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Definition: Talmud, The (Hebrew, ‘instruction’) from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The collection of Jewish civil and religious law, religious and moral doctrine and ritual founded on scripture. It consists of the mishna and the gemara, and there are two recensions, the Babylonian and the Palestinian (or Jerusalem). The Babylonian Talmud, which is about three times the volume of the Palestinian, is held to be the more important, and it was completed towards the end of the 5th century ad. The Palestine Talmud was produced in the mid-4th century ad. After the bible, the Talmud is the most important influence in Jewish life.

Talmud

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(tăl'mӘd) [Aramaic from Heb.,=learning], in Judaism, vast compilation of the Oral Law with rabbinical elucidations, elaborations, and commentaries, in contradistinction to the Scriptures or Written Laws. The Talmud is the accepted authority for Orthodox Jews everywhere. Its two divisions are the Mishna or text of the Oral Law (in Hebrew) and the Gemara (in Aramaic), a commentary on the Mishna, which it supplements. The Mishna is divided into six Orders (Sedarim) and comprises 63 tractates (Massektoth), only 36 1/2 of which have a Gemara. The redaction of the Mishna was completed under the auspices of Juda ha-Nasi, c. A.D. 200, who collected and codified the legal material that had accumulated through the exposition of the Law by the Scribes (Soferim), particularly Hillel and Shammai, and its elaboration by the Tannaim of the 1st and 2d cent. A.D. , particularly Akiba ben Joseph. The Gemara developed out of the interpretations of the Mishna by the Amoraim . Both the Palestinian and…
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Full text Article Talmud

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Body of Jewish religious and civil laws and learned interpretations of their meanings. Study of the Talmud is central to Orthodox Judaism . The Talmud consists of two elements: the Mishna and the Gemara . The Mishna is the written version of a set of oral laws that were handed down from…
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Full text Article Talmud

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(tăl'mӘd) [Aramaic from Heb.,=learning], in Judaism, vast compilation of the Oral Law with rabbinical elucidations, elaborations, and commentaries, in contradistinction to the Scriptures or Written Laws. The Talmud is the accepted authority for Orthodox Jews everywhere. Its two divisions are the…
| 427 words
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Full text Article Talmud

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Judaism
Second only to the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), the Talmud (Hebrew for “study” or “learning”) is the most important sacred text in traditional Judaism. It is a vast, multivolume compilation of legal, ethical, and allegorical discussions and debates conducted by the ancient rabbis over a period of several…
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ca. 180–ca. 400 The Talmud of Judaism is a collection of commentaries. It is the extended and loosely organized elaboration of selected tractates of the Mishnah, an earlier religious book. Its contents are not limited by the Mishnah but often serve as the base for wide-ranging discussions. Ancient…
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Full text Article The Talmud

From The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
compilation of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend, dating from the 5th century ad , and comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara. There are two versions of the Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud and the earlier Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud. See also hillel , shammai A single man was created in…
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Full text Article TALMUD and MISHNAH

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
Mishnah, a term deriving from the Hebrew shānāh , which means “to repeat” (from which derived the verbs “to study,” “to teach”), suggests what is imparted by memory through repetition and refers to the entirety of the oral law and its study—in contradistinction to Miqra,’ which refers to the…
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Full text Article Talmud

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
In Judaism , the systematic amplification and analysis of passages of the Mishna , the Gemara , and other oral law, including the Tosefta . Two Talmuds exist, produced by two different groups of Jewish scholars: the Babylonian Talmud ( c. ad 600) and the Palestinian Talmud ( c. ad 400). The…
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Full text Article Talmud

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
The two most important works of post-biblical Jewish literature. The Babylonian (Bavli) Talmud, compiled around AD 600, and the Jerusalem (Yerushalmi) Talmud, compiled around AD 500, provide a compilation of ancient Jewish law and tradition. The Babylonian Talmud is the more authoritative version…
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Full text Article Talmud

From The Macquarie Dictionary
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Full text Article Talmud

From The Chambers Dictionary
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