Judaism and the Interpretation of Scripture: Introduction to the Rabbinic Midrash

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Judaism and the Interpretation of Scripture: Introduction to the Rabbinic Midrash. By Jacob Neusner. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004, 230 pp., $24.95 paper.

One of the world's most prolific writers on Rabbinic literature has written yet another book on the subject. In fifteen chapters, Judaism and the Interpretation of Scripture introduces and selectively illustrates Rabbinic Midrash compilations and their theology.

The preface serves to define "Midrash." Moving beyond a simple definition of "interpretation" (from darash), Neusner acknowledges that in its current usage, the term has three levels of meaning: (1) the process or particular way of reading and interpreting a verse …