Sivan Nir | Tel Aviv University (original) (raw)
I specialize in the field of reception, concentrating primarily on biblical characters, narratives, and poetics. My focus includes their interactions within the Bible, Midrash, and Medieval Commentaries, as well as the rich interreligious contexts that informed these sources.
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National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (HSE), Moscow, Russia
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Papers by Sivan Nir
The Psalms: My Psalm My Context, 2024
Warrior, Poet, Prophet and King: The Character of David in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, eds. Marzena Zawanowska and Mateusz Wilk, Themes in Biblical Narrative 29, 43-66, 2021
Herders Biblische Studien Band 96, Freiburg, 2020
The Bible and Its Reception JEWISH BIBLICAL EXEGESIS FROM ISLAMIC LANDS The Medieval Period Edited by M. Polliack and A. Brenner , 2019
The most prominent exegete of the Karaite late medieval golden age, 2 Yefet ben 'Eli (still activ... more The most prominent exegete of the Karaite late medieval golden age, 2 Yefet ben 'Eli (still active in 1005 CE), translated and interpreted the whole of the Hebrew bible during the last thirty years of his life (960-990 CE). 3 Yefet's exegesis of the bible demonstrates both typical Karaite approaches to the text, a contextual linguistic approach and a prognostic symbolic approach, mostly centered on the prophetic books and the Song of Songs. 4 Yefet's predecessor, Daniel al-Qumisi, identified two independent layers in prophetic biblical accounts, historical and prognostic. 5 In his interpretation of Hos 12:11, al-Qumisi claims that God created man to receive punishment or reward and so the prophets' prerogative is to warn the Jews of their upcoming punishment for their bad deeds: literal reading of the bible with strong eschatological tendencies. The exegete-By "prognostic" I refer to a non 1 identifies an esoteric message referring to his time and place as the intended recipient of the biblical text in question. Such hermeneutics might be typical of sectarian circles in turmoil, even beyond the Dead Sea scrolls and the Karaites.
Teaching Documents by Sivan Nir
Books by Sivan Nir
Bible and Its Reception 8, SBL Press, 2024
Sivan Nir meticulously examines the reimaginings of the biblical figures Balaam, Jeremiah, and Es... more Sivan Nir meticulously examines the reimaginings of the biblical figures Balaam, Jeremiah, and Esther in a wide range of Jewish texts from second-century rabbinic sources to medieval Jewish biblical commentaries. Nir’s unique approach analyzes the continuity, or lack thereof, that emerges when characterization is viewed in relation to and in contrast with its cross cultural context, including the contemporary conventions found in Hellenistic rhetoric and novels, Byzantine Christian literature, Islamic adab and Mu‘tazila literature, and more. Such an approach reveals a transition from typological depictions to richer, more lifelike portrayals—a transformation shaped by rival notions of literature and history. Nir translates the sources into accessible English for students and scholars of not only Jewish exegesis but also those in Christian theology, Islamic studies, and world literature
The Psalms: My Psalm My Context, 2024
Warrior, Poet, Prophet and King: The Character of David in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, eds. Marzena Zawanowska and Mateusz Wilk, Themes in Biblical Narrative 29, 43-66, 2021
Herders Biblische Studien Band 96, Freiburg, 2020
The Bible and Its Reception JEWISH BIBLICAL EXEGESIS FROM ISLAMIC LANDS The Medieval Period Edited by M. Polliack and A. Brenner , 2019
The most prominent exegete of the Karaite late medieval golden age, 2 Yefet ben 'Eli (still activ... more The most prominent exegete of the Karaite late medieval golden age, 2 Yefet ben 'Eli (still active in 1005 CE), translated and interpreted the whole of the Hebrew bible during the last thirty years of his life (960-990 CE). 3 Yefet's exegesis of the bible demonstrates both typical Karaite approaches to the text, a contextual linguistic approach and a prognostic symbolic approach, mostly centered on the prophetic books and the Song of Songs. 4 Yefet's predecessor, Daniel al-Qumisi, identified two independent layers in prophetic biblical accounts, historical and prognostic. 5 In his interpretation of Hos 12:11, al-Qumisi claims that God created man to receive punishment or reward and so the prophets' prerogative is to warn the Jews of their upcoming punishment for their bad deeds: literal reading of the bible with strong eschatological tendencies. The exegete-By "prognostic" I refer to a non 1 identifies an esoteric message referring to his time and place as the intended recipient of the biblical text in question. Such hermeneutics might be typical of sectarian circles in turmoil, even beyond the Dead Sea scrolls and the Karaites.
Bible and Its Reception 8, SBL Press, 2024
Sivan Nir meticulously examines the reimaginings of the biblical figures Balaam, Jeremiah, and Es... more Sivan Nir meticulously examines the reimaginings of the biblical figures Balaam, Jeremiah, and Esther in a wide range of Jewish texts from second-century rabbinic sources to medieval Jewish biblical commentaries. Nir’s unique approach analyzes the continuity, or lack thereof, that emerges when characterization is viewed in relation to and in contrast with its cross cultural context, including the contemporary conventions found in Hellenistic rhetoric and novels, Byzantine Christian literature, Islamic adab and Mu‘tazila literature, and more. Such an approach reveals a transition from typological depictions to richer, more lifelike portrayals—a transformation shaped by rival notions of literature and history. Nir translates the sources into accessible English for students and scholars of not only Jewish exegesis but also those in Christian theology, Islamic studies, and world literature