Drunkenness, Prostitution and Immodest Appearances in Hebrew Biblical Narrative, Second ...

285 Pages·2007·0.95 MB·English

Drunkenness, Prostitution and Immodest
Appearances in Hebrew Biblical Narrative,
Second Temple Writings and
Early Rabbinic Literature:
A Literary and Rhetorical Study

Rabbi Eli Kohn: Student Number 2004 195323

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy
in the

Department of Afroasiatic Studies, Sign Language and
Language Practice

Faculty of the Humanities
of the

University of the Free State

Supervisor: Professor Y. Gitai

Co-Supervisor: Professor P. J. Nel

Bloemfontein

Date of Submission: May 2006
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

Chapter 1: The Literary and Rhetorical 15
Portrayal of Drunkenness in Specific
Biblical Stories
1.1 The Story of Noah's Drunkenness - Genesis 9:18-29 16
1.1.1 The Ancient Near Eastern Literary Background 18
1.1.2 The Story of Noah's Drunkenness in the Context of 20
Genesis 1-11
1.1.3 The Literary and Linguistic Structure of the 20
Narrative as a Whole
1.1.4 Exegesis on verses 9:18-29 25
1.2 The Story of Sodom, Lot and His Two Daughters - 43
Genesis 19:1-38
1.2.1 Literary Setting of the Lot's Daughters Text 46
1.2.2 Parallels and Differences Between the Noah 48
Drunkenness Story and the Lot's Daughters' Narrative
1.2.3 Literary Structure and Style of the Lot's Daughters' 52
Text
1.2.4 Commentary on the Lot's Daughters' Text 52
1.2.5 Summary of the Lot's Daughters' Narrative 60

Chapter 2: The Literary and Rhetorical 62
Portrayal of Drunkenness in the Genesis 9:18 -
29 and Genesis 19:31-38 Biblical Stories in the
Second Temple and Early Rabbinic Periods
2.1 Introduction to the Methodology of Ancient Biblical 62
Interpretation
2.2 Jubilees 65
2.2.1 Jubilees - Chapter 7 67
2.3 Genesis Apocryphon 69
2.4 Josephus - Antiquities Book 1:140-42 71
2
2.5 Philo Questions and Answers on Genesis and Exodus 72
Book II, 68
2.6 III Baruch IV. 9-13 75
2.7 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Genesis 9:18-27 77
2.8 Targum Neofiti 1 Genesis 9:18-27 83
2.9 Understanding the Literary Approach of the Midrash 85
2.10 Genesis Rabba on 9:18-27 90
2.10.1 Some Comments on the Literary Structure of 92
Midrash Rabba 9:18-27 and its Exegesis
2.10.2 Paragraph ג of the Midrash 93
2.10.3 Paragraph ד of the Midrash 99
2.10.4 Paragraphs ח,ז,ו,ה of the Midrash 104
2.10.5 The Connection between Rashi's Commentary and 105
that of the Midrash Rabba
2.10.6 Summary of the Exegesis of the Midrash Rabba on 108
the Noah Drunkenness Story
2.11 Midrash Tanhuma 9:18-27 109
2.12 Midrash Rabati 9:18-27 114
2.13 Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 70a-b 115
2.14 Summary of the Ancient Interpretation of the Noah 118
Drunkenness Story
2.15 Lot's Daughters in Jubilees 19:30-38 121
2.16 Philo 19:30-38 122
2.17 Josephus 19:30-38 124
2.18 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan 19:30-38 126
2.19 Genesis Rabba 19:30-38 128
2.20 Pesiqta Rabati 19:30-38 137
2.21 Babylonian Talmud Baba Kama 38b 139
2.22 Conclusion of the Second Temple and Early 139
Rabbinic Exegesis of the Lot's Daughters' Story

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Chapter 3: The Literary and Rhetorical 143
Portrayal of Prostitution in Genesis 38:1-30-
The Story of Judah and Tamar
3.1 The Context of the Judah and Tamar Narrative 144
3.2 Verbal and Thematic Links between Genesis 38 and 145
its Immediate Narrative Context
3.3 Thematic Links between Genesis 38 and the Lot's 149
Daughters' Narrative
3.4 Thematic Links between Genesis 38 and the Book of 150
Ruth
3.5 Commentary on Genesis 38 153
3.6 Prostitutes and Consecrated Women in Genesis 38 166
and other Biblical Passages
3.7 Tamar's Role in the Narrative - The Marginal 174
Protagonist
3.8 Judah's Role in the Narrative - Through Ironic Eyes 178
3.9 Conclusion of the Genesis 38 Narrative 180

Chapter 4: The Literary and Rhetorical 183
Portrayal of Prostitution as Portrayed in
Genesis 38:1-30 in Second Temple Jewish
Literature and Early Rabbinic Literature
4.1 The Judah and Tamar Story in the Testament of Judah 183
4.2 Jubilees 41 - Presentation of the Narrative of Judah 206
and Tamar
4.3 Targum Neofiti - Interpretation of the Narrative of 207
Judah and Tamar
4.3.1 Witnesses: Lost and Found 210
4.3.2 Tamar's Prayer 213
4.3.3 Tamar's Statement Before the Court 216
4.3.4 Judah's Confession 217
4.3.5 Conclusions Regarding Targum Neofiti 220
Commentary on Genesis 38

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4.4 Commentary of Genesis Rabba 85 on Genesis 38 222
4.4.1 Paragraph 1 223
4.4.2 Paragraph 2 225
4.4.3 Paragraph 3 228
4.4.4 Kings and Redeemers Elsewhere in Genesis Rabba 231
85
4.4.5 Judah's Role as a Worthy Ancestor 234
4.4.6 Tamar the Worthy Ancestress 239
4.4.7 Conclusions of the Genesis Rabba Exegesis on 242
Genesis 38

Chapter 5: Conclusions 245
Bibliography 270
Abstract 281

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Acknowledgements

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Professor Y. Gitai for his good counsel and
steady encouragement which have seen this thesis to its completion. He first introduced
me to academic thinking and working with him over the last few years as my supervisor
has been a privilege.

I also wish to pay special recognition to my co-supervisor Professor P. Nel who has
provided thoughtful comments and direction throughout the preparation of this thesis. I
also thank the administration of the University of the Free State for allowing me the
opportunity to study under its auspices. I am also grateful for the financial assistance
which enabled me to focus my efforts on completing this thesis.

My deepest thanks also go to the administration of the Lookstein Center of Jewish
Education at Bar Ilan University in Israel, where I have worked for the past ten years, for
allowing me the time to spend researching and writing this thesis. I am particularly
thankful to Rabbi Stuart Zweiter, Director of the Lookstein Center, for his support and
advice.

On a more personal level, I wish to thank my wife, Leah, who has been a constant
support in this intellectual endeavor. In addition, my mother has been an invaluable
source of encouragement and support throughout this intensive period. As an expression
of appreciation, I dedicate this thesis to them.

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Introduction

The Main Problem Addressed by this Thesis
There are a number of narratives in the Hebrew Bible which deal with seemingly
inappropriate behaviors such as drunkenness and prostitution. These stories include,
among others, Noah's drunkenness after the flood in Genesis 9:18-29, Lot's drinking of
wine with his two daughters in Genesis 19:31-38 and the narrative of Judah and Tamar in
Genesis 38. The unseemly aspects of these stories are puzzling because the major
protagonists are often characters portrayed as models of otherwise righteous behavior.
Noah, for example, is the only character in the Bible who is referred to as a righteous
(קידצ) man (Genesis 6:9 and Genesis 7:1). Yet leaving the ark after the flood his first
action is to plant a vineyard and get drunk. As he lies naked in his tent, his nakedness is
observed by one of his sons, Ham, who acts in an inappropriate way (not specifically
detailed in the biblical narrative). The biblical narrative does not dwell on Noah's
inappropriate behavior. How then are the readers, not to mention the early rabbis, to
understand Noah's act of drunkenness in light of what the Bible has already told us about
his being a righteous man? Similarly, in Genesis 19:31-38, the Bible describes the
actions of Lot and his two daughters after the destruction of Sodom. The two daughters
make their father drunk and commit incest to conceive children. In this narrative, the act
of drunkenness is compounded by the sin of incest. Yet this provocative biblical narrative
is understated and elliptical in style giving no judgment of their behavior.1 How is this
story evaluated in second temple and early rabbinic literature? The story of Judah and
Tamar in Genesis 38 is another puzzling moral narrative. Tamar intentionally deceives
her father-in law by impersonating a prostitute and Judah engages a woman who he
considers a prostitute. Moreover, he and his daughter-in-law commit what appears to be
incest. Even more disturbing is that as a result of their seemingly inappropriate union are

1 Discussions of biblical narrative's elliptical style include Auerbach E. 1953. Odysseus' Scar. In: Trask
WR (ed). Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Princeton: Princeton University
Press. pp. 3-23 and Sternberg M. 1985. Gaps, Ambiguity and the Reading Process. In: The Poetics of
Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading, Indiana Studies in Biblical
Literature, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp.186-229.
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born twin boys, one of whom is Perez, a direct ancestor of King David.2 This seemingly
inappropriate liaison on the part of royal ancestors creates an intolerable tension within
the narrative that calls for meaningful resolution.

The Aims and Objectives of this Thesis
The provocative and perplexing biblical narratives in Genesis 9:18-29, Genesis 19:31-38
and Genesis 38 invite and even demand interpretation. The purpose of this study is to
explore how ancient interpreters provided new meanings to these ancient texts. As these
stories are viewed in new historical and cultural settings, they acquired additional layers
of significance. Early Jewish interpreters made hermeneutic decisions at critical junctures
in the biblical narrative and sometimes reconfigured the story's plot and characters to
correspond with their understanding of its central message. These three particular
narratives indeed offer a rich vista into the thematic and literary formulation of ancient
Jewish interpretation.

Another aim of the study is to explore how ancient interpreters and particularly the
authors of early midrashic literature, established standards of rabbinic morality by
reshaping and developing the early biblical narrative. Their interpretations of the biblical
narrative may in fact offer an assessment of what the early Rabbis considered moral
behavior.

Research Hypothesis
The thesis examines the hypothesis that there maybe a change of attitude towards the
practices of drunkenness and prostitution over the time in question. Drunkenness, for
example, does not appear to be a practice that is explicitly condemned in these biblical
narratives while it does seem to be an issue of great concern and perhaps considered even
sinful in the second temple and early rabbinic period. The practice of prostitution does
not appear to be a particularly sinful practice in the biblical narrative while it seems to
receive ambivalent treatment in the second temple and early rabbinic period. This
hypothesis will be examined more closely in this study. The focus of this research is on

2 Perez heads David's lineage in Ruth 4:18-22 and 1 Chr 2:3-15.
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how the rabbinic approaches to these issues, which ultimately shaped Judaism, developed
from the biblical narrative through the second temple literature. The topic of immodest
appearances has been incorporated in terms of drunkenness and prostitution and therefore
has not been dealt with separately.

Research Methodology
The methodology used in this thesis is based largely on literary and rhetorical analysis.
This includes textual analysis and literary hermeneutics. I compare texts in the second
temple and early rabbinic periods to earlier biblical ones. My aim is to show how these
stories, based on the biblical literature itself, were shaped literarily and rhetorically
during the second temple and early rabbinic period. In particular, I examine the art of
rhetoric, namely the presentation of the second temple and early rabbinic text as
compared to the biblical one. Thus the rhetoric of transition is a particular concern of this
study.

The rhetorical means through which these ancient interpreters argue for a particular
understanding of the biblical narrative is also analyzed in this study. Sometimes
interpreters argue for their understanding of the biblical text through narrative expansions
artfully integrated into the story; sometimes through repetition of particular themes which
take on distinctive associations and sometimes through verbal links and intertextual
allusions to other scriptural passages. Indeed part of my purpose is to explore not just the
content of these interpretations but also their poetics. The poetics of interpretation here
refers to the way in which interpreters implicitly argue through literary and rhetorical
means for their understanding of scripture. A good example of the variety of literary
genres in ancient interpretation is the exegesis of the Testament of Judah, Targum Neofiti
and Genesis Rabba on the Genesis 38 biblical text. These three interpretations embed
versions of the biblical narrative within the genres of testament, paraphrastic translation
and anthological commentary. These different genres allow a variety of literary
methodologies for the exploration of the interrelationship between a biblical text and its
new literary contexts. Also important are the various means through which interpreters
incorporate exegetical material into the biblical narrative. These means of joining
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interpretation and received text reveal a range of attitudes towards scripture in early
Jewish communities.

A study exploring early Jewish exegesis requires some consideration of the methodology
of textual interpretation. The variety of interpretive trajectories arising from each one of
these biblical narratives becomes comprehensible only if one considers seriously the role
of interpreters situated within particular historical and cultural contexts. Interpreters bring
to these stories different expectations, associations and exegetical strategies and therefore
discover different resonances within the same biblical narrative. They go even further,
crossing the line between interpreter and author, when they reshape that narrative so that
it better expresses a particular meaning and incorporate this revised narrative within a
new literary composition. This genre of writing is known to modern scholars as the "The
Rewritten Bible."3 Sometimes, as in the case of Jubilees, the retelling is a calculated,
highly self-conscious attempt to explain scripture (and, in this particular case, to explain
it in keeping with a definite political and religious program). Other retellers of scripture
seem less self-conscious: sometimes the reteller himself may not even be aware where
the biblical text leaves off and the interpretation begins, since he is simply passing along
what he has learned or has heard is the meaning of a biblical text. In either case, the
Rewritten Bible is the most popular transmitter of biblical interpretation among ancient
writers.

The emphasis on the interpreter's centrality, connects this study with recent movements in
literary criticism that stress the contextual nature of interpretation. These movements
include reader-response theory, represented by the writings of Stanley Fish, Wolfgang
Iser, and others, as well as the dialogical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer and
philosophers of the same tradition.4 Contemporary discussion about the texts, readers and

3 The term was apparently first used by Vermes G. 1975. Post –Biblical Jewish Studies. Leiden: Brill.
4 See Eagleton T. 1983. Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Reception Theory. In: Literary Theory: An
Introduction. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 54-90 for an overview of reader-response
theory and its relation to wider philosophical movements. See Warnke G. 1987. Gadamer: Hermeneutics,
Tradition and Reason,. Stanford: Stanford University Press for an overview of the thought of Gadamer.
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