R. S. Sugirtharajah is Professor of Biblical Hermeneutics at the University of Birmingham. Prior to his current appointment, he was Senior Lecturer in Third World Theologies at Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham. His previous publications include Postcolonial Reconfigurations (2003), Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation (2002), The Bible and the Third World (2001), and The Bible and Empire: Postcolonial Explorations (2005).

"This book, edited by one of the foremost proponents of postcolonial biblical criticism, will provide a useful entrée into this important area of study and a representative and wide-ranging selection of essays with which to engage." (Journal for the Study of the New Testament)

• List of Contributors. Acknowledgements.Introduction.Part I: Theoretical Practices.Introduction: Theoretical Practices. (R. S. Sugirtharajah).1. Charting the Aftermath: A Review of Postcolonial Criticism. (R. S. Sugirtharajah).2. Biblical Criticism and Postcolonial Studies: Toward a Postcolonial Optic. (Fernando F.Segovia).3. Making the Connections: Postcolonial Studies and Feminist Biblical Interpretation. (Kwok Pui-lan).Part II: Empires Old and New.Introduction: Empires Old and New.4. Renewal Movements and Resistance to Empire in Ancient Judea. (Richard Horsley).5. Postcolonialism and Imperial Motives for Canonization. (Jon L Berquist).6. Roman Imperialism and Early Christian Scribality. (Werner H Kelber).7. Desiring War: Apocalypse, Commodity Fetish, and the End of History. (Erin Runions).Part III: Empire and Exegesis.Introduction.8. The Implications of the Text of Esther for African Women's Struggle for Liberation in South Africa. (Itumeleng J. Mosala).9. Rahab says Hello to Judith: A Decolonizing Feminist Reading. (Musa Dube).10. The Sign of Orpah: Reading Ruth through Native Eyes. (Laura Donaldson).11. On Naming the Subject: Postcolonial Reading of Daniel 1. (Philip Chia).12. Decolonizing Yahweh: A Postcolonial Reading of 2 Kings 24-25. (Kari Latvus).13. Mark and Empire: “Zealot” and “Postcolonial Readings”. (Stephen D. Moore).14. Tyranny, Boundary and Might: Colonial Mimicry in Mark’s Gospel. (Tat-siong Benny Liew).15. Mori “Jews” and Resistant Reading of John 5.10-47. (Mary Huie-Jolly).16. God at the Crossroads: A Postcolonial Reading of Sophia. (Mayra Rivera).Part IV: Postcolonial Concerns.Introduction.17. How Local Divine Powers were Suppressed: A Case of Mwari of Shona. Dora R. Mbuwayesnago.18. Cutchery Tamil versus Pure Tamil: Contesting Language use in the Translated Bible in early Nineteenth-Century Protestant Tamil Community. (Hephzibah Israel).19. Canonization and Marginalization. Mary of Magdala. Karen L. King.20. Exodus toward Egypt: Filipino Americans' Struggle to Realize the Promised Land in America. Eleazar S. Fernandez.Index of Biblical References.Index of Names and Subjects.