ie 1p Joseph Bekhor Shor of Orians and Christian Polemic ofthe Middle Ages eX Bet submited if part flliment of de segutrement fr Oranation a 4 Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion” Ae 5760 - 2000 seJoseph Bekhor Shor of Orléans and Christian Polemic of the Middle Ages Jonathan E. Blake ‘Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Ordination Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion 5760-2000 Referee, Dr. Susan EinbinderJOSEPH BEKHOR SHOR OF ORLEANS AND CHRISTIAN POLEMIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES: DIGEST This thesis examines the polemical dimension ofthe Torah commentary of the ‘swelfh-century northern French Torah exegete Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor of Orléans, and attempts to situate Rabbi Bekhor Shor in the ongoing Jewish-Chuistin debate, In addition o examining the arguments between Christians and Jews with regard to the purported meaning of Scriptural passages and the content of interpretation about them, this study will also consider the differences and similarities between Christian and Jewish ‘methods of interpretation, with particular foeus on the exegesis of Bekhor Shor and his Gentile counterparts inthe Schoo! of Saint Vietor. In paricalar, Twill analyze the polemieal arguments rrennding the figures of ‘the biblical Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Jewish-Christian debate ofthe Hligh Midale Ages influenced interpreters of Scripture in northern France to devote scholarly attention to the actions of the Patrarchs, whom Jewish commentators—Bekhor ‘Shor especially —sought to defend against slander, with Jews refuting (what they regarded as) inappropriate interpretations by Christian scholars, Rabbi Joseph Bekhor Shor of Orléans, a highly original interpreter of Scripture, offers throughout ‘commentary many clues to the intellectual, religious, and social climate in which he wrote. Indeed, the content and methodology of his polemic link him to prominent Christan exegetes of his day and to the literary conventions that influenced