Midrash
Ancient scriptural interpretation
Midrash refers to the body of classical rabbinic literature containing interpretations and commentaries on Hebrew scripture, compiled roughly between 400 and 1200 CE.
Major collections include Midrash Rabbah and Midrash Tanchuma.
These texts blend legal discussion, ethical teaching, folklore, and imaginative storytelling to illuminate biblical passages. (Lowercase midrash refers to the interpretive method or any individual interpretation.)
Critical textual interpretation
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
- sodGrass-bound topsoil section
exposition · allegory · parable · teaching · sermon · Torah · Talmud · rabbinic
Jewish religious legal ruling
- anthologyCollected literary works volume
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
- sermonicResembling religious discourse
narrative · parable · allegory · legend · folklore · wisdom · ethical · collection
Of Jewish religious scholars
- sagesProfoundly learned people
- TalmudRabbinic law compilation
- MishnahCodified Jewish oral law
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
Torah · Tanakh · Hebrew · yeshiva · study · transmission · canonical
Inherited cultural narratives
- LilithFemale demon of folklore
- golemAnimated clay servant
- LeviathanScriptural marine serpent
- behemothCreature of immense size
dybbuk · watcher · angels · demons · miracles · supernatural · mythology · oral tradition
Concerning right conduct
- didacticIntended to instruct
- ethicalConforming to moral principles
- inspirationalArousing drive or hope
- sermonClergy's worship address
exegesis
Critical textual interpretation
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
sod · exposition · allegory · parable · teaching · sermon · Torah · Talmud · rabbinic · sages
halakhah
Jewish religious legal ruling
- anthologyCollected literary works volume
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
sermonic · narrative · parable · allegory · legend · folklore · wisdom · ethical · collection
rabbinic
Of Jewish religious scholars
oral tradition · Torah · Tanakh · Hebrew · yeshiva · study · transmission · canonical
folklore
Inherited cultural narratives
behemoth · dybbuk · watcher · angels · demons · miracles · supernatural · mythology · oral tradition · storytelling
moral
Concerning right conduct
- didacticIntended to instruct
- ethicalConforming to moral principles
- inspirationalArousing drive or hope
Moses
Hebrew prophet, liberator
Sarah · Rebecca · Rachel · Leah · Joseph · David · Solomon · Elijah · Adam · Eve
- Torah Commentarysod, homilies, parsha
- JudaismShabbat, kosher, Passover, Torah, Hanukkah
- Hebrew BibleTanakh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
- ancient textsscrolls, scroll, Euclid's Elements, Epic of Gilgamesh, codex
- Jewish Loregolem, golems, Lilith, Leviathan, Kabbalah
- religious textsBible, scriptures, Bible translations, Gospels, Koran
Midrashliteral translation
Exact rendering across languages
literal interpretation · literal reading · plain meaning · word-for-word translation · literalism
MidrashTorah
Judaism's core scripture
Tanakh · original text · source text · primary source · critical edition
- beit midrashJewish house of study