
Transmitting Mishnah
The Shaping Influence of Oral Tradition
Elizabeth Shanks Alexander(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 31. July 2006
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-521-85750-5 (ISBN)
Description
Departing from the conventional view of mishnaic transmission as mindless rote memorisation, Transmitting Mishnah, first published in 2006, reveals how multifaceted the process of passing on oral tradition was in antiquity. Taking advantage of the burgeoning field of orality studies, Elizabeth Shanks Alexander has developed a model of transmission that is both active and constructive. Proceeding by means of intensive readings of passages from tractate Shevuot and its Talmudic commentaries, Alexander alerts us to the fact that transmitters and handlers of mishnaic text crafted both the vagaries of expression and its received meanings. She illustrates how the authority of the Mishnah grew as the result of the sustained attention of a devoted community of readers and students. She also identifies the study practices and habits of analysis that were cultivated by oral performance and shows how they were passed on in tandem with the verbal contents of the Mishnah, thereby influencing how the text was received and understood.
Reviews / Votes
'This is a major, groundbreaking exploration of the oral background of the Mishnah (or, more specifically, of the tractate Shevuot), a work the textual fluidity of which still echoes its oral origins. ... The work includes a significant discussion of casuistic form in biblical, Near Eastern, and rabbinic sources.' International Review of Biblical StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
584 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-85750-5 (9780521857505)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Elizabeth Shanks Alexander received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1998. She has taught at Haverford College, Smith College and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. She received an NEH summer grant to work on this book.
Content
Introduction; Part I. Mishnaic Textuality; Part II. The Spiritualisation of Mishnah; Part III. Modes of legal analysis in the Mishnah; Part IV. The Cultivation of an analytic habit and it impact on Mishnaic Exegesis; Conclusion.