Angelo S. Rappoport, Ancient Israel Volume Three. London:Senate, 1995. Myths and Legends Series. viii, 296pp. Index.

In order for any scholar to be credible within a given discipline, he or she is required to take account of the most recent discoveries in that discipline in preparing one’s own contribution to scholarly enquiry. This is as it should be; however, this is often at the expense of a close acquaintance with scholarship carried out several generations and, indeed, centuries previously. It is for this reason that republications of scholarly works produced in the 19th century and before can be of great benefit to modern scholars. They make accessible research works from an earlier era which have often fallen from view merely because of being out of print and not easily available.

The Myths and Legends series of republications represents an important endeavour which Studio Editions Ltd. of London is making to provide the fruits of 19th and early 20th century scholarship for the benefit of the modern audience. This series includes volumes on wide-ranging topics, such as the general study of mythology, the myths of ancient Greece and Rome, Egyptian myths and legends, and a three volume series on the myths and legends of ancient Israel. This review comments on the third volume of the latter series.

In writing this volume, Angelo Rappoport identified as his central focus the rich and evocative tales of the Jewish Haggadah, stories (often of the fantastic) which served to elucidate particular Biblical passages which on their own may have appeared cryptic. These tales, which accumulated over centuries of Jewish life and were recorded in various extra-Biblical sources, focused on themes, events and people. The volume under examination here focuses upon several important figures in Jewish history: Saul, David, Solomon and Elijah.

Rappoport’s extensive knowledge of the Haggadah is complemented by an impressive understanding of faiths other than Judaism. Throughout his work, he supplements his discussion of the various Jewish tales with an exploration into links and parallels between these tales and those found in the literatures and beliefs of other faiths, principally Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. For example, Rappoport points to similarities between the Talmudic legend of David and Ishbi Benob and parts of the Hindu epic Ramayana (pp 31-2). Similarly, the author’s examination of Haggadic tales about the prophet Elijah is cross-referenced to certain elements in another Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. But of particular interest for the present reviewer are the efforts made by Rappoport to draw parallels between Jewish Haggadic tales and Islamic traditions and legends.

Islamic orthodoxy has long sought to rid itself of what it terms the Isra’iliyyat; i.e. legends of dubious authenticity brought into Islam from Judaism, often by Jewish converts to Islam, which are intricately interwoven with Islamic exegetical material and stories of the prophets. One of the great values of Rappoport’s work on the myths and legends of ancient Israel is his contribution to our understanding of the linkages between Islam and Judaism, in particular the degree to which much Islamic lore is based on the Jewish Haggadah.

Rappoport indicates that the majority of Muslim legends concerning King Saul have been borrowed from the Jews (p5). However, this influence is not always so easily identifiable in the form of discrete tales. Rappoport indicates that Jesse, the father of David, is identified by the Jewish Midrash as one of four men who were sinless. This concept of sinlessness is an important characteristic of prophets within Islamic orthodox belief and no doubt springs from earlier streams of Jewish thought. Another important Midrash in the context of later influence on Islam relates to David’s affair with Bathsheba. The Midrash in question seeks to whitewash David to some degree by reporting that Uriah assisted David to take off Goliath’s armour, in return for which David helped Uriah to find Bathsheba as a wife, a woman who had in fact been predestined by God for David himself (p19). Moreover, the Jewish Haggadah somewhat expiates David from the sin of marrying Bathsheba, in that it records Uriah as having given his wife a bill of divorce when he went off to war, according to the custom of the time (p28). Hence, David’s actions as recorded by the Bible, which appear to be so unambiguously sinful, are somewhat sanitised when the Haggadic tales are added. The role of the Haggadah in this way is mirrored in the concern by Islamic orthodoxy over centuries to sanitise the figure of David, whom it supposes to have been a sinless prophet, and to erase references to his affair with Bathsheba. The principal difference is, of course, that Judaism seeks to sanitise by adding stories, whereas Islam seeks the same goal through erasing details.

The character of David in the Haggadah provides further interesting parallels with later developments within Islam, suggesting an influence by these Haggadic elements on early Muslim beliefs. Certain Haggadic tales report that David is supposed to be still alive, and was merely removed from the earthly scene of action (p42). This has strong resonances with the Shiite concept of the occultation of the 12th Imam, or the orthodox Islamic belief that Jesus was lifted up to Heaven without dying.

The Biblical account of David and Bathsheba occurs within Islamic lore as the story of Da’ud and Saya. The name differences do not conceal the identity of the players. Some roles are awarded to different players but, in essence, the Islamic stage is very similar to that of Judaism. In the Islamic account - which of course emerged some considerable time after the Jewish account - the angel Gabriel plays the role of the Biblical Nathan as the mouthpiece for God. This is necessary as the Islamic Da’ud needs no prophetic intermediary as he himself was a prophet; hence for him an angelic intermediary is more appropriate. The parallels between the two stories are too striking to be coincidental. Moreover, the source of the stories within Islam is not difficult to determine; as Rappoport points out, Jewish converts played a central role in transmitting these stories. However, the important factor in terms of the Isra’iliyyat is that, though stories such as that of Da’ud and Saya which portray a prophet sinning were in circulation at the popular level, orthodox Islamic authorities sought to proscribe them as they ran counter to the doctrine of prophetic sinlessness.

Other parallels which bear a brief mention are those drawn out by Rappoport between the Biblical Elijah and the Islamic al-Khidr. In this instance, there is a significant development in that no longer do we find an apocryphal Jewish story translating into an apocryphal Islamic story, but here we encounter an apocryphal Jewish story - that of Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi and Elijah - translating into an event in the Qur’an itself, namely the account of the meeting and journey of Moses and al-Khidr mentioned in Surah 18 verses 65ff.

Rappoport’s research is thus important for those modern scholars interested in tracing links and methods of transmission between Judaism and Islam. His use of sources is valuable, though he depends on secondary sources: Weil (1845 in German), Tabari (French translation of 1867-74), Grunbaum (in German), the Arab literary classic Thousand and One Nights, the Persian classic Tutti Nameh (1858 in translation), al-Biruni (in translation) and Makrizi (De Sacy’s translation). Rappoport also provides some useful theories as to the direction of transmission of Haggadic legends, postulating that, for example, the Arabs borrowed the legend of Solomon’s exile from the Jews and in turn transmitted it to the Byzantines (p152). Whether the details of his transmission theories are correct, there is nevertheless no doubt that Jewish Haggadic lore played an important role in the formulation of Islamic lore and legend, which orthodox Islamic authorities have sought so hard to eradicate at different points in Islamic history. The Isra’iliyyat, as Islamic orthodoxy terms borrowed Jewish legends, have nevertheless served an important role in providing colourful and graphic literary entertainment to many generations of Muslims throughout the course of Islamic history and to this extent Islam owes a great debt to the Jewish Haggadah.

Peter G. Riddell

This review was published in The Australian Religion Studies Review, 9/2 (Spring 1996), 55-57.