Jewish and Christian Exegetical Controversy in Late Antiquity: The Case of Psalm 22 and the Esther Narrative

Abstract

As many scholars have noted, Psalm 221 developed into a locus of exegetical controversy between Jews and Christians during Late Antiquity.2 This paper will discuss the Jewish anti-Christian polemical identification of Psalm 22 with Esther and the Purim narrative. Earlier scholarship exploring this connection suffers from at least one critical limitation. The insightful studies by Betinna,3 Dorival,4 Menn,5 and Tkacz,6 are focused on Midrash Tehillim, a midrashic compilation redacted by the eleventh-century.7 Although it is partly true, as some of these studies mention,