Abstract
Muqdam (u) Meuhar is a technique of rabbinic interpretation, which suggests the reversal of the textual order as a solution to exegetical difficulties. The technique was first attested to as an exegetical principle in the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, and later, was used by medieval grammarians, such as Jonah Ibn Janah, Solomon Parchon, and David Kimhi, to resolve syntactical, lexical difficulties of the biblical text.
A noteworthy development was, however, that the technique was originally perceived in the Mishnah of R. Eliezer as a solution to problems in the chronological order of biblical narratives. Furthermore, the term, Muqdam Meuhar, was not really attested in Tannaitic and Amoraic sources, despite the fact that the sages frequently discussed among themselves on problems in the order of text.
To explain the uniqueness of this exegetical tradition, the present paper will compare the technique of Muqdam Meuhar with the practice of Hysteron Proteron- a similar rule of Roman literary critics-as found in Servius' commentary on Virgil's Aeneid, regarding that Muqdam Meuhar was the rabbinic calque of Hysteron Proteron. In particular, the paper will focus on controversial aspects of the technique as applied to chronological problems in the order of the biblical narratives.
