n.
or Mishnah
Oldest authoritative collection of Jewish oral law, supplementing the written laws in the Hebrew Scriptures.
It was compiled by a series of scholars over two centuries and was given final form in the 3rd century AD by Judah ha-Nasi . Annotations by later scholars in Palestine and Babylonia resulted in the Gemara ; the Mishna and Gemara are usually said to make up the Talmud . The Mishna has six major sections, on daily prayer and agriculture, Sabbath and other religious ritual, married life, civil and criminal law, the Temple of Jerusalem , and ritual purification.