Ancient Bible Interpretation and its Legacies

Ancient Bible Interpretation and its Legacies: Politics, Literature, and Heresy offers a sweeping exploration of the evolving role of Bible interpretation from ancient to modern times, revealing its profound impact on religious, political, literary, and secular culture.

Tracing the origins of Midrash in post-Temple Judaism and its transmission across Christian and Islamic traditions, this book examines how scriptural exegesis has shaped – and been shaped by – historical trauma, national identity, and cultural transformation. It explores the central role of Midrash in Jewish survival and education, its responses to persecution and polemic, and its influence on mystical traditions, Zionism, and modern literary movements. Moving beyond religious contexts, the volume investigates how biblical interpretation has informed dissenting voices in English literature, the formation of modern nationalism, responses to anti-Semitism, and contemporary concerns from environmental ethics to the search for justice in postcolonial and global literatures. Through a rich tapestry of case studies – from ancient rabbis to Bunyan, Blake, Bialik, Orwell, and Achebe – it reveals the enduring power of homiletic traditions in shaping moral and political imagination across ages and cultures.

This book is essential reading for scholars of Jewish studies, religious studies, comparative literature, intellectual history, and cultural studies, offering a vital perspective on the complex legacies of ancient Bible interpretation in the modern world.

Author Biography

David Aberbach is Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Studies at McGill University, Montreal. He has written widely on Jewish literature from the Bible to the present day. His books include: The European Jews, Patriotism and the Liberal State; Nationalism, War, and Jewish Education; and The Hebrew Bible, Nationalism and the Origins of Anti-Judaism.