Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking

Michael Fishbane is Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies and Chair of the Committee on Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago.

In sum, this volume provides close and careful examinations of a rich variety of texts, thoughtful summaries of what may be concludedwith regard to each type of literature, two innovative appendices, and a number of detailed indexes. The author combines a broad knowledge of religious phenomenology, the theory of myth, and the classical and Christian traditions with a specialized, masterly, and detailed understanding of biblical, rabbinic, and kabbalistic texts and traditions. He presents the reader with a vast amount of text to absorb and an extensive number of interpretations and conclusions on which to reflect.

• I. BIBLICAL MYTH ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Combat Myths and Divine Actions: Prayers and Prophecies of Divine Might ; 3. Personalization and Historicization of the Combat Motif: In Prayer and Prophecy ; 4. Conclusions and Other Considerations ; II. RABBINIC MYTH AND MYTHMAKING ; 5. Introduction ; 6. God and the Primordial Waters ; 7. Myths of Participation and Pathos ; 8. Myths of Divinity ; 9. Conclusions and Other Considerations ; III. JEWISH MYTH AND MYTHMAKING IN THE MIDDLE AGES ; 10. Introduction ; 11. The Primordial Serpent and the Secrets of Creation ; 12. Divine Sorrow and the Rupture of Exile ; 13. Conclusions ; 14. Final Conclusions