ABSTRACT

During the Tannaitic period – between the first century BCE and the second century CE – and the Amoraic period – between the second and sixth centuries CE – scholars, referred to as Tannaim and Amoraim, actively engaged in the interpretation of Scripture. According to Pharisaic tradition, both the Written Torah and its interpretation (Oral Torah) were given by God to Moses on Mt Sinai. This belief implies that God is the direct source of all laws recorded in the Pentateuch and is also indirectly responsible for the authoritative legal judgements of the rabbis, and serves as the justification for the rabbinic exposition of Scriptural ordinances. Alongside this exegesis of the Jewish law (halakhah), scholars also produced interpretations of Scripture in which new meanings of the text were expounded (aggadah) in rabbinic commentaries (midrashim) and in the Talmud. Within the aggadic texts is found a wealth of theological speculation about such topics as the nature of God, divine justice, the coming of the Messiah and the hereafter. In addition, ethical considerations were of considerable importance in the discussions of these teachers of the faith.