With Reverence for the Word

Abstract

This ground-breaking work is a collection of papers originally given at an academic conference on the interpretation of scripture in medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which was held at the University of Toronto in 1997. Of equal interest to scholars and students of medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, particularly those concerned with the place of the scriptures in these religious traditions, it demonstrates both the diversity within these three faiths’ exegetical traditions as well as their many crosscultural similarities. Following a short preface, which briefly outlines the work’s purposes and scope, the book is divided into three sections, each of which contains the chapters related to each faith tradition. Each section begins with its own introduction to the history and methods of the medieval exegesis of the relevant faith tradition, which provides the non-specialist reader with a historical context in which to place the individual chapters. The introductions also draw the reader’s attention to some parallel developments and possible interfaith influences among these exegetical traditions, while at the same time promoting a nuanced understanding in order to avoid facile comparisons. The book contains both a general subject index and an index to citations from the Bible, Rabbinic literature, and the Qur’an. Part 1, which contains 10 chapters on medieval Jewish exegesis, is arguably the most vibrant portion of this book. It conveys a sense of the depth and breadth of this exegetical tradition, as well as the variety of approaches that are being used to study it, and the potential such studies have for shedding light on a variety of historical issues ...