In rabbinic literature
Jerusalem or Mount Zion continues to be acknowledged as the center
or navel of the earth in literature subsequent to Matthew. The Matthean
phrase “heart of the earth” (12:40) may therefore be a singular
occurrence of the theme in a tradition stretching from antiquity to
medieval times.
In the Talmud, the theme of Jerusalem as the navel of the earthappears in midrashic explanation of courtroom seating arrangements:
From where do we derive this law that the members of the
Sanhedrin must sit in a semicircle? Rabbi Aḥa bar Hanina
Said: It is derived from the verse that says (Song of Songs
7:3) “Your navel is like a round goblet, that never lacks
blended wine; your belly is like a heap of wheat set about
with lillies.” The words, “your navel” (שׁררך) refer to the
Sanhedrin. Why is the Sanhedrin called “your navel”?
Because it is seated in the Temple of Jerusalem, which
is at the center of the world” (בטיבורו שׁל עולם) (b. Sanh 37A).
11The parenthetical inserts are mine. Adapted from Steinsaltz,
trans,1998, p. 65. The rabbinic texts in this section were identified
by Talmon,1977, pp. 249-50. Again, I acknowledge Charlesworth, 1985,
p. 720 note i., for his mention of Talmon.
The theme reappears in the Adolph Jellinek (1853-77, Vol.5, p. 63)
midrashic collection:
‘In wisdom God founded the earth…’ The Holy One
blessed be he created the world like the infant of a woman.
In the beginning the infant develops from the navel and extends
from there. What is the earth’s navel? This is Jerusalem and
its central point is the altar. And why was it called the foundation
stone? Because from it the entire world was established”
(BHMidr 5.63).
In the Solomon Buber recension of the Midrash Tanḥuma (adapted
from Townsend, 1997, pp. 309-10) even the land of Israel itself sits at
the navel or center of the world:
Just as a navel is set in the middle of a person, so the land
of Israel is the navel of the world. Thus it is stated (in Ezek 38:12):
who dwell on the navel of the Earth. The land of Israel sits at
the center of the world, Jerusalem is in the center of the land of
Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple
building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center
of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which
the world was founded, is before the Temple building (Tanh.. Lev 19:23).