A hallmark of American black religion is its distinctive use of the Bible in creating community, resisting oppression, and fomenting social change. What can critical biblical studies learn from the African American experience with the Bible, and vice versa? This singular volume marks the emergence of a critical mass of black biblical scholars. Combining sophisticated exegesis with special sensitivity to issues of race, class, and gender, the authors of this scholarly collection examine the nettling questions of biblical authority, blacks and African in biblical narratives, and the liberating aspects of Scripture. Together they are reshaping and redefining the questions, concerns, and scholarship that determine how the Bible is appropriated by church, academy, and the larger society today.