Oneirocritics and Midrash. On reading dreams and the Scripture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22307296 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erik Alvstad (0000-0003-1081-8706, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 123-148 |
| Publication date | 2003-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0348-1646 • E-ISSN: 2343-4929 |
| Publisher | Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.30752/nj.69603 |
| OpenAlex | W2412680210 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
In the context of ancient theories of dreams and their interpretation, the rabbinic literature offers particularly interesting loci. Even though the view on the nature of dreams is far from unambiguous, the rabbinic tradition of oneirocritics, i.e. the discourse on how dreams are interpreted, stands out as highly original. As has been shown in earlier research, oneirocritics resembles scriptural interpretation, midrash, to which it has lent some of its exegetical rules. This article will primarily investigate the interpreter’s role in the rabbinic practice of dream interpretation, as reflected in a few rabbinic stories from the two Talmuds and from midrashim. It is shown that these narrative examples have some common themes. They all demonstrate the poly-semy of the dream-text, and how the person who puts an interpretation on it constructs the dream’s significance. Most of the stories also emphasize that the outcome of the dream is postponed until triggered by its interpretation. Thus the dreams are, in a sense, pictured as prophetic – but it is rather the interpreter that constitutes the prophetic instance, not the dream itself. This analysis is followed by a concluding discussion on the analogical relation between the Scripture and the dream-text, and the interpretative practices of midrash and oneirocritics
Art · Dream · Epistemology · Hermeneutics · Interpreter · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Midrash · Narrative · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Computer Science · History · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Psychology
Dream Interpretation in a Prosperous Age? Artemidorus, the Greek Interpreter of Dreams
Communication with the Dead in Jewish Dream Culture
The Act of Reading
Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities
Dreams and Their Interpretation from the Biblical Period to the Tannaitic Time
A Dream Which Is Not Interpreted Is like a Letter Which Is Not Read
Bavli Berakhot 55a-57b
Rational Rabbis
The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud
Parables in Midrash
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |