Studying the Torah: A Guide to In-Depth Interpretation

202 Pages·1977·24.56 MB·English

by  Avigdor Bonchek

STUDYING
'THE
T O W

THE
TORAH
A Guide to
In-Depth Interpretation
Avigdor Bonc he k
ROWMAN 8: LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC
Lonhanl Boulder New York Toronto Oxford
A JASON ARONSON BOOK
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmanlittlefield.com
POBox 317
Oxford
OX2 9RU. UK
Copyright O 1996 by Avigdor Bonchek
First Jason Aronson Inc. softcover edition 1997
First Rowman & Littlefield edition 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bonchek, Avigdor.
Studying the Torah : a guide to in-depth interpretation / by Avigdor Bonchek.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-56821-504-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-7657-9964-2 (softcover)
1. Bible. O.T. Pentateuch-Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS1225.2.B65 1996
222'.106-4~20 95-38538
Printed in the United States of America
@"The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO 239.48-1 992.
In fond dedication
to
Shulamit ,
my devoted wife
and
C. E. Y M. S. and A.,
our loving children

In memory
of
Zanvel Klein, Ph.D, r'l"~
1937-1991
a lifelong friend

Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
1 The Rest Is Interpretation
Interpreting the Torah-The Way of the Classics
Keys to Interpretation
What Is In-Depth Interpretation?
Validity in Interpretation
Torah: Divine Revelation or Cultural Relic
2 Reading the Torah-Text for Deeper
Understanding
The Levels of P'shat
Jacob and Esau-Personalities and Prototypes
A Closer Look at the Text
A Distal Look at the Text
Personalities Become Prototypes
The Moral Question