Although it is a truism that there are fundamental methodological differences between the Ishmaelean and Aqiban schools of halakhic midrash, scholars have struggled to find a larger framework that explains the reasons for these divergences. Azzan Yadin has rendered an important service by proposing an overarching theory of hermeneutics that encompasses and informs the Ishmaelean approach to legal midrash. What follows is a brief summary and assessment of Yadin's line of argument.