The Texture of the Divine: Imagination in Medieval Islamic and Jewish Thought (review)

[...]we read of rites of initiation, mythopoesis, and the master-disciple relationship more than one often finds in works dealing with philosophical literature. According to Hughes, metaphors not only produce pleasure for the reader but point to an "incongruity that opens the reader's gaze upon a new horizon" and "create meaning by dint of their suggestiveness as opposed to making explicit connections" (p. 71). [...]the experiences of Ibn Kzra's protagonist allude to the rapture of Aloses, the passion of the Beloved in the Song of Songs, and the suffering of Job, allusions which serve textual functions beyond paying tnbute to the language of the Bible.