Genre as Argument in the Sefer Yetsirah: A New Look at Its Literary Structure

Abstract

The Sefer Yetsirah, the Book of Creation, is a cosmogonic work, narrating the creation of the world with the ten sefirot and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The text is semantically difficult, its reception is varied, and its structure is poorly understood. Various commentators have made competing claims about the nature of the Sefer Yetsirah. Some say it is practical, or theosophical, while others believe it to be a work of philosophy. I propose that there is a discernible pattern in its organization which is key to understanding its meaning and function. This pattern is a ring composition, a form commonly used in the Hebrew Bible and in late antique and early medieval works. The ring-composition form highlights passages that emphasize the practical application of the Sefer Yetsirah. Its generic form is just as important as its words in conveying meaning. With the aid of formal analysis, it is possible to better understand the meaning and function of the text, as well as the history of its reception. THE SEFER YETSIRAH (SY) is a cosmogonic work, narrating the creation of the world with the ten sefirot and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, written in Hebrew and composed anywhere from the third to the ninth centuries. It is one of the core texts of kabbalah, and while it and its commentaries introduce and develop some of the