In this series of articles, I have talked about the Prehistory of the Sea of Galilee area. The Hellenistic and Early Roman Eras, and the New Testament miracles of Jesus that occurred there. That brings us to the Late Roman Period.

During this time, around 135CE, the Bar Kokhba Revolt was thwarted by the Romans. All Israelites were banned from entering Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem Talmud began being compiled.

Containing seventeen volumes, the Jerusalem Talmud was constructed about 350CE. Independent of scripture, this document is a collection of rabbinic notes on the Mishnah that were orally passed down. The Jerusalem Talmud is almost seventy percent Aramaic, in the vernacular of Judea. This was a Syrian dialect that replaced Hebrew as the language of the Israelites in the 6h Century CE in the Near East. Most of the teachings have been attributed to Jewish authorities from the middle of the 1st Century through the second decade of the 3rd Century CE.

During this time the Second Temple was destroyed in 70CE by the Romans. Among other historical turning points Israel endured, the country suffered defeat in the revolt against Rome under Simeon bar Kokhba in 135CE. This catastrophic loss led to the destruction of Jerusalem and Judea's devastation. These events preceded heavy migration to the Sea of Galilee region.
Rabbi Meir, in the village of Usha, became the rabbinic judicial authority.

All ancient sources note that the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah the "Prince" somewhere around 217CE. Judah ben Simeon was the Patriarch. He was also the official representative of the Israelites. Known for his piety, Rabbi Simeon presided over the Jewish Supreme Judiciary and the Sanhedrin, their legislative body.

The Mishnah only dealt with the legal component of the Jewish Oral Tradition, and divided the Jewish Religious Law Tradition into six main components. They were:

-Seeds
-Festivals
-Women
-Torts (laws)
-Sacred Things
-Purity

The Jerusalem Talmud originated in Tiberias, in the School of Johanan ben Nappaha, in the Holy Land. This area encompassed land between the Mediterranean Sea and the East Branch of the Jordan River. Biblically speaking, the lands of Israel and Palestine. Wriiten in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, the Jerusalem Talmud is about 200 years older than the Babylonian Talmud.

Compiled between 400-350CE, the Jerusalem Gemara contains the written discussions of generations of rabbis, mainly those in Sapphoris, Caesarea, and Tiberias. Several parts of tractates are missing from the Jerusalem Talmud. These include:

-the sedarim of Tohorat (except Niddah), which dealt with uncleanness, as well as its effects that lasted until sundown.

-Kodashim, the fifth order of the Mishnah, that dealt with temple services, sacrifices, and kosher slaughter of animals for non-sacrificial purposes.

-The last four chapters of Shabbat, which dealt with laws regarding observing the Jewish Sabbath and what is prohibited on them.

-The last chapter of Makot, that dealt with the laws of the court and their judicial punishments.

The only extant complete manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud known to exist was copied in 1289CE by Rabbi Jehiel ben Jekutheil Anav. Referred to as the Leiden Jerusalem Talmud, this document addressed Pesachim, detailed topics related to Passover, Passover sacrifices, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and prohibited owning or consuming leaven on Passover.

The Jerusalem Talmud rarely cited the rabbis of Babylon. Instead, the Jerusalem Talmud focused far more on the agricultural laws of the land of Israel than the Babylonian Talmud did. Also, the Jerusalem Talmed did not cover Kodashim that dealt with the sacrificial rites and laws of the temple.

Next Time: Sea of Galilee - #6: The Byzantine Empire and Christianity