Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [207]-225).

In the Bible certain objects appear in association with an individual character or characters and in particular narrative events. Rabbinic exegesis places these objects in new and innovative contexts. That is, the Rabbinic exegetes speak of the object's origin, history and fate: the circumstances under which the object was created, how it came into the possession of a Biblical character, its destiny, and, in some cases, its role in the Messianic era. This thesis examines Rabbinic interpretations of eight Biblical objects: Adam's garments, Abraham's ram, Solomon's throne, the staffs, asses, altars and wells used by various characters, and a divine fire. This is the first collection of the numerous parallel sources that deal with each of these objects. The traditions regarding these objects illustrate the Rabbis' concern with unity and continuity: different Biblical characters and events are linked together by means of the objects. The Rabbinic idea of the transmission of Biblical objects parallels the Rabbis' view of their own literature as having been transmitted through the generations.

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [207]-225).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-232).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-232).

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 27, 2010) Kathryn McClymond, committee chair; Michael Galchinsky, Timothy Renick, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-76).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [207]-225).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, The Divinity School, March 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

The Or ha-Sekhel of Abraham ben Asher (Venice, 1567) is of great importance in the history of the study of midrash because it is the first book in which Genesis Rabba was accompanied by commentaries, one spuriously attributed to Rashi and the other written by Abraham ben Asher himself. The composition of a commentary on a midrash was something of a novelty in the mid-16th-century; immediate precedents are hard to identify. Yet, several such commentaries and a large number of prints of Midrash Rabba were published at this time, suggesting that the status of this ‘anthology of midrashim’ was undergoing a period of transition. The need for a correct text and the explanation of obscure vocabulary was foremost in the minds of interpreters such as Issachar Berman of Poland. However, the increasing importance of midrash in the sermons of the Iberian immigrants to the Ottoman Empire also inspired the composition of more discursive commentaries. The homiletic nature of Abraham ben Asher’s expositions suggests that they should be seen in this context. His incorporation of an earlier commentary falsely attributed to Rashi into the Or ha-Sekhel might be understood as an effort to ground his innovative presentation of Genesis Rabba as a text requiring thorough study and the guidance of learned commentators in the work of Rashi himself. Understanding the way Abraham ben Asher has compiled these texts in the Or ha-Sekhel sheds new light on the pervasive interest in midrash in the 16th-century and the outpouring of commentaries on Midrash Rabba at this time.