Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud

by Louis Jacobs

Overview

This book attempts to uncover the basic form and structure of the Babylonian Talmud, a centrally important text in Jewish studies. The novel contribution made by Dr. Jacobs to the study of the Talmud consists in his concentration on the literary principles employed in its composition, and he presents a clear study indicating the manner in which earlier material was reworked in order to make each component, or sugya, into a carefully structured and self-consistent unit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521403450
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/08/1991
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.71(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.59(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; List of abbreviations; The Babylonian Talmud: an introductory note; 1. How much of the Babylonian Talmud is pseudepigraphic?; 2. The Babylonian Talmud: an academic work; 3. Rabbinic views on the order and authorship of the Biblical books; 4. Literary analysis of the sugya in Bava Kama 11a-12b; 5. Literary analysis of the sugya in Bava Kama 20a-21a; 6. Literary analysis of the sugya on taking the blame on oneself; 7. Literary analysis of the sugya of 'half and half'; 8. Rabbi Joshua b. Hananiah and the elders of the house of Athens; 9. Bavli and Yerushalmi on Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Joshua; 10. Bavli and Yerushalmi on Rabbi Dosa and the Sages; 11. The Rabbi Banaah stories in Bava Batra 58a-b; 12. The device of addehakhi, 'just then'; 13. Conclusion; Glossary; Notes; Bibliography.