"A wheat may change into a zunin and a male hyena into a bat": Transformation of Plants and Animals in the Literature of the Jewish Sages

Authors

  • Abraham Ofir Shemesh Ariel University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-3053.11.20.2-13

Keywords:

Talmud, Greco-Roman Literature, Animals and plants

Abstract

A prevalent Talmudic theory claims that both animals and plants can change, whether in the development process of the embryo or throughout the life of the organism. The current article analyzes the concept of the transformation. It shows that this view was rooted in Greco-Roman literature and the Jewish sages derived their outlook from the classical world with which they were familiar.

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Author Biography

Abraham Ofir Shemesh, Ariel University

Senior Lecturer at the Israel Heritage Department of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities  at Ariel University.

References

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Published

2017-06-07

How to Cite

Shemesh, A. O. (2017). "A wheat may change into a zunin and a male hyena into a bat": Transformation of Plants and Animals in the Literature of the Jewish Sages. Arquivo Maaravi: Revista Digital De Estudos Judaicos Da UFMG, 11(20), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-3053.11.20.2-13