In Front | Rabbinic Literature

Of the five types of literature we’re discussing in this lesson, rabbinic literature is by far the largest collection of writings, as well as the most diverse and difficult to define. The closest approximation for Christians would be the early tradition of Christian writings by people like Clement of Alexandria (ca. AD 150-250), dating back to the days of the Early Church. 

Rabbis are Jewish teachers of the law that parallel in some ways Christian pastors, priests and theologians. They lead Jewish congregations in worship and help them understand the meaning of God’s Word. Rabbis have been leaders in Jewish faith since before the time of Jesus and many rabbinic traditions can be traced to that era in history. It’s a vast and diverse amount of material that approaches the Bible from a number of different angles. 

Some of the key rabbinic texts include: 

Midrash (or Midrash Rabbah): The Midrash is a compilation of ancient commentary on the Old Testament. This genre involves different types of interpretation but the goal of each is to draw out the meaning of the text by making connections and studying it as precisely as possible. 

Mishnah: The title “Mishnah” means “repeating” and this definition is a good explanation of what this literature is. It explains and expands on the Old Testament law. We might think of it as a law code for Jewish faith based on the law of the Bible.

Talmud: The Talmud expands on the Mishnah and is a collection of Rabbinic teaching that also includes subjects like philosophy, ethics and history.

You may wonder how studying Rabbinic literature could be helpful in our study of the Bible. First of all, the Old Testament (or TaNaKh) is the focus of most of this literature. There are interpretations of the meaning of passages as well as long segments on how to live out the laws obediently. This is essential to the Hebrew notion of “halakhah”—literally “walking out” the Law. 

Second, the Rabbinic sources are written compilations of Jewish interpretation that, in some cases, comes from the period of the New Testament (1^st c. ad). Jesus had contemporaries like Hillel and Shammai in His world. Paul studied with Gamaliel. Yohanan ben Zakkai was a first century Rabbi in Judea. Rabbi Akiva had a significant influence during the end of the first century and beginning of the second. Let’s take a look at some biblical passages to see how first century Jews might have heard them in light of Rabbinic parallels.

The history of biblical interpretation by Christians involved a lot of interaction—not always friendly—with Jewish interpreters. You see, Jesus was proclaimed the Jewish Messiah. And the biggest issue the Apostolic Church faced was the role and expectations of Gentiles in a Jewish faith. Consequently the foundation of the New Testament is providing a biblical (Old Testament) rationale for this Messiah and this surprising inclusion of Gentiles. The rationale was an interpretation of many Old Testament texts, especially from Psalms, Isaiah and Deuteronomy. You can be sure that there were alternative explanations for these passages from un-persuaded Jewish leaders.

We’ll be looking at parallels between the teachings of Jesus—especially His parables—in the modules ahead. We’ll also be looking at the Oral Law (takkanot) of the Jews as background for many of the controversies in the Gospels. We’ll even meet Jewish healers whose miracle ministries were much like those of Jesus.