A critical edition of the Midrash Aleph Beth with an English translation, commentary and introduction
Midrash Aleph Beth belongs to the post-Talmudic collection of Jewish midrashim. Its structure and subject matter are centred on the Hebrew alphabet which provides sequential pairs of letters for the theme of ea.ch chapter. In the first part, the Midrash progresses from the first letter of the alphabet to the last, and its subject is the story of the universe from its creation to its destruction at the end of time. In the second and third parts, using different combinations of the alphabet, the Â·:;tory is told of t he judgment and annihilation of all God's enemies in the heavens and on the earth. In the final part, a fourth combination of the alphabet is introduced to describe life in the world to Come for' the righteous remnant of Israel. In this Midrash we encounter' ideas and beliefs that can be found in similar or parallel form scattered throughout Jewish midrashic literature. It is an extremely useful text in that most Jewish thought from the first millennium of the common era concerning cosmology and eschatology is here collected together in one work. In presenting an orthodoxy account of Jewish thought on these subjects, heterodoxy ideas, questioning for example1 the supremacy of God and his role as
Middleton, D. F.
Jewish religious writings
A critical edition of the Midrash Aleph Beth with an English translation, commentary and introduction. Midrash Aleph Beth belongs to the post-Talmudic collection of Jewish midrashim. Its structure and subject matter are centred on the Hebrew alphabet which provides sequential pairs of letters for the theme of ea.ch chapter. In the first part, the Midrash progresses from the first letter of the alphabet to the last, and its subject is the story of the universe from its creation to its destruction at the end of time. In the second and third parts, using different combinations of the alphabet, the Â·:;tory is told of t he judgment and annihilation of all God's enemies in the heavens and on the earth. In the final part, a fourth combination of the alphabet is introduced to describe life in the world to Come for' the righteous remnant of Israel. In this Midrash we encounter' ideas and beliefs that can be found in similar or parallel form scattered throughout Jewish midrashic literature. It is an extremely useful text in that most Jewish thought from the first millennium of the common era concerning cosmology and eschatology is here collected together in one work. In presenting an orthodoxy account of Jewish thought on these subjects, heterodoxy ideas, questioning for example1 the supremacy of God and his role as
critical_edition english_translation commentary introduction belong post talmudic collection jewish structure subject_matter centre hebrew alphabet provide sequential pair letter theme each chapter first_part progress first letter alphabet last subject story universe creation destruction end time second_third part use different combination alphabet tory tell judgment annihilation god heaven earth final_part fourth combination alphabet introduce describe life world come righteous remnant israel encounter idea beliefs find similar parallel form scatter throughout jewish literature extremely useful text jewish think first_millennium common era concern cosmology eschatology collect together work present orthodoxy account jewish think subject idea question example supremacy god role