The Virgin Mother Sarah: The Characterization of the Matriarch in Genesis Rabbah
Abstract This article analyzes the portrayal of the matriarch Sarah in the fifth-century Palestinian rabbinic midrash Genesis Rabbah. The midrash not only dedicates a large number of derashot to the matriarch, but it repeatedly depicts her as a model of personal and religious excellence. In order to...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
Year: 2021, Volume: 52, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-103 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Midrash
/ Sara, Genesis
/ Virgin birth
/ Matriarchy
/ Rabbi
/ Origenes 185-254
/ Christianity
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| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism HD Early Judaism |
| Further subjects: | B
Origen of Alexandria
B Sarah B cult of the Virgin B Genesis Rabbah B Mothers B matriarchs B Virgin Mary B Midrash |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | Abstract This article analyzes the portrayal of the matriarch Sarah in the fifth-century Palestinian rabbinic midrash Genesis Rabbah. The midrash not only dedicates a large number of derashot to the matriarch, but it repeatedly depicts her as a model of personal and religious excellence. In order to understand this development, I turn my attention to the portrayal of Sarah in the works of Origen of Alexandria. Continuing New Testament themes, Origen presents her as the spiritual mother of Christianity and a prefiguration of Jesus’ mother Mary. Various textual and thematic parallels help demonstrate that the rabbis were both aware of this rhetoric and responded to it. Based on this, I conclude that the rabbis used their portrayal of Sarah to combat the Christian appropriation of the matriarch on the one hand, and to establish her as a Jewish alternative to the Virgin Mary on the other. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0631 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700631-BJA10026 |