Abstract

This thesis analyzes the text of Genesis Rabba, one of the largest and most important of the rabbinic midrashim. It pays particular attention to its use of the term miyyad. Two specific patterns of usage are identified. Through these patterns, the thesis demonstrates how Genesis Rabba's midrash is simultaneously a work of narrative and of exegesis, and comments on some aspects of these two functions. It also traces the lexical evolution of the word miyyad in Hebrew.