What is the Torah, the Mishna and the Talmud?
• The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament. This is the law the Jews lived by. • The Mishna was the explanation of the Torah. There were many questions concerning how to follow the Torah. This teaching about the Torah was handed down orally until 220 AD when Rabbi Judah wrote it down in 63 volumes. • The Talmud came after the Mishna was written down. By the 400’s AD the Mishna, which was written to explain the Torah, became too confusing. The 63 volumes of the Mishna was explained in many more volumes called the Talmud. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishna. There is a Babylonina Talmud and a Palestinian Talmud. Old Testament Survey The Old Testament is a collection of 39 books that are still considered scriptures by the Jewish religion. The Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, records God’s covenant with Israel and the revelation he gave them. One way of categorizing the Old Testament books is into five sections (three sets of five books and two sets of twelve books):
