between the categories of not seeing, unseeing, and blind, and how interpreters have often misunderstood and conflated them. Eric also delves into the concept of the normate body and the ableist interpretations of biblical texts. He explores the significance of Second Isaiah and its portrayal of disability as a metaphor for the end of exile and a new beginning. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the embodiment and corporeality of God in the Hebrew Bible. In this conversation, Jared and Eric discuss the concept of materiality in the Bible and its implications for disability. They explore passages in Corinthians and Galatians that highlight the material nature of bodies and breath. They also delve into the tension between spirituality and material embodiment, questioning whether disability will exist in the eschaton and the importance of grappling with the intersection of disability and materiality. Eric recommends books such as Biblical Corpora: Representations of Disability in Hebrew Biblical Literature by Rebecca Raphael and The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel by Benjamin D Sommer for further exploration of bodies and disability in biblical studies. For fun, Eric suggests science fiction books like The Power by Naomi Alderman and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.