Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam Overlapping Inquiries

Jul 16, 2026

Upload by Noah

Comparative study tracing Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with emphasis on the medieval period. Examines how communities navigated scripture in new cultural and linguistic settings, how concepts of the literal sense shifted relative to non-literal readings (figurative, spiritual, midrashic), and how classical rhetoric and poetics shaped—or were resisted in—interpretive methods across the three traditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages400

Reading Time16 h 48 min

INTERPRETING SCRIPTURES IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special emphasis on the pivotal medieval period. It focuses on three areas: responses in the diﬀerent faith traditions to tensions created by the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its importance vis-à-vis non-literal senses, such as the ﬁgurative, spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in which classical rhetoric and poetics informed – or were resisted in – interpretation. Concentrating on points of intersection, the authors bring to light previously hidden aspects of methods and approaches in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This volume opens new avenues for interdisciplinary analysis and will beneﬁt scholars and students of biblical studies, religious studies, medieval studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, comparative religions, and theory of interpretation. mordechai z. cohen is Professor of Bible and Associate Dean of the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University. His publications include Three Approaches to Biblical Metaphor: From Abraham Ibn Ezra and Maimonides to David Kimhi and Opening the Gates of Interpretation: Maimonides' Biblical Hermeneutics in Light of His Geonic-Andalusian Heritage and Muslim Milieu. adele berlin is Robert H. Smith Professor of Hebrew Bible Emerita in the Department of English and the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Maryland. She is the author of seven books, including Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, and commentaries on Zephaniah, Esther, and Lamentations. INTERPRETING SCRIPTURES IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM Overlapping Inquiries edited by MORDECHAI Z . COHEN AND ADELE BERLIN with the assistance of [meir m. bar-asher](meir m. bar-asher) , rita copeland, and jon whitman University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. [www.cambridge.org](www.cambridge.org) Information on this [title: www.cambridge.org/](title: www.cambridge.org/9781107065680)[9781107065680](title: www.cambridge.org/9781107065680)[ ](title: www.cambridge.org/9781107065680)© Cambridge University Press 2016 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2016 Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing

Jul 16, 2026

Upload by Noah