Modern research suggests that the text is pseudepigraphic from the Geonic period of the eighth century, written in or near the Land of Israel.

Because in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will hear the cry of the people from what the children of Ishmael are destined to do in the land at the end of days."

At the end of Chapter 30, the following apocalyptic vision appears, Rabbi Ishmael says, Fifteen things the children of Ishmael are destined to do in the land at the end of days, and these are they: They will measure the land with ropes, make cemeteries for the resting place of sheep dung, measure in them and from them on the tops of mountains, increase lies, conceal the truth, distance law from Israel, increase sins in Israel, the worm will be as wool, the paper and pen will wither, the kingdom's rock will be rejected, they will rebuild ruined cities, clear roads, plant gardens and orchards, repair breaches in the walls of the Temple, build a structure in the sanctuary, and two brothers will stand over them as leaders in the end, and in their days the sprout of David (the Messiah) will stand.According to Zunz, the "structure in the sanctuary" refers to the Dome of the Rock, which was built on the Temple Mount at the end of the seventh century.

Furthermore, the text bears a distinct similarity to the Geonic literature, a remarkable resemblance to the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and messianic sayings that set the expected year of redemption as 729.

For example, the custom of defloration with a finger (mentioned in Chapter 16) is explicitly noted in the Book of Differences, as discussed by Mordecai Margalioth in 'Differences between Easterners and Residents of the Land of Israel'.

Although composed by a single author, the text exhibits various literary styles, leading scholars to debate its genre classification.

Leopold Zunz described the problem of the work's structure: first, the text (in the standard editions available to him at the time) is being cut off in the middle of an issue.

The Tadal bases his suggestion on the statements of Eleazar of Worms and the author of Yalkut Shimoni, who quotes from these seven chapters, sometimes referring to them as "PRE" (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer).

This view of Zunz and Luria that chapters and parts of the original work were lost over the generations, is very common in research.

Eliezer Treitl disagrees, arguing that the work as it exists today was completed by the author in this form, and that there were never additional chapters.

Further evidence is the benediction, "On the righteous converts" and "...who gathers the dispersed of His people Israel," found already in Chapter 10, seems out of context.

But if a person hires a lazy worker and pays him and gives him his full wage – surely this one is held in great esteem.

In his introduction and in numerous places in the body of his commentary, Luria strives to prove and justify the traditional view that sees PRE as a fundamentally tannaitic work.

The work draws its traditions from Talmudic sources, such as the Mishnah and Palestinian aggadic midrashim, which RDL cites in his commentary, almost on every page.

For example, in Chapter 22, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer identifies the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6:1 with the angels who fell from heaven, as commonly found in apocryphal literature (1 Enoch).

Avigdor Shinan also holds this view, but Treitl shows that there are also opposite case where Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer depends on the Targum.

[15] The work also has ties to early Palestinian piyyut (liturgical poetry), evident in both shared traditions and linguistic similarities.

The fact that Ishmael was born before Abraham was circumcised serves as a tool for criticism, as seen in the homily on Leviticus 19:23 in Chapter 29: Only the grapevine is meant by 'tree'; if they do not cut off the foreskin of the tree, all its fruits are stunted and unsightly, and its wine is disqualified from the altar.

But after he was circumcised, the fruit he produced was good in deeds and his wine was chosen for the altar, as it says 'and wine for the drink offering' (Numbers 15:5).Thus, the author explains why Isaac was chosen to be bound on the altar and not Ishmael, since Ishmael is "the son of the foreskin" (as explicitly stated in Chapter 31), meaning he was born to Abraham while he was still uncircumcised.

[17] In addition to the regular discourses, which form the main structure of the work, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer also includes chapters on astronomy and the determination of the Hebrew calendar.

The author often attributes various customs to biblical times, concluding with phrases like "Thus, the sages ordained..."[19] In Chapter 16, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer describes Isaac's actions and marriage to Rebecca: Ishmael says, Abraham said to his son Isaac, this servant is suspected of transgressions and deceit, as it is said, "Canaan has dishonest scales in his hand; he loves to defraud" (Hosea 12:8).

Additional customs originating from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer and incorporated into halachic literature include: standing throughout Yom Kippur,[21] looking at fingernails during Havdalah,[22] mourners attending the synagogue on Shabbat,[23] a groom not going to the market alone,[24] and blowing the shofar in Elul.

Everything is revealed before the Holy One, and the angel Michael descended and brought her to Egypt to Potiphar's house, as Asenath was destined for Joseph as a wife.

For example, according to the work, the Witch of Endor consulted by Saul was the mother of Abner, son of Ner; the woman from Sarepta in Elijah's story was the mother of Jonah; the Shulamite woman in Elisha's story was the sister of Abishag, who served David; and the man who revived after touching Elisha's bones was Shallum ben Tikvah, husband of the prophet Huldah and the father of Hanamel, Jeremiah's cousin.

Several legends from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer became particularly well-known through Rashi's commentary on the Bible: Maimonides dedicated an entire chapter in The Guide for the Perplexed to discussing a legend from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, which he considered the most puzzling statement in all Jewish literature: "From the light of His garment... From where was the earth created?

The work describes the revelation at Mount Sinai in this lofty style (Chapter 41):[30]I am the Lord your God who brought you out - The first voice went forth; the heavens and the earth shook; the seas and rivers fled; the mountains and hills trembled; and all the trees bowed; the dead in Sheol came to life and stood on their feet.Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer is one of the most widespread midrashic works.

PRE has been issued in numerous manuscripts and print editions, and several customs practiced today originate from this work.

Since the invention of printing, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer has been published over fifty times as can be seen, for example, in the catalog of the National Library of Jerusalem.

This edition which included some variant readings, commentary, and extensive references to sources and parallels from apocryphal literature.

The first commentary written for Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer was by Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi, published in the Zikhron Aharon edition, Jerusalem 2005.