על גלגוליה של רשימת דוגמאות קדומה: עיון משווה במשנה תענית ב, ד, חזון עזרא ז 106—111 ותקנות השליחים ז 37

Mishnah Ta‘an. 2:4, 4 Ezra 7:106–111, and Apos. Con. 7.37 all constitute exempla that demonstrate the relation between prayer and salvation by adducing biblical figures who prayed and were answered by God. In addition to the general theme, the three lists also share specific details – such as the specific exemplars themselves. While the affinities between m. Ta‘an. 2:4 and Apos. Con. 7.37, on the one hand, and between m. Ta‘an. 2:4 and 4 Ezra 7:106–111, on the other, have been noted and commented upon, this paper discusses all three texts together in light of other contemporaneous Jewish texts. Shedding light on some of the literary features of m. Ta‘an. 2:4, this literary analysis also reveals that Apos. Con. 7.37 interweaves specific features that occur in the liturgy of m. Ta‘an. 2:4 and in 4 Ezra 7:106–111 – texts which in my view follow the same model. The details in Apos. Con. 7.37 that are without parallel in either m. Ta‘an. 2:4 or 4 Ezra 7:106–111 appear to have been drawn from other ancient Jewish lists of examples.