Cultural Juxtapositions: Problematizing Scripture in Late Medieval Jewish and Christian Exegesis

Abstract

This chapter addresses a dramatically different approach that was apparently taken by late medieval Spanish Jewish writers under the influence of the Christian academies. This involves the explicit articulation of problems, difficulties, or doubts raised by a biblical or rabbinic passage, bringing them to the attention even of those to whom they had never occurred, and then resolving the difficulties in what was expected to be a satisfactory and persuasive manner. It was a rather risky undertaking because of the possibility that the reader or listener would remember the doubt but not its resolution. The chapter provides evidence for widespread use of this technique especially by Spanish Jews in the late Middle Ages. It also presents several possible explanations as to why this exegetical technique became so popular in the generation of the Expulsion from Spain.