The Aramaic Bible: Targums in their Historical Context

240 The Aramaic Bible: The Targums in their Historical Context
David Hoffmann in his exhaustive analysis of the Tannaitic
Midrashim 38 firmly established them as belonging either to the School
of R. Aqiba or R. Ishmael on the basis of a variety of factors which
include: (1) the Tannaim appearing in them who were associated with
these schools; (2) the peculiar expressions and interpretative terminology
employed in their treatment of the Halakhic passages; (3) the
prevailing personality that seems to dominate that particular Midrash;
(4) finally, comparative analysis between the Midrashim of one particular
school of thought and the opposing one. According to Louis
Finkelstein, 39 originally there were apparently eight such Midrashim,
one from each school for every one of the last four books of the
Torah. In the course of time, however, four of the original works disappeared
from the European codices. But eventually fragments of the
others were recovered from the Cairo Genizah as well as from the
citations by older authorities. These include Mek. SbY. to Exodus, the
Sifre Zuta to Numbers, and the Midrash Tannaim to Deuteronomy;
the first and second belonging to the School of R. Aqiba, the third to
the School of R. Ishmael. It was not accidental that the Midrashim
preserved in the European codices were drawn alternately from the
opposing schools. The authority making the selection considered himself
bound to give equal representation to each group. In Hoffman's
opinion this selection dates back to much earlier times—during the
second generation of Amoraim in Palestine who chose two from the
School of R. Aqiba and two from the School of R. Ishmael, so that the
students would become acquainted with the midrashic approach of
both schools. Thus besides the Sifra to Leviticus, they selected the
Sifre to Deuteronomy as the two representatives of Rabbi Aqiba's
School, because next to Leviticus, only Deuteronomy has the most
Halakha (cf. Gen. Rab. 3.5). For the other two books, Exodus and
Numbers, which contained less Halakha, the midrashim from the
School of R. Ishmael—the Mekhilta and Sifre respectively—were
selected. The general impression from a study of the Talmud is that
the controversy between the opposing schools had ended with a victory
for that of R. Aqiba in the early centuries of the Common Era. 40
38. The classic work is Zur Einleitung in die halachischen Midrashim (Berlin,
1886-87), pp. 41-43, 52-55, 63-64, 66-68, especially the summary on pp. 70-72.
39. Cf. 'The Sources of the Tannaitic Midrashim', JQR ns 31 (1941), pp. 211-
13.
40. See Finkelstein, 'Sources', pp. 240-41.