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63-608: Tannaim ( Amoraic Hebrew : Hebrew : תנאים [tannɔʔim] "repeaters", "teachers", singular tanna תנא [tanˈnɔː] , borrowed from Aramaic ) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah , from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years. It came after the period of the Zugot "Pairs" and

126-404: A synhedrion was placed; Jerusalem was the seat of one of these. Later, Josephus describes Herod (at the time governor of Galilee) as being summoned before the synhedrion , led by High Priest Hyrcanus II , due to having executed alleged criminals without permission from the synhedrion . Eventually, though, Herod would go on to kill many members of this synhedrion . The Mishnah describes

189-467: A Great Sanhedrin ( בית דין הגדול ) and a Lesser Sanhedrin ( בית דין הקטן ). Each city could have its own lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges, but there could be only one greater Sanhedrin of 71, which among other roles acted as the Supreme Court, taking appeals from cases decided by lesser courts. The uneven numbers of judges were predicated on eliminating the possibility of a tie, and the last to cast his vote

252-696: A building known as the Hall of Hewn Stones ( Lishkat ha-Gazit ), which has been placed by the Talmud and many scholars as built into the northern wall of the Temple Mount , half inside the sanctuary and half outside, with doors providing access variously to the Temple and to the outside. The name presumably arises to distinguish it from the buildings in the Temple complex used for ritual purposes, which could not be constructed of stones hewn by any iron implement. In some cases, it

315-557: A political contrivance. When in the war against Prussia (1806–07) the emperor invaded Poland and the Jews rendered great services to his army, he remarked, laughing, "The sanhedrin is at least useful to me." David Friedländer and his friends in Berlin described it as a spectacle that Napoleon offered to the Parisians . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in

378-458: A rationalist solution for achieving the goal of re-establishing semikhah and the Sanhedrin. There have been several attempts to implement Maimonides' recommendations by Rabbi Jacob Berab in 1538, Rabbi Yisroel Shklover in 1830, Rabbi Aharon Mendel haCohen in 1901, Rabbi Zvi Kovsker in 1940, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon in 1949, and a group of Israeli rabbis in 2004 . The "Grand Sanhedrin"

441-458: A son of Judah ha-Nasi, where it became more of a consistory, but still retained, under the presidency of Judah II (230–270), the power of excommunication. During the presidency of Gamaliel IV (270–290), due to Roman persecution, it dropped the name Sanhedrin; and its authoritative decisions were subsequently issued under the name of Beth HaMidrash . In the year 363, the emperor Julian (r. 355–363 CE), an apostate from Christianity, ordered

504-697: A spoken language. The Gemara ( גמרא , circa 500 in Lower Mesopotamia ), as well as the earlier Jerusalem Talmud published between 350 and 400, generally comment on the Mishnah and Baraitot in Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew , which sometimes occurs in the Gemara text. There is general agreement that two main periods of Rabbinical Hebrew (RH) can be distinguished. The first, which lasted until

567-507: A verdict of capital punishment to would-be offenders, and the greater Sanhedrin of 71 judges was solely authorized to send forth the people to a battle waged of free choice . Before 191 BCE the High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the office of Nasi was created. After the time of Hillel

630-611: Is a summary of the powers and responsibilities of the Patriarchate from the onset of the third century, based on rabbinic sources as understood by L.I. Levine: Up to the middle of the fourth century, the Patriarchate retained the prerogative of determining the Hebrew calendar and guarded the intricacies of the needed calculations, in an effort to constrain interference by the Babylonian community. Christian persecution obliged Hillel II to fix

693-424: Is his title, just as Moses and Abraham have no titles before their names. (An addition is sometimes given after a name to denote significance or to differentiate between two people with the same name. Examples include Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father) and Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher). Similarly, Hillel is often referred to as Hillel Hazaken (Hillel the elder). Starting with Rabbi Judah haNasi (Judah

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756-537: Is not clear, though Gamaliel VI, the last holder of the office who had been for a time elevated by the emperor to the rank of prefect , may have fallen out with the imperial authorities. Thereafter, Jews were gradually excluded from holding public office. A law dated to 429, however, refers to the existence of a Sanhedrin in each of the Eastern Roman provinces of Palestine . The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin identifies two classes of rabbinical courts called Sanhedrin,

819-516: Is required (12 vs. 10). Finally, a court should have an odd number of judges to prevent deadlocks; thus 23 rather than 22. The first historic mention of a Synedrion ( Greek : Συνέδριον ) occurs in the Psalms of Solomon (17:49), a Jewish religious book translated into Greek. The Hasmonean court in Judea , presided over by Alexander Jannaeus , until 76 BCE, followed by his wife, Queen Salome Alexandra ,

882-496: The Babylonian captivity , and definitively recorded by Jewish sages in writing the Mishnah and other contemporary documents. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halakhic midrashim ( Sifra , Sifre , Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as

945-719: The Cave of Letters are written in Mishnaic Hebrew and that it was Simon bar Kokhba who revived Hebrew and made it the official language of the state during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135). Yadin also notes a shift from Aramaic to Hebrew in Judaea during the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt: It is interesting that the earlier documents are written in Aramaic while the later ones are in Hebrew. Possibly

1008-647: The Hall of Hewn Stones . The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and the sabbath day ( Shabbat ). After the destruction of the Second Temple and the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt , the Great Sanhedrin moved to Galilee, which became part of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina . In this period, the Sanhedrin was sometimes called the Galilean Patriarchate or Patriarchate of Palaestina ,

1071-569: The High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the chair passed to the new office of the Nasi . The Sanhedrin was headed by the chief scholars of the great Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel , and with the decline of the Sanhedrin, their spiritual and legal authority was generally accepted, the institution itself being supported by voluntary contributions by Jews throughout

1134-601: The Land of Israel . The spiritual center of Judaism at that time was Jerusalem , but after the destruction of the city and the Second Temple , Yohanan ben Zakkai and his students founded a new Council of Jamnia . Other places of learning were founded by his students in Lod and in Bnei Brak . Some Tannaim worked as laborers (e.g., charcoal burners, cobblers) in addition to their positions as teachers and legislators. They were also leaders of

1197-438: The Nasi ), often referred to simply as "Rabbi", not even the Nasi is given the title Rabban , but instead, Judah haNasi is given the lofty title Rabbeinu HaKadosh ("Our holy rabbi [teacher]"). The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five generations: Mishnaic Hebrew The Mishnaic Hebrew language, or Early Rabbinic Hebrew language, is one of the direct ancient descendants of Biblical Hebrew as preserved after

1260-700: The Sanhedrin . Rabban was a higher title than Rabbi , and it was given to the Nasi starting with Rabban Gamaliel Hazaken (Gamaliel the Elder). The title Rabban was limited to the descendants of Hillel, the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai , the leader in Jerusalem during the siege , who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with Vespasian . Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah , who

1323-798: The Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) . It developed under the profound influence of Middle Aramaic . Also called Tannaitic Hebrew or Early Rabbinic Hebrew, it is represented by the bulk of the Mishnah ( משנה , published around 200) and the Tosefta within the Talmud , and by some of the Dead Sea Scrolls , notably the Copper Scroll and the Bar Kokhba Letters . Dead Sea Scrolls archaeologist Yigael Yadin mentions that three Bar Kokhba documents he and his team found in

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1386-450: The Tosefta . The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere; the generic term for these passages is baraitot . The language of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. Mishnaic Hebrew is found primarily from the first to the fourth centuries, corresponding to the Roman period after the destruction of the Second Temple in

1449-529: The waw-consecutive . The past is expressed by using the same form as in Modern Hebrew. For example, Pirqe Avoth 1:1: משה קיבל תורה מסיני "Moses received the Torah from Sinai". Continuous past is expressed using the past tense of "to be" + participle, unlike Biblical Hebrew. For example, Pirqe Avoth 1:2: הוא היה אומר "He often said". Present is expressed using the same form as in Modern Hebrew, by using

1512-665: The Elder (late 1st century BCE and early 1st century CE), the Nasi was almost invariably a descendant of Hillel. The second highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin was called the Av Beit Din , or 'Head of the Court' (literally, Av Beit Din means 'father of the house of judgment'), who presided over the Sanhedrin when it sat as a criminal court. During the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin met in

1575-506: The Exodus were rewarded with membership on the first Sanhedrin. The 23 judges of the "Lesser Sanhedrin" are derived from the following exegesis : it must be possible for a " community " to vote for both conviction and exoneration ( Numbers 35:24–5 ). The minimum size of a "community" is 10 men, thus 10 vs 10. One more is required to achieve a majority (11 vs. 10), but a simple majority cannot convict ( Exodus 23:2 ), and so an additional judge

1638-570: The Gospels in relation to the trial of Jesus , and in the Acts of the Apostles , which mentions a "Great Synhedrion " in chapter 5 where rabbi Gamaliel appeared, and also in chapter 7 in relation to the stoning death of Saint Stephen . This body is described as a court led by the High Priest or leading priests, as well as the "elders" and/or Pharisees . After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE,

1701-525: The Mishnah, the Tosefta, the halachic midrashim, and Seder 'olam Rabba was redacted between roughly 70 CE to 250 CE. Research has demonstrated that Hebrew was spoken in Israel until about 200 CE, and it is generally agreed that tannaitic literature reflects the language and speech used in various regions of Israel during that time period. The Nasi (plural Nesi'im ) was the highest-ranking member and presided over

1764-505: The Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin, which was presided over by the Nasi , who functioned as its head or representing president, and was a member of the court; the Av Beit Din or the chief of the court, who was second to the nasi ; and 69 general members. In the Second Temple period , the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem , in a building called

1827-466: The Sanhedrin before the Roman government. The seat of the Patriarchate moved to Usha under the presidency of Gamaliel II in 80 CE. In 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha. Rabbinic texts indicate that following the Bar Kokhba revolt , southern Galilee became the seat of rabbinic learning in the Land of Israel . This region was the location of the court of the Patriarch which

1890-476: The Sanhedrin in this period further. The Great Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stones in the Temple in Jerusalem . It convened every day except festivals and Shabbat . Its members included priests , Levites , and ordinary Jews whose families had a pure lineage such that their daughters were allowed to marry priests. A Synhedrion is mentioned 22 times in the Greek New Testament , including in

1953-566: The Sanhedrin was re-established in Yavneh , with reduced authority, by agreement between Yochanan ben Zakai and Roman Emperor Vespasian . Vespasian agreed in part due to the perception that the Pharisees had not participated in the first revolt to the extent that other groups had. Thus the Sanhedrin in Yavneh was comprised almost exclusively of pharisaic scholars. The imperial Roman government recognized

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2016-415: The Sanhedrin, to convene on 20 October. This proclamation, written in Hebrew, French, German, and Italian, speaks in extravagant terms of the importance of this revived institution and of the greatness of its imperial protector. While the action of Napoleon aroused in many Jews of Germany the hope that, influenced by it, their governments also would grant them the rights of citizenship, others looked upon it as

2079-483: The Sanhedrin. They regarded the head of the Sanhedrin as their own paid government official with the status of a prefect . Roman legislation severely reduced the scope of its authority, but confirmed the body's ultimate authority in religious matters. In an attempt to quash revolutionary elements, Rome in effect declared one form of Judaism to be the only recognized form of religion. This led to persecution of sectarian groups, and attempts by these groups to find fault with

2142-562: The Temple rebuilt. The project's failure has been ascribed to the Galilee earthquake of 363 , and to the Jews ' ambivalence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, as is an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the common view among Christian historians of the time. As a reaction against Julian's pro-Jewish stance, the later emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) forbade the Sanhedrin to assemble and declared ordination illegal. Capital punishment

2205-411: The ancient world. Being a member of the house of Hillel and thus a descendant of King David , the Nasi (prince), who was the chairman of the assembly, enjoyed almost royal authority. His functions were political rather than religious, though the office’s influence was not limited to the secular realm. The Patriarchate attained its zenith under Judah ha-Nasi , who compiled the Mishnah . Since

2268-614: The calendar in permanent form in 359 CE. This institution symbolized the passing of authority from the Patriarchate to the Babylonian Talmudic academies . In 2004, excavations in Tiberias conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a structure dating to the 3rd century CE that may have been the seat of the Sanhedrin when it convened in that city. At the time it was called Beit Hava'ad . Before 191 BCE

2331-436: The change was made by a special decree of Bar-Kokhba who wanted to restore Hebrew as the official language of the state. Sigalit Ben-Zion remarks, "[I]t seems that this change came as a result of the order that was given by Bar Kokhba, who wanted to revive the Hebrew language and make it the official language of the state." However, less than a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Hebrew began to fall into disuse as

2394-584: The close of the Tannaitic era (around the year 200), is characterized by RH as a spoken language gradually developing into a literary medium, in which the Mishnah, Tosefta, baraitot and Tannaitic midrashim would be composed. The second stage begins with the Amoraim , and sees RH being replaced by Aramaic as the spoken vernacular, surviving only as a literary language. Many of the characteristic features of Mishnaic Hebrew pronunciation may well have been found already in

2457-621: The days of Hillel and Shammai , the last generation of the Zugot, there were few disagreements among Rabbinic scholars. After this period, though, the Houses of Hillel and Shammai came to represent two distinct perspectives on Jewish law , and disagreements between the two schools of thought are found throughout the Mishnah . The Tannaim , as teachers of the Oral Law , are said to be direct transmitters of an oral tradition passed from teacher to student that

2520-571: The dissolution of the Sanhedrin in or around 358 CE, there have been several attempts to re-establish it. There are records of what may have been attempts to reform the Sanhedrin in Arabia, in Jerusalem under the Caliph Umar , and in Babylon (Iraq), but none of these attempts were given attention by later rabbinic authorities and little information is available about them. Maimonides (1135–1204) proposed

2583-588: The first century CE because of parallels with motifs found in the writings of Josephus or Philo , such as the legend of the extraordinary beauty of Moses as a child. The language in which the Tannaim of Israel and Babylonia wrote is referred to as Mishnaic Hebrew (MH), or in Hebrew Lešon hakhamim , meaning the language of the Sages. Texts were written in MH between roughly 70 CE and 500 CE. Tannaitic literature, which includes

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2646-494: The future. It mostly replaces the imperfect (prefixed) form in that function. The imperfect (prefixed) form, which is used for the future in modern Hebrew, expresses an imperative (order), volition or similar meanings in Mishnaic Hebrew (the prefixed form is also used to express an imperative in Modern Hebrew). For example, Pirqe Avot 1:3: הוא היה אומר, אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשין את הרב "He would say, don't be like slaves serving

2709-435: The governing legal body of Galilean Jewry. In the late 200s CE, to avoid persecution, the name Sanhedrin was dropped and its decisions were issued under the name of Beit HaMidrash (house of learning). The last universally binding decision of the Great Sanhedrin appeared in 358 when the Hebrew calendar was established. The Great Sanhedrin was finally disbanded in 425. Over the centuries, attempts have been made to revive

2772-639: The institution, such as the Grand Sanhedrin convened by Napoleon Bonaparte and modern attempts in Israel . In the Hebrew Bible , Moses and the Israelites were commanded by God to establish courts of judges. They were also commanded to establish a "supreme court" located at the central sanctuary (after arriving in the Land of Israel ), to handle cases too difficult for local courts. When Moses declared that

2835-405: The last universal decision made by the Great Sanhedrin. Gamaliel VI (400–425) was the Sanhedrin's last president. With his death in 425, Theodosius II outlawed the title of Nasi , the last remains of the ancient Sanhedrin. An imperial decree of 426 diverted the patriarchs' tax ( post excessum patriarchorum ) into the imperial treasury. The exact reason for the abrogation of the patriarchate

2898-513: The master...", lit. "...you will not be...". In a sense, one could say that the form pertains to the future in Mishnaic Hebrew as well, but it invariably has a modal (imperative, volitional, etc.) aspect in the main clause. Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Middle Aramaic סַנְהֶדְרִין , a loanword from Koinē Greek : Συνέδριον , romanized:  synedrion , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly ' or 'council')

2961-450: The morphemes was not pronounced, and the vowel previous to it was nasalized. Alternatively, the agreement morphemes may have changed under the influence of Aramaic. Also, some surviving manuscripts of the Mishna confuse guttural consonants, especially ʾaleph ( א ‎) (a glottal stop ) and ʿayin ( ע ‎) (a voiced pharyngeal fricative ). That could be a sign that they were pronounced

3024-402: The participle ( בינוני ). For example, Pirqe Avoth 1:2 על שלושה דברים העולם עומד "The world is sustained by three things", lit. "On three things the world stands". Future can be expressed using עתיד + infinitive. For example, Pirqe Avoth 3:1: ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון . However, unlike Modern Hebrew but like contemporary Aramaic, the present active participle can also express

3087-616: The people and negotiators with the Roman Empire . The Tannaim operated under the occupation of the Roman Empire . During this time, the Kohanim (priests) of the Temple became increasingly corrupt and were seen by the Jews as collaborators with the Romans, whose mismanagement of Iudaea province (composed of Samaria , Idumea and Judea proper) led to riots, revolts and general resentment. Until

3150-421: The period of Late Biblical Hebrew. A notable characteristic distinguishing it from Biblical Hebrew of the classical period is the spirantization of post-vocalic stops (b, g, d, p, t, k), which it has in common with Aramaic. A new characteristic is that final /m/ is often replaced with final /n/ in the Mishna (see Bava Kama 1:4, " מועדין "), but only in agreement morphemes. Perhaps the final nasal consonant in

3213-404: The same way in Mishnaic Hebrew. Consonants Vowels Mishnaic Hebrew displays various changes from Biblical Hebrew, some appearing already in the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls . Some, but not all, are retained in Modern Hebrew . For the expression of possession, Mishnaic Hebrew mostly replaces the construct state with analytic constructions involving של 'of'. Mishnaic Hebrew lacks

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3276-490: The task of leading the people was too difficult for him, God had him appoint 70 elders ( zekenim ) to share the burden of leadership with him. According to the Mishnah , these 70 elders plus Moses himself are the source for the 71 judges of the "Great Sanhedrin". These elders are described as "the elders of the people and its officers", according to a midrash , they were the same officers who were beaten in Egyptian slavery for failing to meet Pharaoh's quota of bricks, and after

3339-414: Was a Jewish high court convened by Napoleon I to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by the Assembly of Notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government. It did not follow the halakhic procedures of the traditional Sanhedrin. On 6 October 1806, the Assembly of Notables issued a proclamation to all the Jewish communities of Europe, inviting them to send delegates to

3402-484: Was a legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level in the ancient Land of Israel . There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser. A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city. There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 70 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court , taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided. In general usage,

3465-465: Was also Nasi , was not given the title Rabban , perhaps because he only held the position of Nasi for a short while and it eventually reverted to the descendants of Hillel. Prior to Rabban Gamliel Hazaken, no titles were used before someone's name, which gave rise to the Talmudic adage " Gadol miRabban shmo " ("Greater than the title Rabban is a person's own name"). This is seen as the reason that Hillel has no title before his name: his name in itself

3528-435: Was called Synhedrion or Sanhedrin. The exact nature of this early Sanhedrin is not clear. It may have been a body of sages or priests, or a political, legislative and judicial institution. The first historical record of the body was during the administration of Aulus Gabinius , who, according to Josephus, organized five synedra in 57 BCE as Roman administration was not concerned with religious affairs unless sedition

3591-468: Was immediately followed by the period of the Amoraim "Interpreters". The root tanna ( תנא ) is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew root shanah ( שנה ), which also is the root word of Mishnah . The verb shanah means "to repeat [what one was taught]" and is used to mean "to learn". The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five periods according to generations. There are approximately 120 known Tannaim. The Tannaim lived in several areas of

3654-515: Was necessary only for a 23-member panel (functioning as a Lesser Sanhedrin) to convene. In general, the full panel of 71 judges was convened only on matters of national significance ( e.g. , a declaration of war) or when the 23-member panel failed to reach a conclusive verdict. By the end of the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin reached its pinnacle of importance, legislating all aspects of Jewish religious and political life within parameters laid down by Biblical and Rabbinic tradition. The following

3717-405: Was prescribed for any Rabbi who received ordination, as well as complete destruction of the town where the ordination occurred. However, since the Hebrew calendar was based on witnesses' testimony, which had become far too dangerous to collect, rabbi Hillel II recommended change to a mathematically based calendar that was adopted at a clandestine, and maybe final, meeting in 358 CE. This marked

3780-402: Was situated first at Usha , then at Bet Shearim , later at Sepphoris and finally at Tiberias . The Great Sanhedrin moved in 140 to Shefaram under the presidency of Shimon ben Gamliel II , and subsequently to Beit She'arim and later to Sepphoris , under the presidency of Judah ha-Nasi (165–220). Finally, it moved to Tiberias in 220, under the presidency of Gamaliel III (220–230),

3843-410: Was suspected. Only after the destruction of the Second Temple was the Sanhedrin made up only of sages. Josephus describes a synhedrion for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius (57 BCE), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Palestine and divided the country into five provinces, at the head of each of which

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3906-432: Was the head of the court. The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that lesser Jewish courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king, extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put. Moreover, the lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was the only juridical body in Israel having the statutory and constitutional authority and power to render

3969-477: Was written and codified as the basis for the Mishnah, Tosefta , and tannaitic teachings of the Talmud . According to rabbinic tradition, the Tannaim were the last generation in a long sequence of oral teachers that began with Moses . Early rabbinic Bible exegesis was preserved in tannaitic texts compiled in the second century CE or later, but is likely to contain much earlier material. It certainly contains some interpretations that can be traced back explicitly to

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