Midrash
/ˈmɪd.rɑːʃ/noun
A traditional Jewish method of interpreting Scripture, or a body of interpretive rabbinic literature.
Did you know?Midrash often creates imaginative expansions of biblical scenes—giving voices, motives, and backstories to figures the original text barely describes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*darash-
“To seek, inquire, investigate, or pursue knowledge”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
דָּרַשׁ (darash)
“To seek, inquire of, investigate, or study”
Late Second Temple–Rabbinic Period
Hebrew
מִדְרָשׁ (midrash)
“Inquiry or exposition of Scripture; later, a form of rabbinic interpretation”
Late Antiquity
Aramaic/Hebrew
מִדְרָשָׁא (midrasha)
“An interpretive exposition or collection of scriptural teachings”
Medieval Period
Hebrew
מִדְרָשׁ (midrash)
“A recognized genre of Jewish biblical commentary, including legal and homiletic interpretation”
19th Century
English
midrash
“An English scholarly loanword for Jewish scriptural interpretation and its literature”
Modern English
English
midrash
“Rabbinic interpretation of Scripture, especially imaginative or explanatory commentary”