Genres of Rewriting in Second Temple Judaism
Scribal Composition and Transmission

A study of the many different ways ancient Jewish scribes changed, or rewrote, the sacred and authoritative traditions they inherited.

Molly M. Zahn (Author)

9781108725750, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 February 2022

276 pages, 2 b/w illus.
22.7 x 15.1 x 1.7 cm, 0.425 kg

'… a significant contribution to the study of retelling, biblical hermeneutics, and material philology … This book moves the conversation about genre and rewriting to a new level as it is both theoretically sophisticated and philologically rigorous.' Hindy Najman, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

In this book, Molly Zahn investigates how early Jewish scribes rewrote their authoritative traditions in the course of transmitting them, from minor edits in the course of copying to whole new compositions based on prior works. Scholars have detected evidence for rewriting in a wide variety of textual contexts, but Zahn's is the first book to map manuscripts and translations of biblical books, so-called 'parabiblical' compositions, and the sectarian literature from Qumran in relation to one another. She introduces a new, adaptable set of terms for talking about rewriting, using the idea of genre as a tool to compare and contrast different cases. Although rewriting has generally been understood as a vehicle for biblical interpretation, Zahn moves beyond that framework to demonstrate that rewriting was a pervasive textual strategy in the Second Temple period. Her book contributes to a powerful new model of early Jewish textuality, illuminating the rich and diverse culture out of which both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity eventually emerged.

1. Rewriting, revision, and reuse: language and methods
2. Genre and rewriting
3. Revision and reuse in the Bible
4. Beyond 'rewritten Bible': revision and reuse in the Temple Scroll, Jubilees, and Qumran sectarian works
5. Translation and/as rewriting: the Greek Bible, the Targumim, and the Genesis Apocryphon
6. Diverse genres of reuse: centripetal, limited, historical résumé, pastiche
7. Second temple rewriting in context: authority, exegesis, and scribal culture.

Subject Areas: Jewish studies [JFSR1], Judaism: sacred texts [HRJS], Judaism [HRJ], Old Testaments [HRCF1]