Concepts of Scripture in Moshe Greenberg 261the more we read and reread this kind of [rabbinic] text and it becomes
lodged in our minds, the better its pieces seem to fi t together, the more its
language seems to echo, and the more its messages seem to coalesce.”55
Related to this problem of creating coherence out of a composite text is
the manner in which Greenberg determines, in cases where he acknowl-
edges the multiplicity of biblical views on a single topic, which view is
most important, where he determines how “the Bible, as it were, ‘corrects
itself.’ ” In a variety of places, he off ers some hints of criteria he uses, most
especially the position taken (by the majority of scholars? by those whom
he favors?) in postbiblical Judaism. But is this the only possible or valid
criterion? Might we instead look at a diff erent majority opinion — perhaps
that expressed in the majority of biblical books or (and this may be diff er-
ent) in the largest number of biblical passages or in the latest (most fi nal)
or earliest (most pristine) passage? Perhaps we may consider the opinion
expressed most forcefully, however we might measure that? Or the opin-
ion expressed in the most authoritative source (however we might measure
that — is every passage in the Torah more authoritative than every passage
in, e.g., Job?)? As my many question marks suggest, any of the alterna-
tive criteria that I am suggesting are open-ended and problematic — as are
Greenberg’s criteria.56
For example, it would be possible to dispute, I believe, that “the testi-
monies” Greenberg off ers concerning Judaism’s view of the other, in his es-
say “Mankind, Israel, and the Nations in the Hebraic Heritage,” suggest a
general positive Jewish attitude toward the other. Certainly, many biblical
and postbiblical texts respect the non-Israelite or non-Jew — but should we
see this as the main biblical and Jewish view? Similarly, he states that one
of the four main biblical points concerning “the relation between the na-
tion and its land in the Bible” is that the “purpose of residing in land is to
be a holy people” — I see that as a central point in some sources but do not
believe that it is predominant enough to be in a list of the “top four.” Given
that Greenberg believes that the Bible is multivocal and is central for both
the Jewish and the general community, I wish that he had articulated more
convincingly how these communities might determine which of the vari-
ous confl icting biblical voices to honor.57
Despite these misgivings, I fi nd Greenberg’s model compelling — I feel
the strong pull of its logic and clarity trying to sway me. Greenberg is no
mere biblical scholar who happens to be Jewish but also a clear-minded
and clear-voiced preacher — like Ezekiel, he is “a master of fi gures” — argu-
ing very strongly for an attractive image of the Bible as Scripture within