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Jewish Bible interpretation

Abstract:

The practice of commentary and interpretation in a faith community implies acceptance of writings that have become normative for the life and beliefs of that community even before a final canonization as ‘Holy Scripture’. In ancient Judaism, interpreters were influenced by a variety of factors. These included the need to explain the Scriptures to later generations unfamiliar with the language or outlook of the original works, and to harmonize both apparent inconsistencies within the text and between Scripture and contemporary practice. This chapter surveys examples of a number of different genres: inner-biblical interpretation; ‘Rewritten Bible’; commentary; allegory; pesher; translation; and midrash.

Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Reviewed (other)

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Files:
Publisher copy:
10.4324/9781315678894-56

Authors

More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
HUMS
Department:
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Oxford college:
Mansfield College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-4653-9728

Contributors

Role:
Editor


Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Host title:
The Biblical World
Pages:
906-917
Chapter number:
12
Publication date:
2021-07-29
Edition:
2
DOI:
EISBN:
9781315678894
ISBN:
9781032018478


Language:
English
Subtype:
Chapter
Pubs id:
1246845
Local pid:
pubs:1246845
Deposit date:
2026-03-03
ARK identifier:

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