Ishmael on the Border: Rabbinic Portrayals of the First Arab

Contents

Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Methodology 4 Overview 10 Chapter 1. Ishmael and Esau: Marginalized Men of the Bible 13 Ishmael in the Bible 14 Esau in the Bible 23 Chapter 2. Ishmael in Tannaitic and Amoraic Literature 31 The Tannaitic Sources 32 The Amoraic Sources 37 Chapter 3. The Rabbis and Their Others 47 The Pairing of Ishmael and Esau in Rabbinic Literature 54 Esau as Real Other 63 Ishmael, the Ishmaelites, and the Children of Keturah 65 The Arab Descendants of Ishmael 67 Abraham’s Descendants and Israel’s Divine Election 74 The Role of Christianity in the Depiction of the Other 79 Chapter 4. Ishmael in Later Midrashim 85 The Treatment of Ishmael in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 96 Abraham’s Visits to Ishmael in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 104 Abraham’s Visits to Ishmael in Arabic Sources 116 v Revisiting the Visits 119 The Ishmaelites in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 123 Conclusions 129 Notes 135 Bibliography 183 Index 201 vi Contents ...