Genesis Rabbah Research Articles

THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM. A RABBINIC MIDRASHIC INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY OF ABRAHAM

In the following article we will analyze the episode of the call of Abraham as it was imagined by the authors of the Genesis Rabbah 39. We will deal with the various aspects of literary devices and structure, and then we will look at the theological worldview that emerges out of Genesis Rabbah. The literary genre of Midrashic Literature employs a number of devices which set this type of literature apart from the others. The formula lech lecha (go yourself) functions as the key expression in Genesis Rabbah 39. We will also ask questions about the historical and social background that may have influenced the rabbis in their exposition of the life of Abraham. We will notice that the world in which Abraham lived resembled a palace that was set on fire, an allusion to the world that God created and that, apparently, seems at the mercy of wickedness and evil. It was this context in which God called Abraham, a righteous man whom God spoke to, and used more than any other people of his generations.

Establishing Gender Categories and Hierarchies: The Evolution of Rabbinic Discourse on the Creation of Woman

This article examines the evolution of rabbinic interpretative discourse on the creation of woman, as depicted in the Hebrew Bible, addressing well-known rabbinic writings from the fifth to the tenth centuries. My feminist and genealogical discourse-analytic exploration illustrates the accumulation of gender-biased elements and the concomitant strengthening of an obvious, all-encompassing patriarchal ethos along this hermeneutical trajectory. I argue that the diachronic development of the rabbinic discourse on the creation of woman took place in three consecutive discursive stages representing self-dependent characteristics. The tradition corpus was first established in Genesis Rabbah and Leviticus Rabbah, then reinforced in the Babylonian Talmud, and finally it became embroidered with versatile elaborations, as demonstrated in passages from Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer, and Alphabet of Ben Sira.

Wealth and Wisdom in Yannai’s Palace: Was there a Persian Connection?

Abstract This article examines a dramatic story describing a conflict between King Yannai and Shimon ben Shetaḥ involving Nazarites, wealth and wisdom. The most original version of the story in rabbinic literature is preserved in Genesis Rabbah parashah 91. Previously, scholars argued for connections between this narrative and Second Temple realia. However, careful philological examination of all the parallel sources of the narrative yields no such connection. My analysis repudiates one of the major conclusions of scholarship on the story: the consensus that the earliest version of the story records a meeting between King Yannai and a Persian delegation. By revealing the original meaning of a hapax legomenon in the text of Genesis Rabbah (קלי פרסאין), which I argue is derived from the Greek, I establish there was no mention of Persians in the original tradition.

Biblical Narrative as Ethics?

Abstract This paper considers whether biblical narrative was used as part of a technology of the self in Jewish antiquity. Many have seen the assumption that Israel’s ancestors were perfect and, hence, worthy of imitation as essential to the Bible’s identity as Scripture around the turn of the Common Era. Recently several scholars have detailed the specific dynamics of exemplarity among certain readers of the Bible, such as Philo, particularly in light of Hellenistic and Roman models. Such work draws attention to the relative lack of explicit attestation for such a practice in much of ancient Jewish literature. As a next step, we need to further delineate what constitutes a literary practice of exemplarity and explore alternatives or additions to it, such as memorialization. To do so, this paper examines a range of texts, including the Genesis Apocryphon, the Book of Jubilees, Ben Sira, Philo, Josephus, and the rabbinic collection, Genesis Rabbah.

Israel and the Individual in Matthew and Midrash: Reassessing “True Israel”

Since the Holocaust, New Testament scholarship has become increasingly sensitive to issues of Christian anti-Judaism. While many Matthean specialists have acknowledged the problems with polemical interpretations of the Gospel, the idea that Matthew presents Jesus and/or the church is the “true Israel” continues to enjoy broad acceptance. The scholarly conflation of Jesus and Israel recycles the Christian polemic against a comparatively inauthentic or inadequate Judaism. This article argues that Matthew does not present Jesus or his church as the true Israel, and that the Jesus-as-Israel interpretation could be refined by comparing the Gospel with later rabbinic discussion that connects Israel with biblical individuals. Genesis Rabbah 40:6 juxtaposes verses about Abraham and Israel to reveal a comprehensive scriptural relationship between the nation and the patriarch without devaluing either party. The rabbis’ theological thesis is predicated on both similarity and separation between Abraham and his offspring. Insofar as both Matthew and Midrash present similar biblical content and exegesis, a comparative analysis can provide Gospel commentators with a view of the Jesus-Israel paradigm that avoids the Christianization of “true Israel.”

The Virgin Mother Sarah: The Characterization of the Matriarch in Genesis Rabbah

Abstract This article analyzes the portrayal of the matriarch Sarah in the fifth-century Palestinian rabbinic midrash Genesis Rabbah. The midrash not only dedicates a large number of derashot to the matriarch, but it repeatedly depicts her as a model of personal and religious excellence. In order to understand this development, I turn my attention to the portrayal of Sarah in the works of Origen of Alexandria. Continuing New Testament themes, Origen presents her as the spiritual mother of Christianity and a prefiguration of Jesus’ mother Mary. Various textual and thematic parallels help demonstrate that the rabbis were both aware of this rhetoric and responded to it. Based on this, I conclude that the rabbis used their portrayal of Sarah to combat the Christian appropriation of the matriarch on the one hand, and to establish her as a Jewish alternative to the Virgin Mary on the other.

Proverbs 8, Christological Controversies, and the Pre-existence of the Son and Torah in the Third and Fourth Centuries

Abstract This article argues that the opening of Genesis Rabbah 1 can be read productively in conversation with Christian controversies which raged from the middle of the third century to the fourth century. In rabbinic literature, it is not until the Amoraic period, in Palestine, that Proverbs 8 began to be employed as a proof of Torah’s pre-existence. This is precisely the same time that Christians engaged in heated debate as to the pre-existence of the Son, also based on Proverbs 8, not least in Palestine. By way of a broad reading of the christological controversies of this era, and a close reading of the exegesis of Proverbs 8 in Genesis Rabbah 1, the obscure debate partners of Genesis Rabbah 1 come to light: Christians who were debating the pre-existence of Wisdom.

Built, Destroyed, and Built Again: Temple and History in Genesis Rabbah in Light of Christian Sources

T H E J E W I S H Q U A R T E R LY R E V I E W, Vol. 110, No. 4 (Fall 2020) 652–678 Built, Destroyed, and Built Again:­ Temple and History in Genesis Rabbah in Light of Christian Sources HANAN MAZEH IN ANCIENT JE WIS H S OU RC E S, the Jewish ­ Temple looms large in shaping perceptions of time and history. In Scripture, the ­ Temple commonly appears in both catastrophic and peaceful prophecies concerning the ­ future of the Jewish ­ people, with the destruction of the ­ Temple symbolizing divine punishment and its rebuilding a sign of the nation’s repentance and forgiveness by God. In Second ­ Temple lit­ er­ a­ ture, Jewish sects used the concept of a ­ future divine ­ Temple to criticize the standing ­ Temple and its institutions, which they considered an imperfect substitute for the First ­ Temple, thus reflecting their distinct communal identities.1 The ­ Temple also features in pre­ sen­ ta­ tions of early Israelite history. Several Second ­ Temple sources suggest that an abstract concept of the ­ Temple existed long before it actually was built. The ­ Temple is said to be located, for instance, where Adam was buried, where the sons of Enoch brought sacrifices,2 and, most notably, where The research on which this essay is based was generously supported by several grants and projects headed by Professor Maren Niehoff, including a fellowship at the Einstein-Chronoi Center of the Berliner Antike-Kolleg, the Franz Thyssen Stiftung and the Niedersachsen Ministry of Culture and Science. I wish to thank Hanan Birenzweig, Yair Furstenberg, Sarit Kattan-Gribetz, Omer Michaelis, Maren Niehoff, Yakir Paz, and Oded Steinberg for their helpful comments on previous drafts. 1. See Menahem Kister, “Jerusalem and the Temple in the Writings from Qumran” (Hebrew), in The Qumran Scrolls and Their World (Jerusalem, 2009), 477–96; Daniel R. Schwartz, “The Three Temples of 4QFlorilegium,” Revue de Qumran 10 (1979): 83–91. 2. See Isaiah Gafni, “‘Pre-histories’ of Jerusalem in Hellenistic, Jewish and Christian Literature,” Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 1 (1987): 2; Eyal Ben-Eliyahu, Between Borders: The Boundaries of Eretz-Israel in the Consciousness of the Jewish People in the Time of the Second Temple and in the Mishnah and Talmud Period (Hebrew; Jerusalem, 2013), 71–72. The Jewish Quarterly Review (Fall 2020) Copyright © 2020 Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. All rights reserved. Genesis Rabbah and the Temple—Mazeh 653 Abraham bound Isaac.3 Similarly, some sources link ele­ ments of the­ Temple’s cult to certain ancient figures, some of whom, such as Levi in the Aramaic Levi Document, are given explicit anticipatory ­ orders regarding it.4 The combined literary effect resulting from the retrojection of the­ Temple and its cult to much ­ earlier time periods, as discussed by scholars regarding other ­ legal ele­ ments, is the transformation of the ­ Temple and all its pertinent detail into timeless concepts, suiting the ­ Temple’s central role in Jewish life.5 Some scholars have shown that during the Second ­ Temple period this imagery may also have served as a tool to criticize the existing­Temple.6 A drastic shift in mindset concerning the ­ Temple takes place ­ after 70 C.E., following the destruction of the Second ­ Temple by the Romans. Scholars have shown how the early postdestruction texts 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and the Testament of Abraham all include the Second ­ Temple’s destruction in some form in their apocalyptic accounts. ­ These texts respond to the recent historical trauma by depicting the destruction as part of a divine plan, thereby softening, to some extent, the perception of the destruction as divine punishment.7 In rabbinic lit­ er­ a­ ture and the writings of the Church 3. An identification which goes as far back as 2 Chr 3.1. See Isaac Kalimi, “The Land of Moriah, Mount Moriah, and the Site of Solomon’s ­ Temple in Biblical Historiography,” Harvard Theological Review 83 (1990): 345–62. 4. See Jacques van-­ Ruiten, “Visions of the ­ Temple in the Book of Jubilees,” in Gemeinde ohne Tempel, ed. B. Ego et al. (Tübingen, 1999), 215–27; Martha Himmelfarb , “Earthly Sacrifice and Heavenly Incense: The...

<em>Melitsah</em>, Rhetoric, and Modern Hebrew Literature: A Study of Haskalah Literary Theory

Associated with translation (Genesis 42: 23), figurative speech (Proverbs 1:6), and prophecy (Genesis Rabbah 44:1), melitsah was a venerable term in medieval, renaissance, and Haskalah literary thought. Designating rhetoric, eloquent speech, poetry, and rhetorical theory, it was a focus of considerable attention during the period of European Haskalah (1780–1880). Since the mid-nineteenth century, and increasingly since the rise of neoromantic and nationalist literary ideologies, the poetic practice of melitsah became a target of severe attacks, which ultimately led to a sematic change in its meaning. While brief scholarly studies of this term have been undertaken, its evolving history, as well as its potential for critique of modern literary practice, have been completely overlooked by scholars of modern Hebrew literature. The present article attempts to study the concept of melitsah outside the framework of the massive denunciation it suffered due to the rise of competing literary discourses. Stressing the deep affinity between Hebrew melitsah and Renaissance rhetoric, the article demonstrates that, rather than an instrument for assimilating Hebrew literature to Enlightenment ideas of knowledge, poetry or politics, maskilim employed melitsah-based theory for defending and upholding ancient Hebrew scriptures as vessels of theological, poetic, and political difference, which they saw as contributing to a critique of dominant Enlightenment ideas. Associating melitsah with a recent paradigm shift in the study of Jewish Enlightenment, this article follows key maskilim who studied the melitsah, showing that their veneration of the scriptural Hebrew is not an expression of blindfolded cult of biblical commonplaces, as many scholars have believed, but an attempt to glean from Hebrew scripture—through poetic analyses, readings, and adaptation—a host of theological, poetic, and political ideas that, couched as they are in the figurative language of scripture, supplements and displaces ideas whose origin is not textual.

"Go Out from Your Sign": Rashi to Genesis 15:5 as a Reference to Astrological Primary Direction -Its Background in Rabbinic Literature and Parallels in Abraham bar Hiyya

ABSTRACT This article suggests that Rashi's exegetical commentary to Gen 15:5, in which Abram counts the stars, is meant to invoke an association with the astrological technique known as Primary Directions (based on equating one degree of Right Ascension in the rotation of the earth around its axis with one year of life), which was one of the main methods of prognostication in pre-modern astrology - beginning already in Hellenistic times and quite central in Mediaeval astrological thinking. Rabbinic sources discussing the relevant biblical passage and the idea of Abraham as a supreme astrologer are analysed, along with parallel material from Abraham bar Hiyya and Ibn Ezra. The article examines both what Rashi kept and what he removed from his Rabbinic sources, and elaborates on the role of astrological thinking in his milieu. Keywords: Rashi, Genesis 15:5, Abraham, Astrology, Primary Directions, Bar Hiyya, Ibn 'Ezra; bShabbat 156 a-b, Genesis Rabbah, Divination, istagntnút

Built, Destroyed, and Built Again: Temple and History in Genesis Rabbah in Light of Christian Sources

Built, Destroyed, and Built Again: Temple and History in Genesis Rabbah in Light of Christian Sources

Laughing in the Face of Patriarchy: Genesis Rabbah 17

Laughing in the Face of Patriarchy: Genesis Rabbah 17

New Vistas on Early Judaism and Christianity: From Enoch to Montréal and Back

New Vistas on Early Judaism and Christianity: From Enoch to Montréal and Back

When Yosa Meshita Took the Temple Menorah

This essay examines a short tradition preserved in Genesis Rabbah, a fifth-century CE homiletical midrash, that explains how the golden menorah (and by implication, other temple vessels) fell into ...

Ancient Chronography on Abraham’s Departure from Haran: Qumran, Josephus, Rabbinic Literature, and Jerome

AbstractThis paper examines how the chronological contradiction in Abraham’s departure from Haran (Gen 11:26, 32; 12:4) has been explained in the history of biblical interpretation, especially in rewritten Scripture from Qumran (4Q252 and Jubilees), Josephus, and rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah), including the lost Jewish tradition preserved by Jerome. According to Ben Zion Wacholder, who dealt with a different case of chronology in Genesis, the rabbinic and the Qumranic views are too different to be reconcilable, whereas the Graeco-Jewish writers and Qumran literature present similar views. This study, however, demonstrates that rabbinic interpretation of Abraham’s departure share some important ideas both with Qumran literature and Josephus.

The Dove in the Story of Jesus’ Baptism: Early Christian Interpretation of a Jewish Image

The expression “like a dove” in Mark 1.10 is syntactically related either to “Spirit” or “descending.” Although a dove was often interpreted as the symbol of the Spirit in later Christian tradition, such imagery is not found in Jewish and early Christian texts of the first century. In my paper I demonstrate that this expression resonates with Gen 1.2; 4Q521; Odes of Solomon 28:1; the Babylonian Talmud tractate Ḥagigah 15a; and Genesis Rabbah 2.4 as connected with the description of how the Spirit hovers (like a bird) over the righteous. This symbolism was adopted by the pre-Gospel tradition about Jesus’ baptism to specify the manner in which the Spirit descended upon Jesus.

Did the Rabbis Believe in Agreus Pan? Rabbinic Relationships with Roman Power, Culture, and Religion inGenesis Rabbah63

AbstractThis article presents a reading of the story of the Patriarch's meeting with the Emperor Diocletian as it appears in the late antique midrashic compilation,Genesis Rabbah. The story encapsulates the complexity of the relationship between the rabbis and Roman political, cultural and religious hegemony, showing the rabbis as both in eternal conflict with the Roman Empire and its culture and, yet, in many ways, very Roman themselves. In the second half of the article, I argue that this story presents a unique perspective on rabbinic views of both “demons” and the Olympian gods themselves. I conclude by comparing and contrasting these views with the approaches of early Christian thinkers.

Terminología masorética en la exégesis de <em>Génesis Rabbâ</em> (secciones «Bĕre'šîṯ» y «Noaḥ»)

Este artículo examina los ejemplos de interpretaciones rabínicas de las dos primeras secciones («Bĕre'šît» y «Noaḥ») de Génesis Rabbâ, en los que se comentan las características del texto con un lenguaje similar al utilizado en las noticias masoréticas. Después de comprobar dichos ejemplos en listas y tratados masoréticos, se analiza la función de esas interpretaciones dentro de la exégesis de estas dos secciones. Dicho estudio ha permitido comprobar que la intención exegética subyacente en estos ejemplos es distinta de otras interpretaciones de Génesis Rabbâ, que tienen como base los detalles del texto.

The Bad Wife Who Was Good: A Woman as a Way of Life in Genesis Rabbah 17:3

This article begins with the observation that one of the most famous bad wife tales in rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 17:3) is not really a tale about women at all. While Genesis Rabbah 17:3 is formally structured as a tale of two wives, the bad wife of Rabbi Yose and the good wife of Rabbi Ḥananiah ben Ḥakhinai, the narrative is not primarily directed at shaping a feminine ideal but works to negotiate competing visions of male honor. Specifically, the narrative works to overturn a model of male Jewish honor based on a paterfamilias model of individual leadership in favor of a system in which male Jewish honor derives from visible adherence to the norms of the rabbinic academy. This article thus explores a common dissonance in early rabbinic narratives about women, asking why women's literary bodies are so effective as a material through which male social ideals can be negotiated. The article concludes that the fictional women in such stories function in a mode very similar to what Mikhail Bahktin described as a "fairytale chronotope," in which landscapes, objects, and animals are animated to make the defining structures of a particular social moment visible by distilling them into a perceptible representative but without the blurring complications of a full human subjectivity.

Genesis Rabbah—An Opportunity for Interfaith Dialogue: Augustine, Milton, and the Rabbis of Genesis Rabbah in Discourse

When reading biblical texts, there are often what can be termed "gaps" in the narrative, aspects of the story that need more detail or simply do not make obvious sense, leading to more questions. This leads to the need for interpretation. While the term "midrash" refers to a particularly "Jewish" mode of interpretation of the biblical narrative, the method of "the filling in of the gaps" is something done by religious interpreters of all traditions. This essay puts the rabbis of Genesis Rabbah (midrash) in conversation with fourth-century theologian Augustine and fifteenth-century author John Milton regarding their interpretation of Genesis 3, demonstrating how this kind of interaction can foster interfaith dialogue in the modern classroom.