Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking

Michael Fishbane is Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies and Chair of the Committee on Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago.

• I. BIBLICAL MYTH ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Combat Myths and Divine Actions: Prayers and Prophecies of Divine Might ; 3. Personalization and Historicization of the Combat Motif: In Prayer and Prophecy ; 4. Conclusions and Other Considerations ; II. RABBINIC MYTH AND MYTHMAKING ; 5. Introduction ; 6. God and the Primordial Waters ; 7. Myths of Participation and Pathos ; 8. Myths of Divinity ; 9. Conclusions and Other Considerations ; III. JEWISH MYTH AND MYTHMAKING IN THE MIDDLE AGES ; 10. Introduction ; 11. The Primordial Serpent and the Secrets of Creation ; 12. Divine Sorrow and the Rupture of Exile ; 13. Conclusions ; 14. Final Conclusions

In sum, this volume provides close and careful examinations of a rich variety of texts, thoughtful summaries of what may be concludedwith regard to each type of literature, two innovative appendices, and a number of detailed indexes. The author combines a broad knowledge of religious phenomenology, the theory of myth, and the classical and Christian traditions with a specialized, masterly, and detailed understanding of biblical, rabbinic, and kabbalistic texts and traditions. He presents the reader with a vast amount of text to absorb and an extensive number of interpretations and conclusions on which to reflect.