Peshat and derash : plain and applied meaning in Rabbinic exegesis / David Weiss Halivni.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Halivni, David Weiss, 1927-2022, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish.

Bible.

Midrash.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 249p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, [New York] ; Oxford, [England] : Oxford University Press, 1991.

Summary:

This text offers an explanation in this text for the willingness of the early sages to attribute to scripture meanings not suggested in the text itself. The author posits a sharp discontinuity between what the sages considered a valid meaning and our own modern understanding of textual meaning.

In this paperback reprint (which includes a new Afterword, responding to critics), noted Rabbinic scholar David Weiss Halivni offers a new explanation for the willingness of the early Sages to attribute to scripture meanings nowhere suggested in the text itself. He posits a sharp discontinuity between what the sages considered a valid meaning and our own modern understanding of textual meaning. He argues that the original meaning of the very work "peshat" was actually "context" rather than "literal" meaning, thus explaining the Rabbis' expressions of respect for peshat in the face of their evident unconcern for literal meaning in the text.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-535393-5

0-585-33934-1

OCLC:

1108160021