Eliezer Segal
University of Calgary, Classics and Religion, Faculty Member
- Eliezer Segal (BA McGill 1972edit
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This article illustrates the variety of considerations that go into modern attempts to reconstruct the origins of midrashic traditions. Focusing on the rabbinic texts which identify Iscah (in Gen 11:29) with the matriarch Sarah, the study... more
This article illustrates the variety of considerations that go into modern attempts to reconstruct the origins of midrashic traditions. Focusing on the rabbinic texts which identify Iscah (in Gen 11:29) with the matriarch Sarah, the study examines various considerations which might have motivated the rabbis to invent such an identification, payingparticular attention to hermeneutical considerations (i.e., issues arising from the biblical text) and to the homiletical uses that might have been served by this interpretation. It was noted that the Sarah-Iscah equation could be explained satisfactorily according to the literary and ideological conventions of aggadic midrashic exegesis. Nonetheless, an examination of texts from the Second Commonwealth period demonstrates that the Sarah/Iscah equation antedated the literary homiletics of rabbinic aggadah. In light of this early extra-Talmudic material, it appears more likely that our exegeti-cal tradition owes its origins to Pharisaic attempts to find aprecedent for their championing of uncle-niece marriages, a burning controversy which found expression in many writings of the period. With the disappearance of non-Pharisaic Jewish sects in the post-Destruction era, the Sarah/ Iscah tradition became "just another" aggadic midrashic tradition to be dealt with according to the methods that characterize that genre, and its polemical and sectarian origins were probably forgotten. At the heart of the midrashic interpretation of Scripture lies a rich and flexible "toolbox" of hermeneutical rules that stand at the disposal of the homilist or exegete as he ventures to expound his text. By applying these rules to the biblical passage which he is expounding, the skillful darshan is able to elicit additional possibilities of meaning, which will allow him to construct a derashah around a chosen theme. For the modern reader, attempting to reconstruct as reasonably as is possible the creative process that led to the composition of a midrashic passage, there is no foolproof way of establishing the precise relationship between the hermeneutical technique and the thematic point of the derashah. Modern readers often have a tendency to regard the message as primary, and the exegetical
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As an illustration of the phenomena of "filtered absorption" or "controlled incorporation" of Greek and Roman culture into late classical Judaism, this article focuses on the depiction of Abraham's servant, identified as Eliezer, in a... more
As an illustration of the phenomena of "filtered absorption" or "controlled incorporation" of Greek and Roman culture into late classical Judaism, this article focuses on the depiction of Abraham's servant, identified as Eliezer, in a passage in b. Sanh 109b, which consists largely of confrontations—several of them of a decidedly humorous or satirical nature—with the perverse laws, judges, and citizens of biblical Sodom. The manner in which Eliezer's midrashic personality and role were fashioned by the rabbis evokes a familiar character from classical literature, namely the "clever slave" [semis callidus], a figure that was cultivated most famously by Plautus and which became a popular stock character in Roman theater. The article tries to reconstruct how the midrashic homilist adapted the Latin dramatic conventions for Jewish religious and exegetical purposes. Special attention is paid to the Talmud's incorporation of the well-known motif of the "Procrustean bed"; noting the methodological and textual obstacles that plague our attempts to identify exactly which versions of that legend were being used by the talmudic authors.
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As an illustration of the phenomena of "filtered absorption" or "controlled incorporation" of Greek and Roman culture into late classical Judaism, this article focuses on the depiction of Abraham's servant, identified as Eliezer,in a... more
As an illustration of the phenomena of "filtered absorption" or "controlled incorporation" of Greek and Roman culture into late classical Judaism, this article focuses on the depiction of Abraham's servant, identified as Eliezer,in a passage in b. Sanh. 9b,which consists largely of confrontations—several of them of a decidedly humorous or satirical nature—with the perverse laws, judges, and citizens of biblical Sodom. The manner in which Eliezer's midrashic personality and role were fashioned by the rabbis evokes a familiar character from classical literature, namely the "clever slave" [servus callidus], a figure that was cultivated most famously by Plautus and which became a popular stock character in Roman theater. The article tries to reconstruct how the midrashic homilist adapted the Latin dramatic conventions for Jewish religious and exegetical purposes. Special attention is paid to the Talmud's incorporation of the well-known motif of the "Procrustean bed"; noting the methodological and textual obstacles that plague our attempts to identify exactly which versions of that legend were being used by the talmudic authors.