“The Rabbis Maintained that it was Flaxseed”: The Identification and Interpretation of Unidentified Biblical Plants in Aggadic Homilies

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Abstract

The current study discusses proposals for identifying biblical vegetative terms in the literature of the midrash. The study follows the literary phenomenon of proposed identifications of general vegetative terms, such as “tree” (etz), “shrubs” (siḥim), or “fruit of the earth” (pri ha'adama), namely plants which the biblical narrator chose to avoid explicitly identifying as belonging to a specific species, and their identification does not seem to have been important for the story or for conveying its message. It seems that the midrash has two goals in identifying biblical vegetative terms: adding realistic details and connecting the reader to the text and to the location of the events related, and presenting religious concepts and educational messages. In several cases the identification of an anonymous plant is intended to enhance the conceptual and educational messages of the story or to stress other important messages. like social identity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)156-168
Number of pages13
JournalBiblical Theology Bulletin
Volume49
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2019

Keywords

  • Aggadic homilies
  • Akaviyot
  • Cain and Abel
  • Hagar and Ishmael
  • Horns and thistles
  • Identification of biblical plants
  • Midrash
  • Plants of the Bible
  • Sihim

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Religious studies

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