Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature,

by David M. Stern

Book Overview

Midrash - biblical interpretation as practiced by the rabbinic sages in late antiquity - is both a repository of classical Jewish tradition and a self-defining literary mode. The parable, or mashal, is the most distinctive type of narrative in midrash. David Stern shows how the mashal was composed, how its symbolism works, and how it serves to convey the ideological convictions of the rabbis. He describes its relation to similar tales in other literatures,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674654471
• ISBN13: 9780674654471
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 347 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.5"