Mishnah

Relationship to the Bible

The Mishnah is not a term found in the Bible. It is a book that collects and sets down in writing the interpretations of the law that Jewish rabbis had passed on orally, known as the Oral Law. It is traditionally held to have been compiled by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi around the late second or early third century.

Its point of contact with the Bible is the "tradition of the elders" mentioned in the Gospels (Mark 7:3; Matthew 15:2). It is commonly held that some of the traditions observed by the Pharisees were later codified in the Mishnah. Scholars differ, however, on which of the Mishnah's regulations reflect practices already observed in the time of Jesus.

Name and Structure

The word "Mishnah" derives from a Hebrew verb meaning "to repeat" and refers to teaching learned through repeated recitation. The Mishnah is divided into six orders (sedarim, singular seder) and is commonly reckoned to contain 63 tractates (masekhtot, singular masekhet).

• Zeraim (Seeds): agriculture, tithes, and blessings
• Moed (Appointed Times): regulations for festivals such as the Sabbath, Passover, and the Day of Atonement
• Nashim (Women): marriage and divorce
• Nezikin (Damages): civil and criminal law. The tractate Avot, a collection of the sayings of the Fathers, is also found in this order.
• Kodashim (Holy Things): temple sacrifices
• Tohorot (Purities): laws of ritual purity

Significance as Background for Reading the Bible

In Christianity the Mishnah is used as background material for understanding Judaism in the New Testament period. Examples include the following:

• The Mishnah's tractate on the Sabbath classifies forbidden work into 39 categories. This material is frequently cited in explaining the controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees over the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).
• It also records the debate between the schools of Shammai and Hillel over the grounds for divorce. This debate serves as background for understanding the question posed in Matthew 19:3-9.
• Avot also preserves sayings attributed to a figure thought to be the Gamaliel mentioned in the Book of Acts.

Interpretation and Issues

Rabbinic Judaism holds that the Oral Law was given to Moses at Mount Sinai together with the Written Law, the Pentateuch. The opening of Avot presents a chain of transmission by which this teaching was handed down from Moses through the generations.

By contrast, no Christian tradition regards the Mishnah as canonical. Protestantism, holding that Scripture alone is the final authority for faith, treats the Mishnah as a historical source. In this connection, Jesus' rebuke of "the tradition of men" (Mark 7:8) is sometimes cited as well.

Scholars emphasize caution in its use. The Mishnah was compiled more than a century after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. It has therefore been noted that care should be taken not to treat its contents uncritically as the rules observed by all Pharisees in the time of Jesus.

The Talmud consists of the Mishnah combined with the Gemara, the rabbis' commentary on the Mishnah.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the Mishnah is mentioned chiefly in sermons and Bible study when explaining the background of the Pharisees, the Sabbath controversies, and the purity regulations.