Jewish Sages

The Mishnaic period is commonly divided up into five periods according to generations.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tannaim (Hebrew: תנאים) were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from 10-220 CE.   There are some 120 known Tannaim.  The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years and came after the period of the Zugot ("pairs"), and was immediately followed by the period of the Amoraim ("interpreters").   The root tanna (תנא) is the Talmudic Aramaic equivalent for the Hebrew root shanah (שנה), which also is the root-word of Mishnah. The verb shanah (שנה) literally means "to repeat [what one was taught]" and is used to mean "to learn".   The Tannaim lived in several areas of the Land of Israel. The spiritual centre of Judaism at that time was Jerusalem, but after the destruction of the city and the Second Temple, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and his students founded a new religious centre in Yavne. Other places of Judaic learning were founded by his students in Lod and in Bnei Brak.   Some Tannaim worked as labourers in addition to their positions as teachers and legislators. They were also leaders of the people and negotiators with the Roman Empire.

 

The Amoraim (Aramaic: plural אמוראים meaning "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") were renowned Jewish scholars living between 200 to 500 CE who discussed the teachings of the Oral Torah, in Babylonia and the Land of Israel.   Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara.   The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars.   Whereas the Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition, the Amoraim expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification.