Genesis Rabba
Encyclopedia
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism
's classical period. It is a midrash
comprising a collection of ancient rabbi
nical homiletical
interpretations of the Book of Genesis (B'reshith in Hebrew).
It is expository midrash to the first book of the Torah
, assigned by tradition to the amora
Hoshaiah
(or Osha'yah) who flourished in the third century in the land of Israel
. The midrash forms an aggadic commentary on Genesis, in keeping with the midrashic exegesis
of that age. In a continuous sequence, broken only toward the end, the Biblical
text is expounded, verse for verse, often word for word. Only genealogic passages and passages that furnish no material for exposition (as the reiterated account of Abraham
's servant in ) are omitted.
, suitable for the instruction of youth. It also contains varied haggadic expositions popular in the public lectures of the synagogues and schools. The editor of the midrash has strung together various longer or shorter explanations and haggadic interpretations of the successive passages, sometimes anonymously, sometimes citing the author. The editor adds to the running commentary longer haggadic disquisitions or narratives, connected in some way with the verse in question, or with one of the explanations of it — a method not unusual in the Talmud
and in other midrashim.
The first chapters of Genesis, on the creation of the world and of man, furnished especially rich material for this mode of exegesis. Whole sections are devoted to comments on one or two verses of the text. Many references to contemporary philosophical thought are made with the purpose of refuting the opinions of nonbelievers. References to contemporaneous conditions and historical events also occur. It is characteristic of the midrash to view the personages and conditions of the Bible by the light of the contemporary history of the time.
Though the stories embraced in Genesis furnished little occasion for comments on legal topics, Genesis Rabba contains a few short legal (or halakic) sentences and quotations taken from the Mishnah
and other sources. This midrash is rich in sublime thoughts and finely worded sentences, in parables, and in foreign words, especially Greek.
midrashim to the other books of the Torah, such as Mekilta, Sifra
, and Sifre
. Every chapter of the Genesis Rabba is headed by the first verse of the passage to be explained, and is introduced, with few exceptions, by one or more prefatory remarks starting from a verse taken from another Biblical passage as text — generally from the Writings or Ketuvim
. By various explanations of these texts, a transition is effected to the exposition of the particular verse of Genesis heading the section. There are in the Genesis Rabba about 230 of these passages. About 70 are cited with the name of the Rabbi with whom they originated or whose explanation of the verse in question was used as an introduction to the section of Genesis Rabba.
For these introductions, which are often quite lengthy, the material for the several expositions was ready at hand. The original work on these passages consisted principally in the combining and grouping of the several sentences and expositions into a coordinate whole, arranged so that the last member forms the actual introduction to the exposition of the section. Definitely characterized as they are in their beginning by these introductions, the sections of Genesis Rabba have no formal ending, although several show a transition to the Biblical passage that is expounded in the following section.
mention the passage of Genesis Rabba by the number of the section. The total number of the sections, both in the manuscripts and in the editions, varies from 97 to 101. Nearly all the manuscripts and editions agree in counting 96 chapters. The principle of division followed in the sections of Genesis Rabba was evidently that of the Biblical text itself as fixed at the time of the compilation of this midrash, in accordance with the open and closed paragraphs (פתוחות and סתומות) in the Hebrew text of Genesis. There are separate sections in the midrash for almost all these sections as they are still found in Genesis, with the exception of the genealogical passages. But there are sections that bear evidences of relation to the Torah portions ("sedarim") of the Palestinian triennial cycle, and a careful investigation of these may lead to the discovery of an arrangement of sedarim different from that heretofore known from old registers. However, there are sections, especially in the beginning of the midrash, in which only one or a few verses at a time are expounded. The Torah portions of the customary one-year cycle are not regarded at all in the divisions of Genesis Rabba, neither are they marked in the best manuscripts or in the editio princeps of the midrash; the sections, therefore, can not be regarded as mere subdivisions of the sedarim, as which they appear in later editions of this midrash.
But with the notoriously loose construction of the haggadic exegesis it became easy to string together, on every verse or part of a verse, a number of rambling comments; or to add longer or shorter haggadic passages, stories, etc., connected in some way with the exposition of the text. This process of accretion took place quite spontaneously in Genesis Rabba, as in the other works of the Talmudic and midrashic literature. Between the beginning and the completion of these works — if ever they were completed — a long period elapsed during which there was much addition and collection.
The tradition that Rabbi Hosha'iah is the author of Genesis Rabba may be taken to mean that he began the work, in the form of the running commentary customary in tannaitic times, arranging the exposition on Genesis according to the sequence of the verses, and furnishing the necessary complement to the tannaitic midrashim on the other books of the Torah. The ascription of the Mekilta to Rabbi Ishmael
and of the Jerusalem Talmud
to Rabbi Johanan
rests on a similar procedure. Perhaps the comments on Genesis were originally divided into sections that corresponded with the above-mentioned sections of the text, and that contained the beginnings of the simplest introductions, as indeed the first traces of such introductions are found also in the tannaitic midrash. But the embellishment of the sections with numerous artistic introductions — which points to a combination of the form of the running commentary with the form of the finished homilies following the type of the Pesikta
and Tanhuma
Midrashim — was the result of the editing of Genesis Rabba that is now extant, when the material found in collections and traditions of the haggadic exegesis of the period of the Amoraim was taken up in the midrash, and Genesis Rabba was given its present form, if not its present bulk. Perhaps the editor made use also of different collections on the several parts of Genesis. The present Genesis Rabba shows a singular disproportion between the length of the first Torah portion
and that of the eleven others. The Torah portion Bereishit
alone comprises 29 sections, being more than one-fourth of the whole work. It is possible that the present Genesis Rabba is a combination of two midrashim of unequal proportions, and that the 29 sections of the first Torah portion — several of which expound only one or a few verses — constitute the extant or incomplete material of a Genesis Rabba that was laid out on a much larger and more comprehensive scale than the midrash to the other Torah portions.
. But even then the text was probably not finally closed, for longer or shorter passages could always be added, the number of prefatory passages to a section be increased, and those existing be enlarged by accretion. Thus, beginning with the Torah portion Vayishlach
, extensive passages are found that bear the marks of the later haggadah, and have points of connection with the Tanhuma
homilies. The passages were probably added at an early date, since they are not entirely missing in the older manuscripts, which are free from many other additions and glosses that are found in the present editions. In the concluding chapters, Genesis Rabba seems to have remained defective. In the sections of the Torah portion Vayigash
, the comment is no longer carried out verse by verse; the last section of this Torah portion, as well as the first of the Torah portion Vayechi
, is probably drawn from Tanhuma homilies. The comment to the whole 48th chapter of Genesis is missing in all the manuscripts (with one exception), and to verses 1-14 in the editions. The remaining portion of this Torah portion, the comment on Jacob's blessing is found in all the manuscripts — with the above-mentioned exceptions — in a revision showing later additions, a revision that was also used by the compiler of the Tanhuma Midrash edited by Solomon Buber
.
The best manuscript of Genesis Rabba is found in the Codex Add. 27,169 of the British Museum
. It was used for the critical edition issued by J. Theodor.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
's classical period. It is a midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
comprising a collection of ancient rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical homiletical
Homiletics
Homiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
interpretations of the Book of Genesis (B'reshith in Hebrew).
It is expository midrash to the first book of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, assigned by tradition to the amora
Amora
Amoraim , were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara...
Hoshaiah
Hoshaiah
Hoshaiah or Oshaya was a Palestinian amora of the 3rd and 4th amoraic generations. It is supposed that his colleague Hanina was his brother...
(or Osha'yah) who flourished in the third century in the land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. The midrash forms an aggadic commentary on Genesis, in keeping with the midrashic exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
of that age. In a continuous sequence, broken only toward the end, the Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
text is expounded, verse for verse, often word for word. Only genealogic passages and passages that furnish no material for exposition (as the reiterated account of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
's servant in ) are omitted.
Its simplicity
Genesis Rabba contains many simple explanations of words and sentences, often in the Aramaic languageAramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, suitable for the instruction of youth. It also contains varied haggadic expositions popular in the public lectures of the synagogues and schools. The editor of the midrash has strung together various longer or shorter explanations and haggadic interpretations of the successive passages, sometimes anonymously, sometimes citing the author. The editor adds to the running commentary longer haggadic disquisitions or narratives, connected in some way with the verse in question, or with one of the explanations of it — a method not unusual in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and in other midrashim.
The first chapters of Genesis, on the creation of the world and of man, furnished especially rich material for this mode of exegesis. Whole sections are devoted to comments on one or two verses of the text. Many references to contemporary philosophical thought are made with the purpose of refuting the opinions of nonbelievers. References to contemporaneous conditions and historical events also occur. It is characteristic of the midrash to view the personages and conditions of the Bible by the light of the contemporary history of the time.
Though the stories embraced in Genesis furnished little occasion for comments on legal topics, Genesis Rabba contains a few short legal (or halakic) sentences and quotations taken from the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and other sources. This midrash is rich in sublime thoughts and finely worded sentences, in parables, and in foreign words, especially Greek.
Form
This extensive and important midrash, which forms a complete commentary on Genesis, and exemplifies all points of midrashic exegesis, is divided into sections. Proems head these sections. It is by these means distinguished from the tannaiticTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
midrashim to the other books of the Torah, such as Mekilta, Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
, and Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
. Every chapter of the Genesis Rabba is headed by the first verse of the passage to be explained, and is introduced, with few exceptions, by one or more prefatory remarks starting from a verse taken from another Biblical passage as text — generally from the Writings or Ketuvim
Ketuvim
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
. By various explanations of these texts, a transition is effected to the exposition of the particular verse of Genesis heading the section. There are in the Genesis Rabba about 230 of these passages. About 70 are cited with the name of the Rabbi with whom they originated or whose explanation of the verse in question was used as an introduction to the section of Genesis Rabba.
Introductory passages
Most of these passages are anonymous and may perhaps be ascribed in part to the author of Genesis Rabba. They begin with the verse of the text, which often stands at the head of the proem without any formula of introduction. The structure of the prefatory passages varies. In some, only the introductory text is given, its application to the verse of Genesis to be expounded being self-evident or being left to a later working out. The single prefaces, of which there is a large number, contain explanations of their text which refer entirely or in its last part to the verse or passage of Genesis to be expounded in that section. The composite introductions consist of different expositions of the same Biblical verse, by different haggadists, strung together in various ways, but always arranged so that the last exposition — the last link of the introduction — leads to the exposition of the passage of Genesis, with the first verse of which the introductions often close.For these introductions, which are often quite lengthy, the material for the several expositions was ready at hand. The original work on these passages consisted principally in the combining and grouping of the several sentences and expositions into a coordinate whole, arranged so that the last member forms the actual introduction to the exposition of the section. Definitely characterized as they are in their beginning by these introductions, the sections of Genesis Rabba have no formal ending, although several show a transition to the Biblical passage that is expounded in the following section.
The principle of division
In the manuscripts, as well as in the editions, the sections are consecutively numbered. Many quotations in the Shulchan AruchShulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
mention the passage of Genesis Rabba by the number of the section. The total number of the sections, both in the manuscripts and in the editions, varies from 97 to 101. Nearly all the manuscripts and editions agree in counting 96 chapters. The principle of division followed in the sections of Genesis Rabba was evidently that of the Biblical text itself as fixed at the time of the compilation of this midrash, in accordance with the open and closed paragraphs (פתוחות and סתומות) in the Hebrew text of Genesis. There are separate sections in the midrash for almost all these sections as they are still found in Genesis, with the exception of the genealogical passages. But there are sections that bear evidences of relation to the Torah portions ("sedarim") of the Palestinian triennial cycle, and a careful investigation of these may lead to the discovery of an arrangement of sedarim different from that heretofore known from old registers. However, there are sections, especially in the beginning of the midrash, in which only one or a few verses at a time are expounded. The Torah portions of the customary one-year cycle are not regarded at all in the divisions of Genesis Rabba, neither are they marked in the best manuscripts or in the editio princeps of the midrash; the sections, therefore, can not be regarded as mere subdivisions of the sedarim, as which they appear in later editions of this midrash.
Material
Far more difficult than any question concerning the outward form of Genesis Rabba is that of deciding how much of its present contents is original material included in it, and how much of later addition. The sections formed the framework that was to contain the exposition of a number of Biblical verses in continuous succession.But with the notoriously loose construction of the haggadic exegesis it became easy to string together, on every verse or part of a verse, a number of rambling comments; or to add longer or shorter haggadic passages, stories, etc., connected in some way with the exposition of the text. This process of accretion took place quite spontaneously in Genesis Rabba, as in the other works of the Talmudic and midrashic literature. Between the beginning and the completion of these works — if ever they were completed — a long period elapsed during which there was much addition and collection.
The tradition that Rabbi Hosha'iah is the author of Genesis Rabba may be taken to mean that he began the work, in the form of the running commentary customary in tannaitic times, arranging the exposition on Genesis according to the sequence of the verses, and furnishing the necessary complement to the tannaitic midrashim on the other books of the Torah. The ascription of the Mekilta to Rabbi Ishmael
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
and of the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
to Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
rests on a similar procedure. Perhaps the comments on Genesis were originally divided into sections that corresponded with the above-mentioned sections of the text, and that contained the beginnings of the simplest introductions, as indeed the first traces of such introductions are found also in the tannaitic midrash. But the embellishment of the sections with numerous artistic introductions — which points to a combination of the form of the running commentary with the form of the finished homilies following the type of the Pesikta
Pesikta
Pesikta refers to two collections of rabbinic literature:* Pesikta de-Rav Kahana* Pesikta Rabbati...
and Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Midrashim — was the result of the editing of Genesis Rabba that is now extant, when the material found in collections and traditions of the haggadic exegesis of the period of the Amoraim was taken up in the midrash, and Genesis Rabba was given its present form, if not its present bulk. Perhaps the editor made use also of different collections on the several parts of Genesis. The present Genesis Rabba shows a singular disproportion between the length of the first Torah portion
Parsha
This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Torah portionThe weekly Torah portion |Sidra]]) is a section of the Torah read in Jewish services...
and that of the eleven others. The Torah portion Bereishit
Bereishit (parsha)
Bereishit, Bereshit, Bereishis, B'reshith, Beresheet, or Bereshees is the first weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parshah consists of Genesis . Jews read it on the first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October...
alone comprises 29 sections, being more than one-fourth of the whole work. It is possible that the present Genesis Rabba is a combination of two midrashim of unequal proportions, and that the 29 sections of the first Torah portion — several of which expound only one or a few verses — constitute the extant or incomplete material of a Genesis Rabba that was laid out on a much larger and more comprehensive scale than the midrash to the other Torah portions.
Origin of name
The work may have received its name, "Genesis Rabbah," from that larger midrash at the beginning of Genesis, unless that designation was originally used to distinguish this midrash from the shorter and older one, which was ascribed to Rabbi Hoshayah. The opinion that the name of the midrash finds its explanation in the first words, "Rabbi Hosha'yah rabbah began . . . " as if the word "rabbah" belonged originally to the name of the amora, and that the name of the work, "Genesis Rabba," is an abbreviation of "Bereshit derabbi Hoshayah rabbah," is untenable for the reason that in the best manuscripts — and in a very old quotation — the name "Rabbi Hoshayah" stands without the addition "rabbah" in the first preface at the beginning of the midrash. It would be singular if the authorial designation had been lost and yet the attribute had remained in the title of the midrash.Date
It is difficult to ascertain the exact date of the editing of Genesis Rabba. It was probably undertaken not much later than that of the Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
. But even then the text was probably not finally closed, for longer or shorter passages could always be added, the number of prefatory passages to a section be increased, and those existing be enlarged by accretion. Thus, beginning with the Torah portion Vayishlach
Vayishlach
Vayishlach or Vayishlah is the eighth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading...
, extensive passages are found that bear the marks of the later haggadah, and have points of connection with the Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
homilies. The passages were probably added at an early date, since they are not entirely missing in the older manuscripts, which are free from many other additions and glosses that are found in the present editions. In the concluding chapters, Genesis Rabba seems to have remained defective. In the sections of the Torah portion Vayigash
Vayigash
Vayigash or Vaigash is the eleventh weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading...
, the comment is no longer carried out verse by verse; the last section of this Torah portion, as well as the first of the Torah portion Vayechi
Vayechi
Vayechi, Vayehi, or Vayhi is the twelfth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the last in the Book of Genesis...
, is probably drawn from Tanhuma homilies. The comment to the whole 48th chapter of Genesis is missing in all the manuscripts (with one exception), and to verses 1-14 in the editions. The remaining portion of this Torah portion, the comment on Jacob's blessing is found in all the manuscripts — with the above-mentioned exceptions — in a revision showing later additions, a revision that was also used by the compiler of the Tanhuma Midrash edited by Solomon Buber
Solomon Buber
Solomon Buber was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. He is especially remembered for his editions of Midrash and other medieval Jewish manuscripts, and for the pioneering research surrounding those texts....
.
The best manuscript of Genesis Rabba is found in the Codex Add. 27,169 of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. It was used for the critical edition issued by J. Theodor.
Print editions
- Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, Vols. 1–2. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
. Confronting Creation: How Judaism Reads Genesis: An Anthology of Genesis Rabbah. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1991. ISBN 0-87249-732-1.
External links
- Sacred Texts: Judaism: The Bereshith or Genesis Rabba, a selection of sayings from the work translated into English by Samuel Rapaport.
- Midrash Rabbah Genesis Volume I at Internet Archive