Title: “On Plane-Trees and the Palatine Hill: Rabbi Yishmael and the Samaritan in Genesis Rabbah and the later Palestinian Rabbinic Tradition,” in Genesis Rabbah in Text and Context (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016)

Author: David M. Grossberg

Abstract: In this paper, I trace the development of a single narrative that first appears in Genesis Rabbah 81:3, which I argue dates from a relatively early period, perhaps as early as the third century, and whose form appears to have remained relatively stable over time. I will demonstrate that a secondary version of this same tradition is also preserved in Genesis Rabbah and that this secondary version came about at least partly through misreading and recontextualization of the earlier version already in late antiquity. I will show how this secondary narrative grew and evolved over time and how these changes have misled modern readers regarding the kinds of historical details that we can reasonably obtain from this narrative.