The comparative study of Jewish and Christian sources in general and Syriac sources in particular has revealed mutual midrashic traditions in these corpora. In most cases these mutual traditions are interpreted as Jewish influences on Christians and Christian literature, or even as transfer of traditions from Jewish sources to Christian sources. However, the research of rabbinic influence on patristic sources should not be limited to mutual traditions only but should also focus on mutual methods of exegesis, especially biblical exegesis.
In his commentary on the Diatessaron, Ephrem discusses various biblical verses from the gospels, sometimes juxtaposing these verses with verses from the Old Testament. In a few cases, this juxtaposition is done according to the principals of the halakhic midrash. Words are taken out of their original context and receive a new meaning, thus leading to a new legal conclusion.
Such Christian midrash cannot be explained as a Jewish tradition which was transferred to Christian sources, since it is based on the Syriac version of the Old Testament and verses from the New Testament, two sources which are not likely to be the basis for a Jewish midrash. However, the method of creating such a midrash characterizes rabbinic literature, thus reflecting the deep influence of rabbinic thought and methodology on Syriac biblical exegesis.
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