Midrash and Legend

This study applies form criticism to the stories of the earliest rabbinic midrashim. The results shed light on the literary personalities of the individual midrash collections and the relationships of transmission in the tradition. These stories are of particular interest from an inter-religious and comparative literary point of view because New Testament studies have often referred to certain narratives in the gospels as "midrashic." The author sets forth, in positive terms, an understanding of what functions historical anecdotes serve in the tannaitic midrashim, along with a catalogue of the rhetorical conventions used to fulfill those functions.

Contenu

• Abstract (page 5)
• Dedication (page 7)
• Acknowledgements (page 8)
• Table of Contents (page 9)
• Historical Anecdotes in the Tannaitic Midrashim (page 11)
• Historical Anecdotes in the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael (page 41)
• Historical Anecdotes in the Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai (page 175)
• Historical Anecdotes in Sifra-Torat Kohanim (page 228)
• Historical Anecdotes in Sifre Numbers (page 314)
• Historical Anecdotes in Sifre Zuta (page 410)
• Historical Anecdotes in Sifre Deuteronomy (page 462)
• Summary of Data for the Tannaitic Midrashim (page 560)
• Conclusions (page 576)
• Appendix I. Historical Anecdotes in the Mishnah (page 584)
• Appendix II: Historical Anecdotes in the Tosefta (page 597)
• Appendix III: Historical Anecdotes in the Amoraic Midrashim (page 615)
• Bibliography of Works Consulted (page 642)
• Index (page 668)