Introduction

PART I. A HERMENEUTIC OF CAMOUFLAGE

Chapter 1. The Sifra as Midrash: Hermeneutic Markedness

Chapter 2. The Sifra as Midrash: Vacuity and Semantic Discontinuity

Chapter 3. Terminological Identity and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage

Chapter 4. "On the Basis of This, They Said" (Mikan ¿Amru) and the Role of Scripture

PART II. THE CURIOUS CAREER OF BARRI AKIVA

Chapter 5. Rabbi Akiva the Interpreter: From the Mishnah to the Talmud

Chapter 6. Rabbi Akiva, the Anonymous Sifra, and the Hermeneutics of Camouflage

Chapter 7. Rabbi Akiva's Biographical Transformation

PART III. MIDRASH AND HALAKHOT: A REEVALUATION

Chapter 8. The Anomaly of Tannaitic Literature: Interpretation, Revelation, and Mysteries

Excursus. Oral Tradition as the Site of Esotericism

Chapter 9. Midrash and Extra-Scriptural Tradition: A Synchronic Model

Conclusion: Rabbi Akiva and the Ironic Triumph of Midrash

Appendix: Hebrew Sources

List of Abbreviations

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments