The Midrashic Imagination: Jewish Exegesis, Thought, and History

By Michael Fishbane

Book Overview

This innovative and original book examines the broad range of Jewish interpretation from antiquity through the medieval and renaissance periods. Its primary focus is on Midrash and midrashic creativity, including the entire range of nonlegal interpretations of the Bible. Considering Midrash as a literary and cultural form, the book explores aspects of classical Midrash from various angles including mythmaking and parables. The relationship between this exoteric mode and more esoteric forms in late antiquity is also examined. This work also focuses on some of the major genres of medieval biblical exegesis: plain sense, allegory, and mystical.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791415228
• ISBN13: 9780791415221
• Release Date: July 1993
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher