Overview

This book is a detailed theological analysis of blindness in the Hebrew Bible. It explores blindness in the context of religion, law codes, theodicy, social justice, and healing. McAllister first considers the wider context of ancient Near Eastern cultures before analyzing various words for blindness found in the Hebrew Bible. The focus then shifts to examining blindness in various blocks of material, in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, before synthesizing the findings. This book is excellent for scholars and students interested in better understanding disability in the context of the Bible and the ancient Near East.

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9781666730524

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Reviews

"""McAllister walks the reader systematically through the Old Testament, examining references to physical and spiritual blindness. This thorough analysis of the text of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings presents a compelling argument that God loves the blind and visually impaired. McAllister draws powerful conclusions both for how the blind and visually impaired can interact with society and religious organizations, and how society and religious organizations should relate to the blind and visually impaired."" --Janine Lim, Associate Dean, School of Distance Education, Andrews University ""Ray McAllister provides a comprehensive analysis of the surprising array of passages dealing with blindness in the Hebrew Bible. As one who is blind, the author displays remarkable sensitivity to the issues related to this disability. He adroitly lays bare the actual and ideal positions of the blind in ancient Israel, synthesizes a profound biblical theology of blindness, and offers practical implications of his research for dealing with contemporary issues of blindness and other disabilities. I highly recommend this book to all who seek to understand blindness and other disabilities from a biblical perspective."" --Richard Davidson, J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Andrews University Theological Seminary ""McAllister brings unique sensitivity to his thorough theological analysis of blindness in the Hebrew Bible against its ancient Near Eastern cultural background. Not only does he present penetrating exegetical insights regarding biblical terms and passages that refer to the loss of sight, but as a totally blind person, he sees implications concerning blindness and treatment of individuals with this disability that a sighted person is not likely to recognize with the same degree of clarity."" --Roy E. Gane, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Andrews University"

McAllister walks the reader systematically through the Old Testament, examining references to physical and spiritual blindness. This thorough analysis of the text of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings presents a compelling argument that God loves the blind and visually impaired. McAllister draws powerful conclusions both for how the blind and visually impaired can interact with society and religious organizations, and how society and religious organizations should relate to the blind and visually impaired. --Janine Lim, Associate Dean, School of Distance Education, Andrews University Ray McAllister provides a comprehensive analysis of the surprising array of passages dealing with blindness in the Hebrew Bible. As one who is blind, the author displays remarkable sensitivity to the issues related to this disability. He adroitly lays bare the actual and ideal positions of the blind in ancient Israel, synthesizes a profound biblical theology of blindness, and offers practical implications of his research for dealing with contemporary issues of blindness and other disabilities. I highly recommend this book to all who seek to understand blindness and other disabilities from a biblical perspective. --Richard Davidson, J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, Andrews University Theological Seminary McAllister brings unique sensitivity to his thorough theological analysis of blindness in the Hebrew Bible against its ancient Near Eastern cultural background. Not only does he present penetrating exegetical insights regarding biblical terms and passages that refer to the loss of sight, but as a totally blind person, he sees implications concerning blindness and treatment of individuals with this disability that a sighted person is not likely to recognize with the same degree of clarity. --Roy E. Gane, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Andrews University

Author Information

Ray McAllister is the first totally blind person in the world to get a PhD in Hebrew Scriptures. He has taught distance education religion classes for Andrews University and works as a licensed massage therapist in Michigan. In 2016, Dr. McAllister and two other visually impaired biblical scholars received from the National Federation of the Blind the top prize Jacob Bolotin Award for their work making biblical language materials accessible to the blind. He is the author of The Blind Dream-Chaser (2018) and Journey of Passion (1998).

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