Textual Tapestries: Explorations of the Five Megillot (Maggid Tanakh Companions)

by Gabriel Cohen

Overview

The Five Megillot the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther are among the most familiar of biblical texts. Yet in the hands of veteran educator and Bible scholar Gabriel H. Cohn, a leading disciple of Nehama Leibowitz, the megillot reveal untold depths.

Utilizing classical commentary and modern scholarship to explore literary, philosophical, and educational aspects of the megillot, he uncovers multiple dimensions of meaning, while always maintaining sight of the peshat, the plain sense of the text. Upon its publication in Hebrew, Textual Tapestries was recognized as an instant classic. Dr. Cohn now invites readers of English to participate in the continuing dialogue between the Jewish people and their sacred books, and to join him on a journey to discover these books’ religious meaning for the individual and the community.

Key Features

• Explores literary, philosophical, and educational aspects of the megillot
• Uncovers multiple dimensions of meaning while maintaining the plain sense of the text
• Invites readers to discover the religious meaning of these sacred books

Contents

• Preface
• Introduction: Reading the Five Megillot
• Studies in the Song of Songs
• Chapter One: The Song of Songs in the Framework of Scripture
• Chapter Two: Allegory and Symbol
• Chapter Three: “The Song of Songs Which Is Solomon’s”
• Chapter Four: The Inner World of the Song of Songs
• Chapter Five: The Songs and Their Singularity
• Chapter Six: The Sequence of the Songs
• Chapter Seven: The Song of the Land of Israel
• Chapter Eight: “The Daughters of Jerusalem” – “The Daughters of Zion”
• Appendix I: Select Songs for Self-Study
• Studies in the Book of Ruth
• Chapter Nine: The Structure of the Book of Ruth
• Chapter Ten: The Language and Style of the Book
• Chapter Eleven: Social Responsibility and Religious Consciousness
• Chapter Twelve: Leaving the Land 0f Israel
• Chapter Thirteen: “And Be Famous in Bethlehem”
• Chapter Fourteen: The Deeds of the Fathers Are a Sign for the Children
• Chapter Fifteen: Your People shall Be My People, and Your God My God
• Chapter Sixteen: Levirate Marriage and Redemption
• Chapter Seventeen: Women and Family
• Chapter Eighteen: The Meaning of the Book of Ruth
• Appendix I: Commentaries and Study Questions
• Studies in the Book of Lamentations
• Chapter Nineteen: Eikha
• Chapter Twenty: The Literary Character of the Book
• Chapter Twenty-One: Jeremiah and Lamentations
• Chapter Twenty-Two: The Destruction of Jerusalem
• Chapter Twenty-Three: “Jerusalem has Grievously Sinned”
• Chapter Twenty-Four: Prayer and Hope
• Appendix I: Midrashim on the Book of Lamentations
• Appendix II: Kinot
• Studies in the Book of Ecclesiastes
• Chapter Twenty-Five: Ecclesiastes and the Books of Scripture
• Chapter Twenty-Six: Kohelet the Son of David
• Chapter Twenty-Seven: “Vanity of Vanities”
• Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Inner Structure
• Chapter Twenty-Nine: “Because Its Words Are Self-Contradictory”
• Chapter Thirty: The Concept of God in Ecclesiastes
• Chapter Thirty-One: What Is Good for Man
• Appendix I: Ecclesiastes in the Biblical Canon
• Appendix II: A Unique Introduction to the Book of Ecclesiastes
• Studies in the Book of Esther
• Chapter Thirty-Two: The World of the Book of Esther
• Chapter Thirty-Three: Rule and Dominion in Ahasuerus’ Kingdom
• Chapter Thirty-Four: The Hidden and the Revealed
• Chapter Thirty-Five: Queen Esther in the Footsteps of Joseph
• Chapter Thirty-Six: Continuing the War Against Amalek
• Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Status of Women
• Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Religious Meaning of the Book of Esther
• Appendix I: The Laws and Customs of Purim
• Appendix II: The Book of Esther in the Tempest of Time

Product Details

• Title: Textual Tapestries: Explorations of the Five Megillot (Maggid Tanakh Companions)
• Author: Gabriel Cohen
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• ISBNs: 9781592643981, 1592643981
• Resource ID: LLS:MTCTXTLTPSTRSMGLLT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-07-09T03:47:48Z

About Gabriel Cohen

Dr. Gabriel H. Cohn is an educator and biblical scholar at Bar Ilan University, specializing in literary exegesis of the Bible and the study of midrashic commentaries. In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Cohn was the long-time head of Machon Gold, a teacher’s college for women for the Diaspora. Through his teaching and writing, he has contributed significantly to the in-depth study and meaningful understanding of biblical texts. Dr. Cohn has published widely in multiple languages on the subjects of Biblical interpretation, ethics and education, and is the editor of Prayer in Judaism: Continuity and Change and Pirke Nehama, a memorial book on the exegetical work of Prof. Nehama Leibowitz.