Inclusive Voices in Post-Exilic Judah (Scripture)

To explore Scripture is an exciting activity because of the variety of opinions, experiences, and literary genres contained within its pages. In Inclusive Voices in Post-Exilic Judah, Anna Grant-Henderson examines the diverse and even contradictory messages in the Bible and offers hope for those people who feel excluded from within their own communities today as they discover the inclusive voices in the Hebrew Scriptures.Inclusive Voices in Post-Exilic Judah examines the concept of universalist "inclusive voices" in the post-exilic writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, especially Isaiah 56-66, Ruth, and Jonah. The radical nature of the universalism in these Scriptures is different from that in Isaiah 40-55 (an exilic writing), which has often been promoted as the epitome of universalism in the Old Testament. This work identifies differences among the texts to argue for new dimensions of inclusiveness now proclaimed in the post-exilic writings.At the same time it is recognized that other texts from the same period propose policies of exclusion: Ezekiel 44 and Ezra/Nehemiah. The fact that such opposite points of view remain in the Scriptures allows the Gospel writers to recall past messages of inclusiveness and use them as part of their apology for the proclamation of the Gospel.