Creation and Composition

The Contribution of the Bavli Redactors (Stammaim) to the Aggada

Edited by Jeffrey Rubenstein

Book cover: Creation and Composition

Extent: 466 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Ancient Near East, Jewish Studies

Series: Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(November 2005)

ISBN: 9783161486920

6.5 x 9.41 inches

Price: $261.00

In stock

The essays in this book show how the redactors of the Talmud transformed and reworked earlier aggadic (non-legal) traditions, including stories, biblical exegesis, theology and ethics.


The contributors to this book analyze how the redactors of the Talmud transformed and reworked earlier aggadic (non-legal) traditions. Critical study of the Babylonian Talmud is founded on the distinction between two literary strata: traditions attributed to named sages (the Amoraim, c. 200-450 CE) and setam hatalmud , the unattributed or anonymous material. The conclusion of modern scholars is that the anonymous stratum postdates the Amoraic stratum and should be attributed to the Talmudic redactors, also known as Stammaim (c. 450-700 CE.) The contribution of the Stammaim to the aggadic (non-legal) portions of the Talmud – to midrash, narratives, ethics and theology – has received minimal scholarly attention. The articles in this book demonstrate that the Stammaim made a profound contribution to the aggadic portions of the Babylonian Talmud and illustrate the processes by which they created and composed many aggadic traditions.

  • Edited by Jeffrey Rubenstein