Order In the Bible: The Arrangement of the Torah in Rabbinic and Medieval Jewish Commentary examines ideas about biblical order in the commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Nahmanides against the background of the Midrashic tradition. On the face of it, the arrangement of portions in the Torah is chronological, but close examination reveals more than a few discrepancies. The Midrash sometimes responded by saying that "There is no ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ in the Torah" (en muqdam ume'uhar ba-Torah)-- the order of the Torah is not always chronological. This response left the reader facing unexplained juxtapositions of chapters and verses. In some of the cases, the sages asked, lama nismekha, “Why were these two portions juxtaposed?” Usually, they sought to connect the unconnected stories and verses in the midrashic fashion, by adding to the events of the stories or by taking the second unit as the outcome of the first and deriving therefrom some moral teaching. Occasionally though, we find an attempt to answer the question of juxtaposition in terms that might be considered closer to the peshat method of explication. Moving in the direction of the peshat, medieval Jewish exegetes tried to explain biblical arrangement of both narratives and law based on thematic, associative, or literary links. Their attempts resulted in new ideas about the ordering of the Torah. This book contains hundreds of references to juxtaposition and non-chronological arrangements cited in the writings of the above commentators. These examples are put into the framework of each commentator's general approach to interpretation and his particular sense of biblical order. Dr. Isaac Gottlieb is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan University and a member of its Institute for Jewish Bible Interpretation.

Samuel David Luzzatto (Italy, 1800-1865) stood at the head of the Rabbinical College of Padua for many years. He was a poet and researcher of literature, Bible commentator and philosopher, essayist and critic. In addition he corresponded with the major Jewish thinkers of his day on the Enlightenment, Reform movements, and nationalism. In all these areas he distinguished himself through his originality and honesty. These papers were delivered at a conference marking his bicentennial, where scholars from Israel, Italy, and France presented his contributions in the above fields. Anyone interested in Jewish studies, Italian Jewry, or intellectual currents of the nineteenth century will benefit from this collection.