Jewish Biblical Legends - Paperback

by Joel S. Allen (Author), Edward Goldman (Foreword by)

This book introduces Christian readers of the Bible to the otherworldly way in which the rabbis of ancient times interpreted sacred texts. You will discover how the rabbis sought to keep their congregations engaged by telling tales, parables about the Bible. Sometimes they made up whole new background stories that do not appear in Scripture but shed light on it. They were gifted storytellers, and sometimes--almost like Doc in Back to the Future--crazy but brilliant inventers. And like Marty McFly, we can climb into this literary DeLorean and speed back to a time when sages saw things in Scripture that we could never see. Their interpretive insights were based upon immense knowledge of what we call the Old Testament. This knowledge they employed to keep the congregations engaged and informed. They may end up doing the same for us if we listen to what they have to teach us.

Author Biography

Joel S. Allen is the Chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. Joel completed a PhD at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he studied Rabbinic Literature. Along with several articles, he is author of The Despoliation of Egypt in Pre-Rabbinic, Rabbinic, and Patristic Traditions (2008).