This research examines early Jewish and Christian interpretations of the first chapter of the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The research will set forth the historical and cultural background in which Jewish and Christian scripture commentary arose and then discuss the basis for differences of interpretation of the Hebrew that began in the Christian era and that continued through the Middle Ages, with particular reference to Genesis 1.1-31.
Jewish exegesis involves a complex interpenetration of scriptural texts and commentaries that have different emphases, and it involves a specialized vocabulary. The big picture of Jewish exegesis is that over a period of about 1,000 years rabbinical figures known as tannaim compiled texts and commentaries that were to be collectively identified as the Midrash. This codification of text and interpretation by the rabbis can be compared with Christian exegesis of the apostolic and patristic periods, in part because the respective exegeses were being reduced to written form at roughly the same period of time, though the rabbinical project seems to have begun at about 200 BCE. The Midrash, which "denotes the exegetical method by which the oral tradition interprets and elaborates scriptural text," comprises the Halakha, which deals with religious law, ritual, and doctrine as relevant to behavior, and the Haggada, which deals with religious narratives, morality, theology, and relevant commentary. What is called the Mishna, translated literally as "repeated study," was compiled in the third century AD by Judah ha-Nasi and "is the comprehensive compendium that presents the legal content of the oral tradition independently of scriptural text."
Rabbinical commentary persisted from the Christian apostolic period through the Middle Ages, and those involved in the codification of Jewish scripture and law were undoubtedly aware of the emergence of the new religion; the Pharisee Saul specifically dist...