Includes bibliographical references (pages 282-291) and indexes
Acknowledgments; List of Figures; Abbreviations; Introduction; Chapter 1 MYTH AND THEORY; Chapter 2 ISRAELITE 'IDEALIZED' ETHNOGRAPHY; Chapter 3 ABRAHAM; Chapter 4 ISAAC; Chapter 5 JACOB; Chapter 6 JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS; Chapter 7 CREATION; Chapter 8 THE STRUCTURE OF GENEALOGIES IN GENESIS; Chapter 9 THE STRUCTURE OF RABBINIC THOUGHT (A); Chapter 10 THE STRUCTURE OF RABBINIC THOUGHT (B); Chapter 11 THE STRUCTURE OF HEBREW THOUGHT; Bibliography; Index of References; Index of Authors
The myths of Genesis are the foundation for hundreds of texts written at later diachronically distinct and datable periods. Seven texts-Genesis itself, Genesis Rabbah, Pirke deRabbi Eliezer and mediaeval compilations-are examined here, with five interrelated questions in focus: Can structuralist theory be applied usefully to societies conscious of history and change? What is the relationship between continuity and trasformation as a mythological tradition develops diachronically? What role does diachronic development within a myth play in relation to its underlying structure? What is the synch
