What is Midrash, and is it Important?

MattS AMTM July 2019 Part 26

EXCERPTS FOM THE ARTICLE

It is in the last 6 months or so, that I have come across the idea of “Midrash” as a way of understanding the bible, you might say it a more 3 dimensional view of scripture. At this point I have to be very clear that the Midrash I speak of is NOT the rabbinical Midrash that Google is so fond of throwing up on any given search.

The Hebrew-Jewish scholars/rabbi’s of Jesus and Paul’s time used the Midrashic approach in explaining, interpreting and understanding scripture. Once again, in simple terms, they used a combination ofallegory(a picture revealing a hidden meaning) and typology(a type of) to reveal the deeper meanings in scripture. There can be multiple meanings in scripture, the literal meaning (peshit) and the deeper meaning (pesher). Midrash is never is a basis for making doctrine, it always supports or validates scripture.