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  • 29 - Jewish folk literature in late antiquity

    • By Eli Yassif, Faculty of Humanities, Tel-Aviv University
  • Edited by Steven T. Katz, Boston University
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Judaism
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    22 June 2006, pp 721-748

  • Summary

    This chapter presents four major types of folk narratives in rabbinic culture: the legend, the magic tale, the fable, and the humoristic tale. The biographical legend centers on the persona of a sage, leader, or folk saint around whose various stages of life the people wove legends. Rabbinic literature contains hundreds of biographical legends. Magic tales in rabbinic aggadah are unique in form and content. These tales significantly enhance our understanding of how Jews of the period perceived magic. The fable is one of the most ancient literary forms known. Many fables and remnants of animal tales have been found in the writings of ancient Sumer, Babylonia, and Egypt, indicative of intensive activity in these areas, as regards both elite literary creativity and folklore. The joke enables the observer to understand the tensions and the structure of relations between the various components of a given culture at a given time.