Paul D. Mandel, Ph.D. in Hebrew Literature (1997), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Senior Lecturer at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He has published articles on aspects of early Jewish biblical interpretation, Qumran literature and rabbinic texts.

In re-opening the question of the origins of midrash, Mandel has written a book that forces us to rethink some of the essential features of Jewish literary culture. This book will surely have a lasting impact on the study of one of the most formative shifts in the history of Judaism. - Yitz Landes, in: Ancient Jew ReviewThe detailed linguistic investigation of the terms midrash, darash and hakham in their historical developments presented in this book offer a necessary corrective to scholars who juggle with “midrash” and “aggadah” as if these terms are obvious, unchanging and mutually interchangeable. - Lieve Teugels, in: Journal for the Study of JudaismMandel brings to the topic great philological precision along with an ability to maintain focus on the central questions… The author is very sophisticated in his approach to text… The text is fully documented and there are fascinating discussions in the notes. At the same time, Mandel does not take previous knowledge of the topic for granted and writes clearly so that the book is accessible to beginners.This is a well-written basic study of an important topic. - Shaul Stampfer, in: Religious Studies Review