Sight and Blindness in Luke-Acts - Biblical Interpretation by Chad Hartsock Leather Bound

About the Book

Reading Luke-Acts through the lens of Greco-Roman physiognomics, this is a study of the use of physical descriptions in characterization in the biblical texts. Specifically, this work studies blindness as characterization and, ultimately, as an interpretive guide to Luke-Acts.

Book Synopsis

The ancient world often thought in terms of physiognomics--the idea that character can be discerned by studying outward, physical features. That physical descriptions carry moral freight in characterization has been largely missed in modern biblical scholarship, and this study brings that to the forefront. Specifically, this is a study of one particular physical marker--blindness. When we look at Greco-Roman literature, a kind of literary topos begins to emerge, a set of assumptions that ancient audiences would typically make when encountering blind characters. Luke-Acts makes use of such a topos in a way that becomes programmatic, serving as a kind of interpretive key to Luke-Acts that is generally unnoticed in modern scholarship.

From the Back Cover

The ancient world often thought in terms of physiognomicsa "the idea that character can be discerned by studying outward, physical features. That physical descriptions carry moral freight in characterization has been largely missed in modern biblical scholarship, and this study brings that to the forefront. Specifically, this is a study of one particular physical markera "blindness. When we look at Greco-Roman literature, a kind of literary topos begins to emerge, a set of assumptions that ancient audiences would typically make when encountering blind characters. Luke-Acts makes use of such a topos in a way that becomes programmatic, serving as a kind of interpretive key to Luke-Acts that is generally unnoticed in modern scholarship.

Review Quotes

"...die Arbeit [hat] einen anregenden Beitrag zur Exegese der Apostelgeschichte in deren kulturhistorischen Rahmenbedingungen geleistet... Facettenreich wird dieses Verständnis entfaltet und am Text verifiziert." - Manfred Lang, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 135 (2010)

About the Author

J. Chad Hartsock, Ph.D. (2007) in Biblical Studies, Baylor University, is a Teaching Fellow at Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. This is his first publication.