Endnote 5 – The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke—Of History, Theology and Literature

Brown utilizes the definition of A. Wright, The Literary Genre Midrash, New York, 1967: “A midrash is a work that attempts to make a text of Scripture understandable, useful, and relevant for a later generation. It is the text of Scripture which is the point of departure, and it is for the sake of the text that the midrash exists. The treatment of any given text may be creative or non-creative, but the literature as a whole is predominantly creative in its handling of biblical material. The interpretation is accomplished sometimes by rewriting the biblical material.” (p. 74)