Scriptural Exegesis gathers an international community of scholars to consider the history of biblical interpretation and to question how exegesis shapes spiritual and cultural creativity in the light of Michael Fishbane's groundbreaking work. Eighteen chapters chart approaches to scriptural texts from ancient to modern times.

Introduction ; I: THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND HEBREW BIBLE: THE SHAPE OF THE TEXT ; 1. Myth as historia divina and historia sacra ; 2. The Neo-Assyrian origins of the canon formula in Deuteronomy 13:1 ; 3. Traditum and traditio: The case of Deuteronomy 17:14-20 ; 4. The riddle of Psalm 111 ; 5. Calling God names: An inner-biblical approach to the Tetragrammaton ; II: INTERTESTAMENTAL, POSTBIBLICAL, AND RABBINIC LITERATURE: REIMAGINING THE TEXT ; 6. The Suffering Servant: From Isaiah to the Dead Sea Scrolls ; 7. The Work of the Chariot and the Work of Creation as mystical teachings in Philo of Alexandria ; 8. A rabbinic disquisition of Leviticus 26:3-13: A utopian vision between Jews and Christians ; 9. Yearning for intimacy: Pesikta d'Rav Kahana and the temple ; 10. 'If the text had not been written, it could not be said' ; III: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD: A NEW TEXTUAL IMAGINATION ; 11. Cain, Abel, and brutism ; 12. 'Sage is preferable to prophet': Revisioning midrashic imagination ; 13. On angels and biblical exegesis in thirteenth-century Ashkenaz ; 14. 'Virgil in the Basket': Narrative as hermeneutics in Hebrew literature of the Middle Ages ; 15. Fabula: Concerning Christian exegesis in the Middle Ages ; 16. Women reading the Song of Songs in the Christian tradition ; IV: THE MODERN PERIOD: THE HUMAN AND DIVINE IN THE TEXT ; 17. Finding the radiance in the text: A Habad hasidic interpretation of the Exodus ; 18. Between sensual and heavenly love: Franz Rosenzweig's reading of the Song of Songs

Introductory chapter lays out Fishbane's method of textual analysis and how authors address it Organization by historical period for ease of reference, covering a wide range of inter-disciplinary topics Consistent method applied across topics displays how Fishbane's way of reading texts is useful to scholars in a range of fields. His contribution to the field is clearly shown.

Introductory chapter lays out Fishbane's method of textual analysis and how authors address it Organization by historical period for ease of reference, covering a wide range of inter-disciplinary topics Consistent method applied across topics displays how Fishbane's way of reading texts is useful to scholars in a range of fields. His contribution to the field is clearly shown.