method which was practiced in wider Jewish and primitive Christian circles.3 Underlying midrash was the conviction that authoritative traditions (i.e., ‘scripture’ at either the canonical or pre-canonical stages) have enduring meaning for the community of faith and that these traditions address themselves to, and elucidate, the community’s historical experience. Committed to this hermeneutic, the community searches (darash) the scriptures with the conviction that an interpretation (midrash) will