TALMUD

The Talmud is an encyclopedia of Jewish cultural tradition that was designed to supplement the Hebrew Old Testament. It evolved over a era from about 450 B.C. to A.D. 500. The Talmud (from a Hebrew word which means "study") developed in two stages. The oldest was the Mishnah ("to repeat"), a section of six main segments which dealt with agricultural laws, festivals, family matters, civil/criminal laws, temple laws, impurities, etc. Later came the Gemara ("learning"), which contained the discussions of the Jewish rabbis relative to the Mishnah. The Mishnah, usually referred to as the "oral law," was in existence in a written form by the end of the second century A.D.; the Gemara, the commentary on the law, was formed between A.D. 200-500. When Jesus referred to the "traditions" of the fathers (Mt. 15:1ff; Mk. 7:3ff), he was speaking of those human rules (frequently bound by the rabbis as "law") which were later incorporated into the written Talmud. The Talmud provides scholars with a rich depository of information about Jewish beliefs and practices in the first century.