- Parables in Midrash
- David Stern
- David Stern shows how the parable or mashal--the most distinctive type of narrative in midrash--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, including the parables of Jesus in the New Testament and kabbalistic parables. Through its innovative approach to midrash, this study reaches beyond its particular subject, and will appeal to all readers interested in narrative and religion.
- Hardcover 1991 / Paperback
- Prayers that Cite Scripture
- Edited by James L. Kugel
- In the beginning, prayers were straightforward: people turned to God and asked for help. By the closing centuries of the biblical period, however, prayers began to include references to Scripture. This process grew in intensity and refinement as Judaism moved from the biblical period to early post-biblical times. This collection of essays seeks to chart the main lines of the Scripturalization of prayer over this entire period.
- Hardcover 2006
- Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible
- Karel van der Toorn
- The scribes of ancient Israel are indeed the main figures behind the Hebrew Bible, and this book tells their story for the first time. Drawing comparisons with the scribal practices of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, van der Toorn details the methods, assumptions, and material means that gave rise to biblical texts. Traditionally seen as the copycats of antiquity, the scribes emerge here as the literate elite who held the key to the production and the transmission of texts.
- Hardcover 2007