Читать книгу A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ - Emil Schürer - Страница 20

Compare specially: Zunz, Die gottesdienstliclien Vorträge der Juden, 1832.—For the bibliography: Wolf, Bibliotheca Hebraea, 4 vols. 1715–1733.—Fürst, Bibliotheca Judaica, 3 vols. 1849–1863.—Steinschneider, Catalogue librorum hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, Berol. 1852–1860.—Zedner, Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the Library of the British Museum, London 1867.—Strack, Bibliographischer Abriss der neuhebr. Litteratur, in Lehrb. der neuhebr. Sprache und Litt., by Siegfried and Strack, 1884, p. 93 ff.

By “Rabbinical Literature” we understand that literature which has grown up out of the professional labours of the Rabbis or scribes. These labours consisted, not indeed exclusively, but mainly, in learned discussions and criticism of the Scriptures. Of such productions we have two different classes. On the one hand, some have discussed the law hypercritically in the jurist style; on the other hand, some have expanded and developed the sacred history and religious and ethical views by means of learned combinations. The productions of the first sort constitute the Halacha, or the traditional law; the productions of the second kind form the Haggada, or the legends, embracing religious and moral contents. For further information about both, see § 25, III.

The Halacha and Haggada were transmitted for the first hundred years by oral tradition only. In the Halacha strict adherence to literal accuracy in the transmission was insisted upon; whereas in the Haggada, greater freedom was given to subjective opinion and imagination. The final fixing of both in numerous and comprehensive literary works makes up what we style the Rabbinical Literature. The origin of this literature dates almost without exception from the earliest years of the period immediately after that treated in our history. Only the Haggadic treatment of Genesis, which is known under the name of the Book of Jubilees, belongs to our period; as do also the earliest, but no longer extant, contributions to the Halacha. But almost the whole of the rabbinical literature that has been preserved reaches no farther back than the last decade of the second century after Christ. It is nevertheless an invaluable source for the times of Christ, for the fountain of the there fixed traditions is to be sought away back, not merely in the times of Christ, but in yet earlier periods.

The Halacha has been written down partly in close connection with the Scripture text, therefore in the form of commentaries upon Scripture, partly in systematic order, grouping the materials under various headings according to the subjects dealt with. The works belonging to the latter class very soon obtained the pre-eminence. They embrace—1. The Mishna; 2. The Tosephta; 3. The Jerusalem Talmud; 4. The Babylonian Talmud. They may be comprehended under the general designation of Talmudical Literature. In all of them Haggada is mixed up with Halacha; this blending being most conspicuous in the Babylonian Talmud, and least discernible in the Mishna.

The Haggada makes its appearance mainly in the form of commentaries on the Scripture text. The Halachic, as well as the Haggadic commentaries, may be comprehended under the general name of Midrashim.

The traditional conception of the Scripture text is given expression to in the Aramaic translations or the Targums. They too, therefore, are to be mentioned here, although in the form in which they have come down to us they are probably to be dated about one hundred years after the time of Christ.

Finally, as the residuum of historical tradition, we must refer to still other historical works which make reference to the period of which we treat.