Interpretation and Literary Editing in Midrash Psalms – Moses' Prayer

One of the central questions in the study of Aggadic midrashim is to what extent do these midrashim play an interpretative role and are the products of an interpretive reading of the biblical text, and to what degree do these midrashim play other roles, such as literary or homiletic, and their connection to the biblical text is less tight? In this lecture I would like to probe this question with regard to the Midrash Tehilim, which is a broad and diverse Midrash on the verses of Psalms. Through a close reading of a few case studies from chapter 1 of the Midrash, I would like to propose a complex model that expresses different levels of mixture between interpretative elements in the Midrash and other elements that are incorporated in it.