Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Review of Holger Michael Zellentin, Rabbinic Parodies of Jewish and Christian Literature

Review of Holger Michael Zellentin, Rabbinic Parodies of Jewish and Christian Literature

Last updated on: June 11, 2011 at 11:01 pm by James F. McGrath

Review of Holger Michael Zellentin, Rabbinic Parodies of Jewish and Christian Literature 2011-06-11T23:01:12-04:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m grateful to Mohr Siebeck for having sent me a free review copy of Holger Michael Zellentin’s new book, Rabbinic Parodies of Jewish & Christian Literature (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism, 139). Anyone who studies ancient religious literature is bound to have come across stories which seem amusing and/or satirical. But determining when stories were intended to be funny, across a gulf of linguistic, historical and cultural difference, is challenging indeed. Zellentin offers a persuasive case for the presence of parody in a selection of passages in Rabbinic literature, and looks at how they reflect the use of parody to criticize both those within and those outside the sphere of Rabbinic Judaism. Zellentin defines three sorts of Rabbinic parody: intra-rabbinic (targeting the same text in which the parody is offered), inter-rabbinic (between different groups or communities of rabbis) and external parodies (targeting non-rabbinic groups) (pp.25-26).

The book’s introduction addresses some necessary preliminaries, such as the meaning of “parody” and some of the aspects which make it challenging to “get” ancient humor. A clear example from the Jerusalem Talmud is provided as an illustration, in the form a story involving rabbis visiting Babylonia from Palestine, who intentionally misquote Scripture to make their point.

Chapter one looks at the rabbinic treatment of the matter of a cat which had been borrowed and which, while on loan, was killed by mice. The scenario is relatively easy to identify as humorous, but Zellentin shows that there is more going on than mere absurdity. In a first instance, the mice ganged up on the cat and killed it, and the principle is cited in relation to such a situation that, in the case of “a man whom women killed – there is neither judge nor judgment.” In a second instance, it was that the cat had eaten many mice, and became sick and died. The same dictum is cited: “A man whom women killed – there is neither judge nor judgment.” And so we are given to understand that in the first instance, it is a case of “insufficient masculinity,” while in the latter, excessive virility, since it is clear that the cat’s overindulgence in mice is being compared to a man killed not by women doing violence to him, but as a consequence of promiscuity (pp. 27-32).

The parody runs deeper than this, however. The discussion of these cases, in neither of which is the borrower of the cat held culpable for its death, leads to a discussion of cases involving lending by teachers and other professionals. Rava’s students suggest that he is loaned to them, a suggestion which would rob him of monetary compensation, and this angers him. Zellentin notes that when the two discussions are placed together in the Talmud, it becomes clear that Rava and the student “rebellion” is being compared to the mice who rebel and overpower the cat. There is thus a satire within the parody, as fun is poked at not only unlikely cases involving cats, but also a teacher and his students. Rava’s failure to come up with a clever rabbinic-style response to his students is a shortcoming on his part, but the editor of the story makes matters right by offering just such a solution in the end.

Chapter two focuses on a temperance sermon in Wayiqra Rabbah. The sermon is unusual in it’s condemnation of all drinking, and its confident placement of the blame for Nadav and Avihu’s deaths on alcohol consumption alone. The sermon is parodied through the inclusion of a story involving children who try to get rid of their father, whose drinking habits cost them money. When their plan backfires, they end up committing to pay for his drinking habit in perpetuity. Zellentin sees in this complex of material not only a rabbinic satire of an extreme stance towards alcohol consumption, but also a parody of the sort of view found among Encratite Christians. The combination of the tea-totaler stance of the sermon and the perpetual drinking of the story combine to reinforce the rabbinic approach which emphasizes moderation and balance.

Chapter 3 I found particularly fascinating, as I have been working on the story in chapter 18 of the Mandaean Book of John, which features a dream that serves as a portent of the birth of John the Baptist. In this chapter, Zellentin examines the story of Bar Hedya, a dream interpreter who gave favorable interpretations to the dreams of those who paid him, and unfavorable to those who did not. This story from the Babylonian Talmud is seen as a parody of the doctrine (and stories reflecting it) emphasized in the Jerusalem Talmud, that the meaning of dreams follows the interpretation given to it by the interpreter, a principle open to abuse of the sort illustrated by the Bar Hedya story. The resolution of the story is full of parodic irony, as Bar Hedya meets a fate that more literally reflects details in the dreams he interpreted.

In chapter 4, Zellentin turns to the first of two parodies aimed at Christians. In a story about Rabban Gamaliel and his sister, Imma Shalom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer, the siblings go to a “philosopher” seeking solution of a dispute. Imma Shalom gave a lamp to him as a bribe. The philosopher cites the ‘awon-gylayon (a pun on the Greek word euangelion, “Gospel”) as allowing a daughter to inherit even if there is also a son, thus deciding in her favor. Rabban Gamaliel offers a bigger bribe, a Libyan donkey, citing the Law of Moses (which does not allow a daughter to inherit in such instances) as well as the Gospel saying that “I did not come to reduce the Law of Moses.” The philosopher then reversed his decision, saying that the donkey kicked over the lamp. In addition to parodying the word for “Gospel” and making fun of a “philosopher” who is a Christian and yet swayed by bribes, Zellentin suggests that the ending of the story alludes to the anti-Christian polemic which claimed that at Christian love feasts, a lamp would be kicked over, signaling the start of orgiastic behavior in the darkness.

In chapter 5, the story of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai and his sojourn in a cave is treated as a parody of Christian ascetic practices. The main character and his son spend time hiding and eating inedible carob, but out of concern about unspecified disturbances and not out of ascetic motives. Rabbi Simeon also deals with the matter of the purity of Tiberias (built on a burial site). Not only does his concern for such a matter set him and Rabbinic Judaism apart from Christianity, but in his controvsies with others, he is presented as outperforming Jesus on the miracle front by simultaneously restoring a corpse to life while turning his opponent into a corpse.

This brief overview does not do justice to the book’s careful and well-argued treatment of the challenging yet incredibly rewarding topic of parody in Rabbinic literature. Zellentin aims for precision as well as breadth, and whether one is interested in Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, or other religions in their context such as the Mandaeans, one will find much that is of value and interest in this volume.

Zellentin notes that the rabbis do not speak of “Christianity” in so many words, and that, even if they had, what they meant by Christianity in their time would be a rather different phenomenon or set of phenomena from what the term conjures up in our minds. And it was precisely because there was still some overlap between “Judaism” and “Christianity” as well as diversity within both spheres, that the rabbis felt the need to parody and in other ways satirize and polemicize against the views of others. For students of the New Testament, the book provides an interesting perspective on how non-Christians interacted with Christians, how they perceived their literature, what they knew of it, and how they viewed it. And so the book offers a study that covers not only the reception history of the Jewish Scriptures and of Rabbinic tradition, but also of the New Testament.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient Rabbinic Judaism or the other traditions with which it intersected and interacted in ancient Babylonia and Palestine.

Previous Post

June 11, 2011

Testing 1, 2, 3

Next Post

June 12, 2011 Sola Scriptura? (From the Archives)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz