Midrash Hashkem, also known as Midrash ve-Hizhir, is an
Pentateuch. It roughly follows the Torah from Exodus 8 to Numbers
20.
Names
The midrash begins with a haggadic passage, which, belonging to Exodus 8:16 ("Vayomer hashkem ba-boker"), is found also in the earlier editions of Tanḥuma.[1] The work was called "Hashkem" after the second word in this introductory sentence. Other authors called the midrash "VeHizhir," after the standing formula "VeHizhir haḲadosh barukh Hu," with which nearly all the pericopes in the midrash as now extant begin, and which is occasionally found at the beginning of a new section in the middle of the pericope. No one, however, quotes Hashkem and VeHizhir together as two different works.
Contents
The first part of the Munich codex, after which the work was published by