Legal fictions : : studies of law and narrative in the discursive worlds of ancient Jewish sectarians and sages / / by Steven D. Fraade.

• Superior document: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism ; 147
• Author: Fraade, Steven D.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism ; 147.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (648 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Ancient Jewish writings combine interpretive narratives of Israel’s sacred history with legal prescriptions for a divinely ordered way of life. Two ancient Jewish societies have left us extensive textual corpora preserving interpenetrating legal and narrative interpretive teachings: the sectarian community of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the sage-disciple circles of the early Rabbis. This book comprises studies that explore specific aspects of the interplay of interpretative, narrative, and legal rhetoric with an eye to pedagogic function and social formation for each of these communities and for both of them in comparison. It addresses questions of how best to approach these writings for purposes of historical retrieval and reconstruction by recognizing the inseparability of literary-rhetorical textual analysis and a non-reductive historiography.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / S. Fraade -- Chapter One. Introduction: Of Legal Fictions And Narrative Worlds / S. Fraade -- Chapter Two. Nomos And Narrative Before “Nomos And Narrative” / S. Fraade -- Chapter Three. Interpretive Authority In The Studying Community At Qumran / S. Fraade -- Chapter Four. To Whom It May Concern: Miqṣat Ma‘aśê Ha-Torah (4Qmmt) And Its Addressee(s) / S. Fraade -- Chapter Five. Rhetoric And Hermeneutics In Miqṣat Ma‘aśê Ha-Torah (4Qmmt): The Case Of The Blessings And Curses / S. Fraade -- Chapter Six. The Dead Sea Scrolls And Rabbinic Judaism After Sixty (Plus) Years: Retrospect And Prospect / S. Fraade -- Chapter Seven. Qumran Yaḥad and Rabbinic Ḥavurah: A Comparison Reconsidered / S. Fraade -- Chapter Eight. Looking For Legal Midrash At Qumran / S. Fraade -- Chapter Nine. Looking For Narrative Midrash At Qumran / S. Fraade -- Chapter Ten. Shifting From Priestly To Non-Priestly Legal Authority: A Comparison Of The Damascus Document And The Midrash Sifra / S. Fraade -- Chapter Eleven. Deuteronomy And Polity In The Early History Of Jewish Interpretation / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twelve. Ancient Jewish Law And Narrative In Comparative Perspective: The Damascus Document And The Mishnah / S. Fraade -- Chapter Thirteen. Theory, Practice, And Polemic In Ancient Jewish Calendars / S. Fraade -- Chapter Fourteen. “The Torah Of The King” (Deut 17:14–20) In The Temple Scroll And Early Rabbinic Law / S. Fraade -- Chapter Fifteen. Priests, Kings, And Patriarchs: Yerushalmi Sanhedrin In Its Exegetical And Cultural Settings / S. Fraade -- Chapter Sixteen. Navigating The Anomalous: Non-Jews At The Intersection Of Early Rabbinic Law And Narrative / S. Fraade -- Chapter Seventeen. Literary Composition And Oral Performance In Early Midrashim / S. Fraade -- Chapter Eighteen. Rewritten Bible And Rabbinic Midrash As Commentary / S. Fraade -- Chapter Nineteen. Rabbinic Midrash And Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty. Rabbinic Polysemy And Pluralism Revisited: Between Praxis And Thematization / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty-One. Moses And The Commandments: Can Hermeneutics, History, And Rhetoric Be Disentangled? / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty-Two. Hearing And Seeing At Sinai: Interpretive Trajectories / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty-Three. The Temple As A Marker Of Jewish Identity Before And After 70 C.E.: The Role Of The Holy Vessels In Rabbinic Memory And Imagination / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty-Four. Local Jewish Leadership In Roman Palestine: The Case Of The Parnas In Early Rabbinic Sources In Light Of Extra-Rabbinic Evidence / S. Fraade -- Chapter Twenty-Five. Afterword: Between History And Its Redemption / S. Fraade -- Index Of Ancient Authors And Sources / S. Fraade -- Index Of Modern Authors / S. Fraade -- Subject Index / S. Fraade.