Africa and the Bible

“The scholarship of Professor Gene Rice, in and out of the classroom, has nurtured the biblical literacy of generations of seminarians and shaped the scholarly vocation of biblical scholars at the Howard University School of Divinity, myself among both categories. It is profoundly gratifying to have his critical essays collected and reintroduced for new generations of students and scholars. I found these essays enlightening as a student and foundational as a scholar; they are referenced among my current work. While no collection could offer the unacquainted reader the experience of being taught and mentored by this great man, his sagacity and careful thoughtfulness come through his written word. It is my pleasure to commend them to the reader.”


—Wil Gafney, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity School





“Gene Rice has spent half of a century opening our eyes and minds to a wellspring of literary treasures deeply embedded in biblical antiquity, and powerfully enriching for those whose blessings of Ebony Grace have been systemically occluded by scholarly prejudice, and white hermeneutical arrogance. In his inimitable diligence and passionate search for cultural liberation and spiritual truth, he has carefully peeled back many of the presumed myopic interpretations and layers of texts in the Hebrew Scriptures. These interpretations have tended to preclude the liberating vistas of divine embrace of African and other Ebony virtues, values, and visions that have been channeled through the rich stories of the pervasive African presence in Sacred Scripture. This volume re-echoes that divine command: Fiat Lux!!”


—D. H. Kortright Davis, Professor of Theology, Howard University School of Divinity