Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking
Search in google:
This is a comprehensive study of myth in the Hebrew Bible and myth and mythmaking in classical rabbinic literature (Midrash and Talmud) and in the classical work of medieval Jewish mysticism (the book of Zohar). Michael Fishbane provides a close study of the texts and theologies involved and the central role of exegesis in the development and transformation of the subject. Taken up are issues of myth and monotheism, myth and tradition, and myth and language. The presence and vitality of myth in successive cultural phases is treated, emphasizing certain paradigmatic acts of God and features of the divine personality.
AbbreviationsIntroduction1IBiblical Myth1Introduction312Combat Myths and Divine Actions: Prayers and Prophecies of Divine Might373Personalization and Historicization of the Combat Motif: In Prayer and Prophecy584Conclusions and Other Considerations63IIRabbinic Myth and Mythmaking5Introduction956God and the Primordial Waters1127Myths of Participation and Pathos1328Myths of Divinity1609Conclusions and Other Considerations191IIIJewish Myth and Mythmaking in the Middle Ages10Introduction25311The Primordial Serpent and the Secrets of Creation27312Divine Sorrow and the Rupture of Exile29313Conclusions301Final Conclusions306App. 1Translations from Talmudic and Zoharic Sources315App. 2The Term kivyakhol and its Uses325Special Abbreviations for Appendix 2402Select Bibliography405General Index419Index of Scriptural and Other Sources432Selected Hebrew Terms459
