Exodus 1-2 tells of the oppression of the Hebrews in Egypt and the birth of the future savior Moses. Christian and Jewish interpreters in late antiquity interpreted this text from their own specific perspective, as part of their religious community. They approach the text with partly common, partly different prerequisites, hermeneutics and methods. The religious practice and teaching of one's own religious community are always in the background. This shows processes of reception as well as rejection and demarcation. The Christian interpretation of the Scriptures in particular reveals polemics against Judaism that have continued through the centuries. Nevertheless, there are also numerous points of contact and common motifs that keep recurring - alongside specifically Jewish and Christian traditions. In this way, a multifaceted picture of the biblical text emerges in the patristic and rabbinical interpretation.

Patristic and rabbinic biblical interpretations are significant contributions to the identity construction of late antique Christian and Jewish groups. The contributions in this conference volume illuminate the reception of biblical texts, themes and figures in patristic and rabbinic writings from the 2nd to the 8th century. They reveal processes of mutual demarcation, which are sometimes extremely polemical, sometimes only implicit and indirectly accessible. The correct interpretation of Scripture is claimed for one's own "we", while at the same time distinguishing it from the "others". Nevertheless, similarities and mutual positive references are clearly recognizable. Especially the often so polemical Christian interpretation is from the beginning rooted in the Jewish tradition and based on it. But also the rabbinic interpretation shows traces of the controversy with Christianity.

Biblical women play an important role in various genres of patristic literature and in rabbinical texts: for example as role models for women, sometimes for men, as representatives of certain virtues or vices, as authorities in disputes, as a starting point for certain practices. The images that the (almost always male) authors draw of the biblical women always reflect the contemporary social, cultural and religious context, especially with regard to widespread ancient ideas about women and the relationship between the sexes. The anthology asks about the presence and visibility or audibility and the image of biblical women in the late antique texts. It contains contributions on Rahab, the Egyptian wife of Solomon, the lover of the Song of Songs, Judit, the four daughters of Philip and the myrophores of the Gospels that bring salves to Jesus' grave, and examines the reception of these biblical women in various patristic and rabbinical ones texts.