This is the third issue of Proceedings of the Midrash session at the SBL Annual meeting published in this series. This volume contains papers on religion in midrash (the topic of the 2006 session) and modes of biblical interpretation in rabbinic, Syriac and Islamic traditions (2007), as well as some papers in rabbinic culture as derived from the study of rabbinic texts. The volume contains seven papers. Robert Phenix’s study draws on the biblical Joseph story as presented in Syriac stories and their connections with Jewish midrashim and Islamic literature. Steven Sacks discusses texts about the “foundation stone” in rabbinic literature in view of the widespread myth about the cosmic “navel” of the world. Eszter Füzessy studies the literary form of “Dialogues Between Sages And Outsiders” and its polemical use to defend rabbinic ideas. Isaac Gottlieb studies the ways the rabbis dealt with contradictory and ideologically difficult passages in the Book of Ester. John Townsend treats the historical question as to why the School of Shammai was superseded by the School of Hillel after the Fall of Jerusalem. Rivka Ulmer discusses the occurrence of Egyptian (Coptic) words and images and their iconic value in rabbinic texts. According to Willem Smelik, analysis of the early rabbinic reflections on the holy tongue demonstrate that this concept was primarily connected with a limited set of priestly rituals, but the attempts to justify the Hebrew language requirement point to an emerging ideology of the Hebrew language.

Lieve Teugels is Adjuct Editor at Gorgias Press and editor for the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. She was formerly professor for Jewish Studies at Utrecht University (Netherlands). Rivka Ulmer holds the John D. and Catherine T. MacArtur Chair in Judaic Studies at Bucknell University. They are the chairs of the Midrash Session at the SBL Annual Meetings. They have both published widely in the field of Jewish Studies, in particular Midrash.