Orientalism in Biblical Studies

The concept of Orientalism is most closely associated with the work of Edward W. Said in his 1978 book, Orientalism. This concept refers to a type of discourse that historically emerged from the work of European scholars concerning the Orient, which constructed a hierarchical, stereotyped binary between the East and the West, and which provided knowledge that was leveraged to support European racialized colonization. Said’s work has been exceptionally formative for the fields of postcolonialism broadly and postcolonial biblical studies specifically. In particular, Said’s concept has enabled scholars to critique past biblical scholarship that perpetuated Orientalist ideas and has facilitated reinterpretation of biblical texts and contexts. At the same time, now originally published almost half a century ago, Said’s work has been subject to critique, revision, and development. Among the authors in this article, the vast majority who choose to engage the concept of Orientalism also choose to follow Said more than they choose to diverge from him, but exceptions do occur. In addition to helping authors to discuss colonialism and imperialism, the concept of Orientalism is deployed to discuss race and racialization, gender and sexuality, religious supremacy and religious discrimination, and nationalism and nativism. Scholars identify Orientalist discourse within biblical texts themselves, within biblical scholarship, and within contemporary events that inform biblical studies. There are a wide number of social locations that scholars speak from and relate Orientalism to: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim; African and African American, Asian and Asian American (including East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian), Pacific Islander, Arab/Middle Eastern (including Palestinian), Indigenous, and white. Often, the personal experiences of authors deeply resonate with the subject matter, as they themselves may have faced Orientalist perceptions and discrimination. Additionally, because the concept of Orientalism has such a large scope, it provides an opportunity for scholars to make connections across different social locations and to speak broadly to the phenomenon of othering.