About the Author

Gary G. Porton is director of the Program for the Study of Religion and professor of religious studies, history, and comparative literature at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of three previous studies: Goyim: Gentiles and Israelites in Mishnah-Tosefta; The Traditions of Rabbi Ishmael, in four volumes; and Understanding Rabbinic Midrash.