Instone Brewer, David
Techniques and Assumptions in Jewish Exegesis before 70 CE

This survey of Jewish exegesis during the era of Herod's Temple comes to some startling conclusions about the techniques and assumptions used by these early exegetes. The scribal predecessors of the rabbis in Palestine did not use allegory, did not ignore the context and did not read the text differently to suit their interpretation. However, Jewish interpreters in Alexandria, Qumran, and Rabbis after 70 CE did all these things. Previous studies in rabbinic interpretation have not isolated these very ancient sources. They have assumed that the early exegetes interpreted the Bible in the same way as those after 70 CE. This has led New Testament scholars to assume that Paul also used these later techniques. As a result of this book, Pauline exegesis must be regarded in a completely new light. The book contains all the Biblical interpretations found in rabbinic literature which can be dated before 70 CE. These are in Hebrew with line-by-line translations. They are accompanied by notes on dating and analyses of the exegetical techniques used. These techniques are also introduced and discussed separately, and the ancient lists of these Middoth are provided in an appendix in Hebrew and translation into English. The techniques are compared with techniques used by other Jews of this time, including Josephus, Philo and Qumran scholars. The different types of interpretive techniques used by these groups suggest that they had different assumptions about the nature of Scripture. The history of rabbinic Biblical interpretation, the study of the Old Testament in the New, and the debate on principles of Biblical hermeneutics must all now be reassessed as a result of this book. XIII,299 Seiten, Leinen (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism; Vol. 30/Mohr Siebeck 1992) leichte Lagerspuren/minor shelfwear