midrash

Midrash is a genre of Jewish rabbinic literature that interprets and expands the Hebrew Bible. The term comes from the Hebrew darash, meaning to seek, inquire, or study, and it denotes both a method of exegesis and the body of writings produced by generations of rabbis. Broadly, midrash is divided into two streams: halakhic midrash, which derives legal rulings from scriptural verses; and aggadic midrash, which expands narratives, ethics, and theology through stories and homilies. Some works blend the two.

Prominent halakhic midrashim include Mekhilta on Exodus, Sifra on Leviticus, and Sifrei on Numbers and Deuteronomy. Prominent aggadic collections include Genesis Rabbah, Exodus Rabbah, Leviticus Rabbah, and the Pesikta and the Midrash Tanhuma. The Midrash Rabbah set compiles longer homiletic interpretations on the Five Books of Moses and related topics, and other midrashim emerged in Palestinian and Babylonian centers from late antiquity through the early medieval period.

Midrash explores biblical text beyond its plain sense, seeks harmonization of verses, fills in narrative gaps, and links scripture to law, ritual, ethics, and doctrine. Its methods include hermeneutic rules, parables, and imaginative expansion of biblical episodes, often reinterpreting earlier traditions and relating verses to contemporary issues.

Historically, midrashic literature arose in the era of the early rabbinic academies and continued to develop into the medieval period. It shaped later Talmudic interpretation, influenced the development of Jewish law and liturgy, and remains a central source for studying ancient biblical interpretation and Jewish thought.