Midrash and Context

Co-editors, Rivka Ulmer and Lieve Teugels, leading experts on midrash, here present seven groundbreaking essays on Rabbinic midrash by a new generation of erudite scholars of Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. The contributions reflect a deep understanding of the languages and literatures of the Middle East in Late Antiquity, a thorough grounding in the history of research, a judicious application of textual criticism of rabbinic texts, an empathetic encounter with the abiding values conveyed by these texts, and three distinct forms of interdisciplinary scholarship. Five of the seven essays compare, contrast and mediate between Rabbinic and Patristic exegesis and elucidate elements of culture shared by these ancient interpreters of Scripture. Another of the essays is a brilliant application of Orality Studies and semiotics to the study of the origin, the forms, and the content of aggadic midrash, and especially the ubiquitous and seldom analyzed “prooftext”. The volume concludes with an exposition, with pictorial illustrations, of the Rabbinic Sages' familiarity with and utilization of the Egyptian Osiris Myth in their homilies and Scriptural exegesis. With hermeneutics, polemics, and even magic, this book is a veritable must for clergy, students, scholars, and laypersons interested in deepening their understanding of Rabbinic and Patristic biblical interpretation.

Lieve Teugels is Adjunct Editor at Gorgias Press and specialist in midrash. She has published two books and many articles on midrash and Jewish Studies. Rivka Ulmer holds the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Chair in Judaic Studies at Bucknell University. She has published multiple books and studies in the field of midrash and Jewish Studies.