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What Is Genesis Rabbah?
3rd–5th Century
Restricted
Genesis Rabbah, an exegetical midrash, was compiled sometime between the third and fifth centuries CE in Palestine, making it the earliest aggadic (nonlegal) midrash from the amoraic period. Its linguistic forms are similar to those of the Palestinian Talmud and feature both mishnaic Hebrew and western Aramaic. Genesis Rabbah takes the form of a verse-by-verse commentary on Genesis, crafted as a series of homilies meant to address disputes and discussions within and around the rabbinic community of its time.
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The Androgynous Human
Genesis Rabbah 8:1
Genesis Rabbah 8:1 imagines an androgynous first human, blending Torah and Greco-Roman ideas about creation and gender.
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Alexander Tries to Enter the Jerusalem Temple
Genesis Rabbah 61:7
[Alexander the Macedonian] desired to go up to Jerusalem. The Samaritans said to him, “Beware, for they will not let you enter their holy of holies.” When Geviah the son of Kosem discovered this, he…
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Alexander and the Birthright of Israel
Genesis Rabbah 61:7
And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts (Genesis 25:6). In the days of Alexander the Macedonian, the children of Ishmael came to challenge Israel regarding the…
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Hadrian’s Massacre at Beitar
Genesis Rabbah 65:21
The voice is the voice of Jacob (Genesis 27:22, NJPS): [ . . . ] R. Judah bar Illai used to interpret [the verse]: The voice is the voice of Jacob crying out from what the hands, those being the hands…
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God’s Blueprint for Creation
Genesis Rabbah 1:1
The great R. Hoshaya opened his exposition [of Genesis 1:1 with Proverbs 8:30]: I [Wisdom] was an ’amon to Him and a source of daily delight. [What is the meaning of ’amon?] ’Amon means “pedagogue.” ’…
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Rabbi Tanḥuma’s Prayer for Rain
Genesis Rabbah 33:3
R. Tanḥuma proclaimed a fast [ . . . ] but rain did not fall. He said to the people, “My children! Be filled with compassion for one another, and the Holy One, praised be He, will be filled with…
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The Good in the Bad Inclination
Genesis Rabbah 9:7
Naḥman [taught] in the name of R. Samuel: Behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). This refers to the good inclination. And behold it was very good. This refers to the evil inclination. And is the…
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Circumcision as Improvement on Creation
Genesis Rabbah 11:6
A philosopher asked R. Hoshaiah. He said to him, “If circumcision is so beloved [a commandment to the Lord], why was it not given to Adam, the first [man]?” He said to him, “Why does this man [i.e…
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Dying Souls Have a Vision of Their Future
Genesis Rabbah 62:2
It is written: She is clothed with strength and splendor; [she looks to the future cheerfully] (Proverbs 31:25, NJPS). The entire reward for the righteous is prepared for them in the future to come…
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A Second Death after Resurrection?
Genesis Rabbah 26:2
R. Ḥaninah said: In the coming future, death will only pertain to the sons of Noah. R. Joshua ben Levi said: It will pertain neither to Israel nor to the nations of the world. The Lord will wipe away…
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Resurrected Clothing?
Genesis Rabbah 100:2
Rabbi’s teaching was: A person does not return just as they left. The other rabbis’ was: A person returns just as they left.
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Cain and Abel Fight over Land and Women
Genesis Rabbah 22:7
And Cain said to his brother Abel, etc. (Genesis 4:8). What were they disputing? They said, “Come, let’s divide up the world.” One took the land and one took the moveable property. This one said,…
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Abraham and the Idols
Genesis Rabbah 38:13
Haran died in the presence of Terah, his father (Genesis 11:28). R. Ḥiyya taught: Terah was a maker of idols. He once went away to a certain place and placed Abraham in charge in his stead. A man came…
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The Binding of Isaac
Genesis Rabbah 56:7; 65:10
56:7. And He [God] said, “Take your son, [your only son, whom you love, Isaac . . . ] (Genesis 22:2). He [God] said to him [Abraham], “Take please—I beg you—your son.”Your son—He [Abraham] said to Him…
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In the Lion’s Throat
Genesis Rabbah 64:10
In the days of R. Joshua ben Ḥananiah, the wicked empire [i.e., Rome] decreed that the Temple should be built. Pappas and Lulianus set up tables from Akko to Antioch and provided for those coming from…
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Cain and Abel as Gladiators
Genesis Rabbah 22:9–10
R. Simeon bar Yoḥai says: It is a difficult thing [even] to say and [almost] impossible for the mouth to speak it explicitly. [The story of Cain and Abel is comparable] to two gladiators who are…
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Matrona
Genesis Rabbah 4–87 (selections)
4:6. Matrona asked Rabbi Yose: Why is it not written “that it was good” for the second day? He said to her: Nevertheless, in the end he . . . included them all, for it is said: And God saw everything…
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Genesis Rabbah Proems
Genesis Rabbah 1:1–5, 9
1. R. Oshaya began: I was beside him as an ’amon. I was his delight every day [ . . . ] (Proverbs 8:30). ’Amon [may mean] “a tutor” [lit., a pedagogue]; ’amon [may mean] “covered”; ’amon [may mean]…
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Genesis Rabbah on Theodicy
Genesis Rabbah 8:5; 9:7–9
8:5. R. Simeon taught: At the time when the Holy One was about to create the first human, the ministering angels formed factions and parties [of divided opinions concerning humankind’s creation]. Some…
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Genesis Rabbah on the Binding of Isaac
Genesis Rabbah 55–56 (selections)
55:2. The Lord tries the righteous, [but His soul despises the wicked and the lover of violence] (Psalm 11:5). R. Jonathan taught: The potter does not test defective vessels, for he hardly has to give…
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Until the Indignation Passes
Genesis Rabbah 91:3
Three hundred nazirites ascended [to Jerusalem] in the days of Simeon ben Shetaḥ. He found an opening for one hundred and fifty of them [i.e., a way to release them from their nazirite vow], but for…
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Genesis Rabbah on Jews in Rome
Genesis Rabbah 33:1
R. Joshua ben Levi went to Rome. He saw there pillars that were covered by tapestries during the cold so that they would not freeze and during the heat so that they would not break. And he saw, while…
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Genesis Rabbah on Children’s Study in the Synagogue
Genesis Rabbah 52:4
R. Ḥiyya bar Abba said: As I was passing before the synagogue of the Babylonians in Sepphoris, I heard children sitting and reading [scripture]: Abraham journeyed from there (Genesis 20:1). And I said…
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A Pedagogue Leads a Prince to Evil
Genesis Rabbah 28:6
R. Yudan said, “[The matter may be compared] to a king who handed his son over to a pedagogue, and he led him into evil ways. The king became angry with his son and killed him. The king said, ‘Nobody…
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Hagar as Pharaoh’s Daughter
Genesis Rabbah 45:1
She had an Egyptian maidservant, whose name was Hagar (Genesis 16:1). R. Simeon bar Yoḥai said: Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh, and when Pharaoh had witnessed the deeds that were performed in his…
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Genesis Rabbah on Sarah Nursing the Nations
Genesis Rabbah 53:9
And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? (Genesis 21:7). Would suckle a child is not written here. Our mother Sarah was extremely modest. Our father Abraham said…
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Genesis Rabbah on Dinah as Job’s Wife
Genesis Rabbah 57:4
When did Job live? [ . . . ] R. Abba bar Kahana said: He lived in the time of Jacob. As R. Abba bar Kahana taught: Dinah was the wife of Job, as it is written concerning the wife of Job: You speak…
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Genesis Rabbah on Jephthah’s Daughter
Genesis Rabbah 60:3
[Concerning the vow of] Jephthah: So it will be, that whatever comes out [of my house to meet me] . . . I will offer it up as a burnt offering to the Lord (Judges 11:31). Even if a donkey or a dog or…
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R. Ishmael Confronts a Samaritan
Genesis Rabbah 81:3
They gave Jacob [all their foreign gods and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them beneath the terebinth tree that was near Shechem] (Genesis 35:4). R. Ishmael, the son of R. Yosi…
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Esau as Rome
Genesis Rabbah 63–78 (selections)
63:6. But the children struggled [within her. And she said, “If this is so, why do I exist?” And she went to seek the Lord] (Genesis 25:22). R. Yoḥanan and Resh Lakish [interpreted scripture as…
Related Guide
Amoraic Midrash
2nd–9th Centuries