midrash
Torah commentary tradition
Midrash refers to the method or tradition of Jewish biblical interpretation that seeks to explain, expand, or derive lessons from scripture beyond its literal meaning.
Rabbinical scholars developed these interpretive techniques over centuries, filling gaps in biblical narratives or resolving apparent contradictions.
In casual use, midrash can mean any creative elaboration on a story: Her novel is essentially midrash on the Book of Ruth. (Capitalized Midrash refers to the collected body of such writings.)
Grass-bound topsoil section
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- commentaryExplanatory remarks on events
exposition · allegory · typology · wordplay · inference · analogy · intertextual · close reading
sod
Grass-bound topsoil section
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- interpretationAssigned meaning
commentary · exposition · allegory · typology · wordplay · inference · analogy · intertextual · close reading
midrashliteral translation
Exact rendering across languages
literalism · word-for-word translation · surface meaning · literal reading · literal interpretation
midrashTorah
Judaism's core scripture
Tanakh · biblical text · source text · Mishnah · legal code
- beit midrashJewish house of study