Midrash and the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

Midrash is the particular mode of interpreting the Hebrew Bible that was developed by the rabbis of late antiquity in the Land of Israel. Midrash rendered Scripture relevant to the needs of a specific period in time. Definitions of midrash, the scope of midrashic activity, and its applicability to multiple interpretive strategies are widely disputed among scholars. This essay examines inner‐biblical interpretation, definitions of midrash, midrash scholarship, classifications of midrash, the boundaries of the genre midrash, midrasic exegesis, and various theological assumptions of midrash.