TALMUD
(from the Hebrew “lamad”, teach, means “teaching”, “doctrine”).
Vast compilation of Jewish traditions related to the OT, and to all branches of civil, moral, philosophical, legal and medical, as well as religious, life of Judaism. Its antiquity dates back to the 4th century AD.
Under the pretext of preserving the Law, the religious and legal basis of the Jewish community, the rabbis surrounded it, after the captivity, with a subtle exegesis called Midras (see MIDRAS).
This interpretation, sometimes very original and free, of the Law of Moses, gives new prescriptions, rules of conduct that had to be followed for worship and law (the “haIâkoth”).
The interpretation of the historical sections of the Pentateuch gave stories and legends (the “Haggada”). However, out of respect for the Mosaic law, these “midrashim” were not to be transmitted from generation to generation except orally, although their authority would eventually come to be equal to that of the Law.
Among the reputed authors of these midrassic traditions can be cited Hillel, Shammai and Gamaliel, the latter teacher of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:3).
His successors (“tannaim”) created the Talmudic Schools of Palestine, of which Jamnia was the most famous.
At the beginning of the 3rd century AD, Yehuda Hanâsî, a rabbi, set down in writing the numerous traditions that certain Jewish doctors, such as Akiva and R. Meier, had already written down in clandestine writings. This work was called Mishna (teaching). (See MISHNA.)
Later, when the famous Rabbinical Schools of Babylon were flourishing along with the Palestinian Schools, the doctors of these various academies (“amoraim”) decided to write commentaries on the Mishnah. These comments were called “Gemaras” (definitive study).
Written in Aramaic, these Gemaras, that of Palestine and that of Babylon, remain unfinished.
The Talmud is composed of the Mishnah and the Gemaras. There are actually two Talmuds: a Palestinian Talmud, called the Jerusalem Talmud, which was finished in the 5th century, and a Babylonian Talmud, called the Babli Talmud. The latter, which has the greatest authority among the Jews, was definitively finished around the year 500.
The Jerusalem Talmud was first printed in Venice in 1523. The Babylonian Talmud was also first printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg, between 1520 and 1523.
The first is translated into French (trans. by Moisés Schwab, 1st ed. in 12 vols., Paris, 1871-1890), while the second is translated into German (trans. Lazarus Goldschmidt, 1st ed. in 8 vols., Berlin and Leipzig, 1899-1921; republished in 12 vols., 1930-1936).
Although the Talmuds are not of direct interest to Christians, due to the fact that they are nothing more than an immense compilation of Jewish norms and doctrines, of which a large number are totally foreign to the letter and spirit. of the OT, however, are of great historical interest for all who know and love the Bible.
Through the Talmuds we learn about secular Jewish customs, which we would otherwise ignore. His comments, which have to do with all fields of knowledge throughout the first five centuries of our era, are of great value for archaeological and historical studies of the Jewish people.
It is unfortunate that the anti-Semitism of the Middle Ages mutilated or suppressed a large number of passages related to Jesus. However, despite these gaps, the Christian historian and exegete recognize the Talmud’s true importance for the interpretation, not only of the OT, but also of the NT.
The Mishna contains traditions dating back to the 1st century BC, and numerous passages illuminate the time of the Lord Jesus and the customs of his contemporaries (cf., for example, the Paschal prescriptions and the Lord’s Supper).
There are also many other passages that, by their opposition to the Lord’s teachings and by their strict legalism, lead us to clearly understand Jesus’ censures of the Pharisees of His time, and the distance that separates Orthodox Judaism from all centuries of the world. Gospel of Jesus Christ.