Monsters and the Bible

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/INT/current

Vol. 74, No. 2 (April 2020)

On the Impossibility and Inevitability of Monsters in Biblical Thought
Kim Paffenroth
After general considerations of what constitutes a “monster,” this essay examines the examples of “monsters” in the Bible, showing that the Bible does not as frequently depict such beings as do other mythologies. The implications of this for understanding the biblical outlook on creation in general are considered, leading to the conclusion that in fact, in the Bible, it is God who is a monster, or at least, on the side of monsters, and is not to be relied on to eradicate them.

The Good, the God, and the Ugly: The Role of the Beloved Monster in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible
Ryan S. Higgins Ancient
Near Eastern texts teem with horrifying and grotesque beings that pose some significant threat to the cosmos, humanity, and its institutions. Adopting Noël Carroll’s definition, such beings are monsters: interstitial not only physiologically and ontologically, but also cosmically and morally. This essay takes a comparative and literary approach to beloved monsters in Ugaritic, Mesopotamian, and Hebrew Bible texts. It suggests that in Ugarit and Mesopotamia, such monsters play a crucial role in advancing the goals of antipathic heroes while maintaining the integrity of sympathetic deities. It then considers the beloved monster in the Hebrew Bible and its interpretations. Finally, the essay makes note of the phenomenon’s transformation in contemporary speculative fiction. The essay argues that the beloved monster in Ugarit and Mesopotamia keeps together a fragmented cosmos, while in the Hebrew Bible it refracts through the cracks in a fragmented God.

Leviathan to Lucifer: What Biblical Monsters (Still) Reveal
Kelly J. Murphy
Monsters and the monstrous show up in Scripture and outside the pages of Scripture. Two of the most famous biblical monsters—Leviathan and Satan—appear and reappear in different forms, and, at times, their stories are merged into one. A focus on Leviathan and Satan in Scripture helps readers to see the different ways the biblical texts depict monsters and, especially, the relationship between humans, monsters, and the divine. As these creatures (re)appear in popular culture, often drawing on their scriptural representations, they continue to provide a space for audiences to ask: what makes a monster and what do these monsters reveal?

Constructing Imperial and National Identities: Monstrous and Human Bodies in Book of Watchers, Daniel, and 2 Maccabees
Anathea Portier-Young
Monster theory illuminates the construction of imperial and national identities in the portrayals of monstrous and human bodies in three early Jewish texts: Book of Watchers, Daniel, and 2 Maccabees. Book of Watchers expresses anxiety about Judean/Jewish identity in the shadow of empire through its portrayal of a vulnerable humanity terrorized by voracious giants and their demonic spirits. Daniel dehumanizes empire and its agents, imaging empire as a colossal statue, an animalistic were-king, and a series of monstrous beasts, while one like a human being poses an alternative to imperial rule. Second Maccabees, by contrast, demythologizes, decapitates, dismembers, and disintegrates the imperial body in order to portray the integral Judean political body (and soul) as mature, pure, capable, and ordered.

Holy Terror: Confronting Our Fears and Loving Our Movie Monsters
Craig Detweiler While the natural world may scare us, more frightening beasts arise when we neglect our calling to care for creation and “play god” via technology. From King Kong, Frankenstein, and Godzilla to recent films like The Babadook, The Shape of Water and Us, the most enduring monsters provoke humility, evoke empathy, and prompt us to love rather than fear. These holy terrors can offer an encounter with what Rudolf Otto famously called the mysterium tremendum.

Mapping the End: On Monsters and Maps in the Book of Revelation
Tina Pippin The Book of Revelation is a map of the end time. Its apocalyptic story is full of monsters, from the throne room to the abyss. Using new studies in literary cartography and spatiality studies, I argue that the text of Revelation can be read as a map, and is itself a monster.