Rabbinic sage stories in Midrashic compilations: an intertextual reading of the Usha synod narrative in Song of Songs Rabbah 2:5 and Deuteronomy 27:9

Abstract

The Usha synod narrative in Song of Songs Rabbah (para. 2) is studied in this article both as a carefully composed rabbinic sage story and as a hermeneutical narrative aimed at resolving enigmatic biblical verses through intertextual links between the Song of Songs and the Torah. In line with Boyarin’s analysis of intertextual readings in the Song of Songs Rabbah while focusing on a rabbinic sage story rather than on the mashal (analogy), the Usha synod narrative is presented as a mediating text between Deut. 27:9 and Song of Songs 2:5. Moreover, because of the suggestive power of sage stories to construct a fictional ‘world of the sages’, it functions in Song of Songs Rabbah as a means of self-understanding, accomplished and realized through intertextual readings and interpretation. The implications of this study may drive additional research into the twofold function of rabbinic sage stories in Midrashic compilations.