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In Appreciation of Midrash Samuel

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In Appreciation of Midrash Samuel “It Is Τime to Αct for the Lord”: In Appreciation of Midrash Samuel Craig A. Evans The extant midrash on the books of Samuel originated no later than the ele- venth century; how much earlier is hard to tell.1 Rashi (flourished 11th cen- tury) is the first authority to cite it.2 What makes it so interesting is not that it is a pastiche of comments, anecdotes, and parables drawn from several older midrashic works, or that all of the authorities that are cited are Palestinian; it is that it contains a number of variant readings, some of which may represent older, more original versions of sayings attributed to various sages. Not only that; the compiler sometimes quotes a little too much (and in doing so goes beyond the point of the argument), which in some cases reveals a bit more about his sources. Midrash Samuel thus provides rabbinic scholars the opportunity to engage in textual criticism as well as tradition criticism. But Midrash Samuel offers yet more; the compiler shows an appreciation for biblical characters, beginning with the righteous Elkanah, father of Samuel, who exemplify those who car- ried out the exhortation of Ps. 119:126 by acting for the Lord. The compiler thus provides modern interpreters the opportunity to engage in a literary criticism that is today very much in vogue. The principal manuscript of the midrash is Codex de Rossi 563 (in the Rashi calls the midrash .אגדת מר שמואל Parma Library), where it is called a title taken from the opening ,עֵ ת לַעֲ שׂת לַיהוָ ה as well as ,אגדת מ׳ ס׳ שמואל quotation of Ps. 119:26). It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Shoher Tob, a confusion resulting from its publication along with the Midrash on Psalms. 1 L. Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden, historisch entwickelt: Ein Beitrag zur Alterthumskunde und biblischen Kritik, zur Literatur- und Religionsgeschichte (Berlin: Ascher, 1832; rev. ed., edited by N. Brüll; Frankfurt am Main: J. Kauffmann, 1892; repr., with Introduction by R. Ulmer; Jewish Studies Classics 1; Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2003), pp. 281–282. According to Zunz, the compiler lived at the beginning of the eleventh century. The extant Midrash Samuel may actually be based on an earlier, no longer extant edition. Its late date places Midrash Samuel outside the corpus of foundational rabbinic literature, which ranges from the Mishnah to the beginning of the medieval period. See the concise explana- tion in J. Neusner, Introduction to Rabbinic Literature (abrl; New York: Doubleday, 1994), p. xxxi. 2 In his commentary on B. Suk. 53b and in his commentary on 1 Sam. 2:30. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���4 | doi ��.��63/9789004�84�89_005 “It is time to act for the Lord” 49 The first printed edition of the midrash appeared in Constantinople in the early sixteenth century. Another appeared in Venice in 1546 (the edition in which the midrash is printed along with Midrash Psalms). Midrash Samuel is a rare example of a midrash on the Prophets.3 It is made up of 32 parashot or chapters. Parashot 1–24 comment on selections from 1 Samuel, and parashot 25–32 comment on selections from 2 Samuel. This appears to represent the entirety of the midrash (though later insertions at 4.1 and 32.3 have been detected). The compiler of the midrash selected mate- rials from Tannaitic midrashim, such as Mekhilta, Sifre Numbers, and Sifre Deuteronomy, and from Amoraic midrashim, such as Genesis Rabbah, Leviticus Rabbah, Lamentations Rabbah, and Pesiqta de-Rab Kahana, as well as later midrashim, such Song of Songs Rabbah, Ecclesiastes Rabbah, Ruth Rabbah, Esther Rabbah, Pesiqta Rabbati, Midrash Tanhuma, and (possibly) the Midrash on Psalms. The compiler also drew upon the Tosefta and Yerushalmi and once cites Bavli (B. Erub. 64a in 2.10).4 There is also original material, which provides yet more reason to study Midrash Samuel. Often a chapter or section begins with a quotation of Scripture drawn from the Psalter or the Wisdom literature. The midrash begins (1.1) with the exhor- tation of Ps. 119:26, “It is time to act for the Lord; they have broken your Law,” which sets the tone for the work as a whole. The opening section is replete with relevant quotations from the sages and the Proverbs (e.g., Prov. 11:24; 23:22). Not until the end of the section is 1 Sam. 1:1 quoted. The direction of the midrash on the story of Samuel has been established. The next section (1.2) begins with a quotation of Prov. 10:7, “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot,” which sets the tone for the discussion of the wicked (such as Nebuchadnezzar) who opposed and threatened the righteous. This passage appears at Gen. Rabbah 49. A later section (1.5) begins with a quotation of Ecc. 6:2, “A man to whom God gives 3 Other examples include Midrash Jonah and some materials that make up a midrash of sorts on Isaiah. See Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden, pp. 282–283. For my introduc- tory comments I draw on my own observations of the contents and character of Midrash Samuel, as well as on the helpful summaries found in Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden, pp. 281–282; A. Wünsche, Aus Israels Lehrhallen (5 vols., Leipzig: E. Pfeiffer, 1907– 1910; repr. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1967), vol. 5, pp. 1–5; H.L. Strack and G. Stemberger, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (trans. M. Bockmuehl; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), pp. 390–391; and J. Elbaum, “Midrash Samuel,” in F. Skolnik, et al., eds., Encyclopedia Judaica (2nd ed., Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), vol. 14, p. 191. 4 The compiler of Midrash Samuel was very much aware of the “rabbinic library.” On rab- binic literature as a “community of texts,” see Neusner, Introduction to Rabbinic Literature, pp. 19–21..
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