- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- Chapter:
- (p.119) 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- Source:
- With Reverence for the Word
- Author(s):
Barry D. Walfish
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Commentaries on the book of Ruth are relatively uncommon in both Jewish and Christian exegesis. Of those extant, one of the most intriguing is that of Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen. Isaac's only other extant works are commentaries on the books of Esther and Ecclesiastes, neither of which has ever been published. The commentary on Ruth has several remarkable features. The first is the means by which Isaac claims to have come to his understanding of the book's contents. The second is his use of typological exegesis. The third is the interweaving of this typology with the narrative plot line of the book of Ruth. Like other late medieval exegetes, Isaac justifies his commentary by claiming that the previous commentaries did not deal with all the issues adequately. Typology, or figural interpretation, has traditionally been associated almost exclusively with the Christian understanding of the Hebrew Bible. Isaac's emphasis on the redemption of the Jewish people is a reflection of his time, an age when the Jews in Spain were being persecuted and messianic ferment was high.
Keywords: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen, book of Ruth, typology, commentaries, exegesis, medieval exegetes, Spain, Jews, Hebrew Bible
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- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
