In the Beginning Was the Legend: On Genesis Legends in Second Temple Literature
Date:
Sunday (in 39 days)
October 4 at 9:00 in the morning – October 8 at 12:00 noon
© Makore Events 2025
A series exploring the early adaptations of the Book of Genesis stories in Second Temple-period literature. During the sessions, adaptations of the stories of the Binding of Isaac, Lech Lecha, Noah’s sacrifices, Noah’s vineyard, and the sons of God and daughters of man will be examined. The lecturer is Dr. Hillel Mali, a researcher of ancient worship and Jewish law.
Even before the Bible took shape as a sealed and sacred “Tanakh,” its earliest readers had already begun interpreting it, filling its gaps, and retelling it. In this series, we will encounter the earliest transformations of the stories of Genesis as reflected in the Book of Jubilees, the Genesis Apocryphon, the writings of Philo, and other works. We will examine how interpretive traditions emerge, why biblical stories are rewritten, and what these ancient works teach us about the spiritual, political, and cultural worlds of Jewish writers during the Second Temple period.
Throughout the sessions, we will follow the transformations of several foundational stories from Genesis: we will examine the Binding of Isaac in its transition from the Bible to the Book of Jubilees; become acquainted with Philo’s allegorical interpretation of the story of “Lech Lecha”; explore the description of Noah’s sacrifices in the Bible and the Genesis Apocryphon; examine the story of Noah’s vineyard in early traditions of Genesis and the Book of Jubilees; and conclude with a study of the story of the sons of God and the daughters of humans in the Bible, apocalyptic literature, and the Mishnah.
Dr. Hillel Mali is a senior lecturer in Bible Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He specializes in the study of ancient ritual and halakha.
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