Perspectives on Nature and Environmental Ethics in the Hebrew Bible

The contributors to this volume explore how the Hebrew Bible can inform contemporary ecological thought. In response to Lynn White Jr.'s 1967 thesis - accusing the Judeo-Christian tradition of fostering environmental degradation - they analyze key biblical texts through ecological hermeneutics, posthumanist theory, and comparative theology.
Organized into three parts - Memory Studies, Comparative Studies, and Case Studies - the volume brings together perspectives from biblical studies, environmental theology, classical philosophy, and cultural memory theory. The contributors engage with texts from Genesis to the Prophets and post-exilic literature, drawing connections to Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, and early Christian thought.
They investigate diverse hermeneutical frameworks, including theocentric and geocentric interpretations, and highlight themes such as the agency of non-human creation, covenantal models involving the Earth, and poetic visions of ecological justice. These analyses reveal that the Hebrew Bible contains complex, and at times contradictory, portrayals of the human-nature relationship.
The contributors to this volume advance ecological biblical interpretation and demonstrate how ancient texts can shape ethical discourses on sustainability, justice, and environmental responsibility today.

Johannes Unsok Ro, Mari Joerstad, Kevin Chau, and William R. Stewart: Introduction: Perspectives on Nature and Environmental Ethics in the Hebrew Bible
Part I: Memory Studies
Raymond F. Person, Jr.: Down in the Dirt with Deuteronomy: A Pig Farmer Reflects on Writing a Commentary - Daniel Bodi: The Living Waters Flowing from the Jerusalem Temple Regenerating and Healing the World - Johannes Unsok Ro and William R. Stewart: »Give Ear, O Heavens, and I Will Speak«: Cultural Memory and the Non-Human Creation in Deuteronomy
Part II: Comparative Studies
Eckart Otto: Nature, Law and Dominion as the Key to an Environmental Ethics in Ancient Oriental Mythology, Biblical Theology and Greek Philosophy - Thomas Römer: How Much Did the Crisis of 587 BCE Trigger an Interest in Environmental Questions? A Comparison between the Deuteronomistic History and the Priestly Code - Yoshinori Sano: Ethical Functions of the Earth in Hesiod's Epic in Comparison with the Functions of the Earth in Genesis 1-6 - Thomas D. McGlothlin: The Anthropocentrism of Theophilus of Antioch
Part III: Case Studies
Mari Joerstad: I Have Healed These Waters: The Works of Elisha and Animism - Kevin Chau: Brotherly Nature and Nature Metaphors in Jacob's Farewell Poem - Laurie J. Braaten: Earth as Good Neighbor in Habakkuk