Esther in Medieval Garb

Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Esther in the Middle Ages

By Barry Dov Walfish

Subjects: Jewish Studies
Series: SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion
Paperback : 9780791410400, 400 pages, September 1993
Hardcover : 9780791410394, 400 pages, September 1993

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction

PART I. THE WORK OF THE EXEGETE

1. Jewish Sources for Exegesis

2. Non-Jewish Sources for Exegesis

3. Literary Concerns

4. Theological Issues

PART II. THE WORLD OF THE EXEGETE

5. Persia through European Eyes: Geography, Architecture, Customs, and Institutions

6. Jewish-Gentile Relations and Jewish Attitudes to Gentiles as Reflected in the Commentaries

7. The State of the Jewish People in the Diaspora: Perceptions of Antisemitism

8. The Royal Court

9. The Jews and the Monarchy: The Role of Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther

Concluding Remarks

Appendix I. The Exegetes of the Book of Esther: A Bio-bibliographical Survey with Textual Excursuses

Appendix II. Immanuel of Rome and Dante on the Differentiation of Languages and the Dating of Immanuel's Commentary on the Book of Esther

Notes

Bibliography
Medieval Commentaries on the Book of Esther in Print and in Manuscript

Other Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Author and Title Index

Subject Index

Index of Scripture Citations

Index of Manuscripts by Depository Libraries

Description

This comprehensive history, the first to appear in English, gives a vivid portrayal of the Book of Esther's role in the intellectual and cultural life of Jews in the Middle Ages. Much of the study is based on material that exists only in manuscripts, and it introduces many exegetes hitherto unknown or unstudied.

Reviews

"There is nothing like this for the Book of Esther, and little like it for any body of medieval Jewish exegesis. The author's research enables the reader to see specific connections between individual exegetes and the medieval settings in which they lived. One gets a wonderful picture of various medieval Jewish (and gentile) communities from this book. " — Edward L. Greenstein, Jewish Theological Seminary of America

"This work is an invaluable bibliographic resource, the most comprehensive account of Jewish medieval interpretation of any biblical book. Going beyond mere survey, Walfish offers insightful (and, in some cases, ground-breaking) discussions of three aspects of the commentaries under consideration: their value for biblical exegesis; their place in Jewish and general intellectual history; and their contribution to the study of the societies out of which they emerged. " — Alan Cooper, Hebrew Union College