The Body, Sickness, and the Bible

This special issue examines how the human body functions as a rhetorical and theological instrument in biblical literature, with particular focus on sickness and vulnerability. Across the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, bodily features, impairments, and illnesses are not incidental but purposeful elements through which authors communicate authority, judgment, legitimacy, and hope. The essays explore how body parts advance political claims, how royal sickness critiques kingship, and how prophetic bodies challenge death itself. Turning to the Gospels, contributors also consider Jesus’ embodied suffering, healing practices, and physical presence as sites of theological meaning. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that the body in Scripture is not merely a backdrop but an active agent in shaping ideology and theology, inviting further exploration of embodiment and sickness across biblical texts.