is a Hebrew midrashic technique (Midrash) in which any letter in a biblical verse can be substituted by another one, in order to reveal new layers of meaning in the divine language of the Scriptures. Its origin is biblical: Jeremiah twice calls the city of Babylon (Heb. “Bavel”) “Sheshach” (Jer 25:26; 51:41). This was achieved by the temurah technique called ETBSh, in which the 22 letters of the alphabet are written in one column from beginning to end, and from end to the beginning in the parallel column. Thus the first letter א (aleph) is substituted by (ת (tav), the last le…
Temurah(215 words)
Cite this page
Dan, Joseph, “Temurah”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 25 January 2021 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_SIM_025969>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013
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