Legitimate versus problematic figuralism
Regarding the modern midrashic, literary, figural-symbolic, pattern-based hermeneutical renaissance, ScholarGPT wishes to note that "Your project hinges on this distinction, … Many critics of “allegory” are actually reacting to the right column, not the left."
| Feature | Legitimate figural / midrashic | Problematic allegory |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | textual features | external ideas |
| Constraint | intra-canonical | conceptual imposition |
| Pattern | recurring | ad hoc |
| Stability | referentially anchored | fluid |