before the destruction
of the Temple, but was completed after the death of Trajan in 118. This
scroll contained thirty-five brief paragraphs written in Aramaic. The
compilation, which is of great historical value, follows the order of
the Jewish Calendar, beginning with the month Nisan and ending with
Adar. The entries in the list relate to the days on which it was held
unlawful to fast, and many of these days were anniversaries of national
victories. The Megillath Taanith contains no jubilations over these
triumphs, but is a sober record of facts. It is a precious survival of
the historical works compiled by the Jews before their dispersion from
Palestine. Such works differ from those of Josephus and the Sibyl in
their motive. They were not designed to win foreign admiration for
Judaism, but to provide an accurate record for home use and inspire the
Jews with hope amid the threatening prospects of life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

JOSEPHUS.

Whiston's English Translation, revised by Shilleto (1889).

Graetz.--II, p. 276 [278].

SIBYLLINE ORACLES.

S.A. Hirsch.--_Jewish Sibylline Oracles_, _J.Q.R._, II, p. 406.

CHAPTER III

THE TALMUD

The Amoraim compile the Palestinian Talmud and the Babylonian
Talmud.--Representative Amoraim:
I (220-280) Palestine--Jochanan, Simon, Joshua, Simlai;
Babylonia--Rab and Samuel.
II (280-320) Palestine--Ami, Assi, Abbahu, Chiya;
Babylonia--Huna and Zeira.
III (320-380) Babylonia--Rabba, Abayi, Rava.
IV (380-430) Babylonia--Ashi (first compilation of the
Babylonian Talmud).
V and VI (430-500) Babylonia--Rabina (completion of the
Babylonian Talmud).

The _Talmud_, or _Gemara_ ("Doctrine," or "Completion"), was a natural
development of the Mishnah. The Talmud contains, indeed, many elements
as old as the Mishnah, some even older. But, considered as a whole, the
Talmud is a commentary on the work of the Tannaim. It is written, not in
Hebrew, as the Mishnah is, but in a popular Aramaic. There are two
distinct works to which the title Talmud is applied; the one is the
Jerusalem Talmud (completed about the year 370 C.E.), the other the
Babylonian (completed a century later). At first, as we have seen, the
Rabbinical schools were founded on Jewish soil. But Palestine did not
continue to offer a friendly welcome. Under the more tolerant rulers of
Babylonia or Persia, Jewish learning found a refuge from t