Guide
What Are the Chapters of R. Eliezer?
8th or 9th Century
Restricted
The Chapters of R. Eliezer (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer) begins with the story of the life of R. Eliezer and then narrates biblical history from Adam until the death of Miriam. Existing editions consist of fifty-four chapters but are incomplete; the narrative apparently continued. It is thus not a classical midrash but closer to the genre of “rewritten Bible” that flourished in late antiquity. This work borrows freely from earlier rabbinic literature and evinces influence of the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Enochic works, and the book of Jubilees. The work was composed in Palestine after the Muslim conquests.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
The Chapters of R. Eliezer (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer): On the Akedah
Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer (The Chapters of R. Eliezer), Chapter 31 (selections)
Rabbi Jehudah said: In that night was the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed unto him, and He said unto him: Abraham! “Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac” (Genesis 22:2)…
Primary Source
The Chapters of R. Eliezer (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer): On Havdalah
Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer (The Chapters of R. Eliezer), Chapter 20
At twilight on Saturday [evening], Adam was meditating in his heart and saying: “Woe to me! Perhaps the serpent, which deceived me, will come in the evening, and he will strike me [yeshufeni] in the…