Biblical corpora

Arranged by the major divisions of Hebrew scripture, this study begins with the priestly texts, which present disability as a state of impurity and passivity, defined against what is pure, holy and active. The prophetic books and the Psalms take a different approach, using images of bodily difference to frame speech between God, the prophets, rulers and ordinary people. In these texts, a disability's meaning depends on who bears it. Wisdom literature and narrative, including the figures of Job and Mephibosheth, set people with inborn or acquired impairments within the larger cosmic and social order rather than treating them only as defilement. The author argues that even the priestly material, which appears to be the exception, mostly uses disability imagery to show the power of Israel's God rather than to describe disabled people. Physical norms, on this reading, help shape central biblical distinctions such as holy and unholy, pure and impure, election and rejection, and God and idols.

The book proposes a literary critical method that reads the canonical form of the text, allowing a wide view of how disability imagery works alongside major theological concepts. It also lays groundwork for research into the history of interpretation. Each discussion of a biblical passage or book is grounded in existing historical scholarship.