July/August 2011
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About the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)
The SBL was founded in 1880 and is an international academic membership organization for people who teach, study, or are interested in academic study of the Bible and its related contexts and literatures. The Society’s mission is to foster biblical scholarship and does not hold any denominational or confessional stance, though many of our members are religious leaders.

Feature Essay

Medicine and the Hebrew Bible
By Marian Broida

The Hebrew Bible is filled with references to "healing" and "healers" but what did those words really mean? Did biblical understandings of medicine resemble ours at all? Find out in this fascinating essay, by Marian Broida, a registered nurse and PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible.

Finding Value in the "False" Writings of the Pseudepigrapha
By Christine E. Shander

What are the pseudepigrapha, other than a spelling-bee worthy word or a scrabble game points bonanza? They are, it turns out, a trove of ancient writings that sometimes reflect on biblical texts — filling in the "gaps" as it were and working out important issues and ethical questions for communities of believers. Here, Christine Shander shows how these lesser-known texts, often written under an allonym (look it up!), can still shed important light on the social, ethical, and historical contexts of the Bible and its interpreters.