Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
PREFACE
ABBREVIATIONS AND TRANSLITERATION
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
II. HOW TO STUDY THE NUMERICAL TRADITIONS IN TANNAITIC LITERATURE
Excursus on Method
A. Assumptions Regarding the Nature of the Literature
B. Is the Method of Form-criticism appropriately applied to Rabbinic Literature?
C. The Source of Examples for This Study
D. Method
III. FROM OBSERVATION TO EXEGESIS
i. โProverbialโ or Non-exegetical Enumerations
Nez. xiii: 50-94 Seven Kinds of Thieves
Vay. vi: 53-60 Ten Things Created on the Eve of Sabbath
Vay. vi: 81-85 Three Things Which Elijah Will Restore
ii. Enumeration Passages Which Appear Both in Non-exegetical and Exegetical Forms
Vay. vi: 60-64 Seven Things Hidden from Men
Bah. v: 98-101 Three Things to Which the Torah is Likened
Nez. xiii: 59-61 Three Thefts of Absalom (= Shir. vi: 135-138)
iii. The โRegularizationโ of the Enumeration Pattern
A. Assumptions and Hypotheses
B. Possible Sources for the Exegetical Enumeration Pattern of the Rabbis
IV. THE โENUMERATION OF SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLESโ IN TANNAITIC LITERATURE
i. Commonsense Analysis of an Individual Text
Besh. iii: 128-136 Four Groups of Israelites at the Red Sea
ii. Hermeneutical Analogy
Besh. iii: 118-128 Three Told Not to Return to Egypt
Vay. vii: 39-55 Three Things About Which Israel Used to Complain
Amal. i: 62-67 Three Things That Returned to Their Original Place
Amal. ii: 16-137 Four to Whom Hints Were Given
Bah. vii: 17-27 R. Ishmaelโs Four Distinctions in Atonement
Besh. v: 1-14 Ten Miracles at the Sea
iii. Lexical Analogy
Besh. i: 178-187 Seven Clouds
Bah. x: 41-52 Three Good Things Given to Israel at the Price of Chastisements
Shir. i: 15-81 Ten Songs
Shir. ix: 118-126 Four Called Possessions
Shir. vii: 70-78 Four Called Mighty
iv. Syntactical Analogy
Shir. i: 34-63 Three Things to Which Moses Devoted His Soul
Amal. iv: 132-147 Three Things Given Conditionally
v. Legal Analogy
Bah. xi: 53-65 Three Unconditional โIfsโ in the Torah (= Kaspa 1:1-10)
Nez. vi: 37-46 Three Expressions in the Torah Which R. Ishmael Used to Interpret as Being Figurative (= Nez. xiii: 13-19)
vi. Technical Exegetical Analogy
Amal. i: 104-113 Five Uncertain Constructions in the Torah
Pis. xiv: 64-77 (Thirteen) Passages Which They Changed When Writing the Torah for King Ptolemy
V. NON-RABBINIC โENUMERATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLESโ
A. Jewish and Samaritan Writings
1. Pseudo-Philo
2. The Samaritan Memar Marqah
B. Early Christian Writings
1. New Testament
2. Apostolic Fathers
3. Origen
4. Aphraates
VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Appendix Examples of Stereotyped Patterns of Discourse in Mekhilta dโR. Ishmael
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCE INDEX
INDEX OF AUTHORS