With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

by Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Barry D. Walfish, Joseph W. Goering

Overview

"This volume would serve as a wonderful course book for undergraduates and graduates, one that illustrates both the signal differences and the surprising parallels within and among the three Abrahamic traditions of scriptural exegesis."—Speculum

"Indispensable ... deserves an honored place on the shelves of public and private research libraries everywhere."—Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"A rich feast ... the three 'courses' of the book offer significant contributions to our understanding of exegesis in each specific tradition."—Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"With Reverence for the Word is both a readable and informative collection of essays important to the study of medieval scriptural exegesis." —Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199755752
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	09/14/2010
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

JDM is President and Professor of History at Bryn Mawr College, previously Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University. She sits on the Council on Foreign Relations. BDW is cross-appointed as Collection Development Department for the University of Toronto Library and Professor of Religions Studies. JWG is cross-appointed to the departments of History and Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Abbreviations

PART I MEDIEVAL JEWISH EXEGESIS OF THE BIBLE
1. An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
Barry D. Walfish
2. The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
Stephen D. Benin
3. The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
Haggai Ben-Shammai
4. Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
Daniel Frank
5. Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
Michael A. Signer
6. Rashbam as a "Literary" Exegete
Martin Lockshin
7. Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
Elliot R. Wolfson
8. Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
Barry D. Walfish
9. The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
Marc Saperstein
10. Introducing Scripture: The Accessus ad auctores in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
Eric Lawee
11. On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs
Alan Cooper

PART II MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN EXEGESIS OF THE BIBLE
12. An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
Joseph W. Goering
13. The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
Abigail Firey
14. The Four "Senses" and the Four Exegetes
Edward Synan
15. Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
James R. Ginther
16. Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two Exempla
Robert Sweetman
17. The Theological Character of the Scholastic "Division of the Text" with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
John F. Boyle
18. Thomas of Ireland and his De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae
Édourad Jeauneau
19. Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's Breviloquium on Papal Power
A.J. Minnis

PART III MEDIEVAL EXEGESIS OF THE QUR'AN
20. An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qur'an
Jane Dammen McAuliffe
21. Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries on the Qur'an
Fred Leemhuis
22. Weakness in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qur'anic Commentary
Herbert Berg
23. The Scriptural "Senses" in Medieval Sufi Qur'an Exegesis
Gerhard Böwering
24. Are There Allegories in Sufi Qur'an Interpretation?
Hava Lazarus-Yafeh
25. From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Surat al-Isra' between Text and Commentary
Angelika Neuwirth
26. Qur'anic Exegesis and History
Gerald Hawting
27. The Self-Referentiality of the Qur'an: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
Stefan Wild
28. The Designation of "Foreign" Language in the Exegesis of the Qur'an
Andrew Rippin
29. The Genre Boundaries of Qur'anic Commentary
Jane Dammen McAuliffe

Subject Index
Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qur'an

Editorial Reviews

"This volume would serve as a wonderful course book for undergraduates and graduates, one that illustrates both the signal differences and the surprising parallels within and among the three Abrahamic traditions of scriptual exegisis.—Speculum

"Indispensable ... deserves an honored place on the shelves of public and private research libraries everywhere."—Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"A rich feast ... the three 'courses' of the book offer significant contributions to our understanding of exegesis in each specific tradition."—Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"With Reverence of the Word is both a readable and informative collection of essays important to the study fo medieval scriptural exegesis." —Journal of Near Eastern Studies

From the Publisher