1.1. Jewish Exegesis in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Jewish exegesis of the OT precedes Christian exegesis. It had models in the OT itself, where many of the later texts refer to earlier ones, applying, varying, and extending them in a variety of ways. More or less regular exegesis arose once the texts had taken a fixed form and become canonical (Canon). Although true commentaries with linguistic and factual elucidations came only in the Middle Ages (such as those by Rashi, Abraham Ibn Ezra, David Kimchi, and Nachmanides), in p…