This article proposes that the theme of human dignity offers a fruitful avenue to<br />explore the interrelated themes of justice, vocation and human responsibility in the<br />biblical traditions. Human dignity is most evident in the notion of the Imago Dei,<br />i.e., the claim in Genesis 1:26-27 that humans, both male and female, are created in<br />the image of God. This powerful theological claim has led to some rich theological<br />reflection by Christian and Jewish interpreters who have argued for the inherent<br />worth of every human being whose dignity is a gracious gift bestowed by the Creator<br />God. Nevertheless, in the Hebrew Bible there are numerous instances where this<br />dignity of individuals and groups are threatened, obscured and violated. And yet, it<br />is exactly in the midst of these situations of dehumanisation that the conversation<br />on what it means to be human becomes most urgent. For instance, in prophets like<br />Isaiah, it is within the depths of the social justice violations that threaten the well<br />being of the society’s most vulnerable members that one encounters the prophet’s<br />persistent critique that upholds the dignity of each member of the society

Several scholars have identified comedic elements in the book

In light of the numerous instances in the Hebrew Bible in which the dignity of its characters are threatened, violated or potentially violated, this article seeks to identify a number of strategies that may be used to read the Bible for the dignity of all so overcoming the Old Testament's troubling legacy. Th ese strategies have been inspired by the work of Martha Nussbaum who, in one of her recent books, Th e New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age, names three principles that may help a society to become more compassionate in nature and to transcend, what she calls, a narcissistic notion of fear: (1) Political (and I would add religious) principles that express equal respect and dignity for all people (2) Rigorous critical thinking that criticizes inconsistencies that may lead to human rights violations (3) Developing an empathetic or participatory imagination, in which one is able to consider how the world looks from the point of view of a person of a diff erent cultural or religious point of view.

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