Codifications of Law

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 700+ words | Copyright

Codifications of Law. In Judaism, successive attempts to bring order to the proliferating interpretations and applications of the original Torah. Among the earliest were Mishnah and Tosefta, leading to the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds, though these are not in the form of codes. Pioneers of the latter were the Sheʾiltot of the Babylonian Aḥai of Shabḥa, and Halakhot Pesukot of Yehudai Gaon. Prominent in the transition to codes was Saʿadiah Gaon. But the most ambitious was Mishneh Torah of Maimonides. This remains a point of reference, but other codes have appeared, often condensing and reorganizing—e.g. Jacob ben Asher's Arbaʾah Turim (Four Rows; Tur for short), which was the basis for Shulḥān Arukh of Joseph Caro.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Codifications of Law." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Codifications of Law." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-CodificationsofLaw.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Codifications of Law." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-CodificationsofLaw.html

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