Order of the Tannaim and Amoraim

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders; the elders to Othniel; [Othniel] to Ehud, to Shamgar, to Deborah and Barak, to Gideon, to Abimelech, to Tola, to Yair of Gilead; to Phineas, to Jephthah, [to Ibzan,] to Elon, to Abdon, to Manoah, to Samson, to Elkana, to Eli, to Samuel, to Gad, to Shamayah, to Ido, to Ahiyah, to Shulanite, to Elijah, to Elisha, to Micahu, [to Obadiah, to Jonah, to Eliezer, to Jehoiada, to Zechariah his son, to Hosea, to Amos, to Isaiah], to Micah of Morasha, to Joel, to Nahum, to Habakkuk, to Zephaniah, to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel, to Huldah, to Haggai, to Zechariah, [to Ezra and Ezra], to the Great Assembly. And who are they? Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Mordechai the Balshan, Mispar, Bagoy, Rachum, Ba’anah. And the Great Assembly [gave it to] Simeon the Righteous; and Simeon the Righteous gave it to Antigonus, to Joseph the son of Joezer, to Joseph to son of Yoḥanan, to R. Joshua the son of Perahia, to Nitai of Arbel from the land of Arbael, to Simeon the son of Shetah, to Judah the son of Tabai, to Shamayah and Avtalyon, to Hillel the Elder who came up from the land of Babylon first. He was the head of the court. From Hillel and on they were called Nasi. Hillel gave it over to Simeon, his son, to Gamliel the Elder, to Simeon his son [to R. Gamliel, to Simeon his son], to R. Judah ha-Nasi—he is the holy Rabbi—to R. Gamliel his son, to R. Yudan the brother of R. Hananiah who was born in Ussiya, to R. Gamliel who lives in Ushiyah and settled in Beth Shearim, to R. Yudan of Sepphoris, to R. Gamliel who was in Tiberias, to R. Judah ha-Nasi, the great leader of his generation, to R. Gamliel, [to R. Hillel]. [ . . . ]

In the year 530 of the Seleucid Era [220 CE], during the days of our holy Rabbi, Rav went down to Babylon and taught that which is forbidden and that which is permitted, as well as laws in Nehardea. He found R. Abba exercising rulership in Babylon. While [he lived, Rav did not exercise rulership until R. Abba died. And Rav and Samuel, and R.] Huna the First exercised rulership in Nehardea. Rav exercised rulership [in Nehardea] for twenty-five years and died in the year 558 of the Seleucid Era [248]. After him, Samuel exercised rulership for six years and died in the year 56[5]‌ [263]. The [province] of Nehardea was settled during the days of Jehoiakim, until Samuel’s death, which makes it 680 years. [ . . . ]

From the days of Moses until Hillel the Elder there were six hundred orders of the Mishnah, just as God gave it to Moses on Sinai. From Hillel onward, the world became poorer, and the glory of the Torah diminished. From Hillel and Shammai onward, only six orders were established. And [the period of] the people of the Mishnah, from Hillel until R. [Nathan], was 311 years. This is the end of the Mishnah.

Rabbah was the one who began teaching. And from Rava to R. Ashi and Ravina was [440] years. And this was the end of the [talmudic] teaching.

After them came our rabbis, the savoraim. In their merit the heavens were stretched out and the earth split open, until R. Giza and R. Simona, who were the end of the savoraim. They did not add or divide anything of their own will but rather established the chapters in every mishnaic reading in order. [ . . . ]

• Every anonymous [statement] in the Mishnah was said by R. Meir.

• Every anonymous in the Baraita was said by R. Nehemiah.

• Every anonymous in the Sifra was said by R. Judah ben ‘Ila’ai.

• Every anonymous in the Sifre was said by R. Simeon ben [Yoḥai].

And all of this is according to R. Akiva.

They did not see R. Akiva, and they were not in the same generation as him, but they disputed his statements with regard to his opinion.

Ben Azzai said: “All the sages of Israel are like the peel of a clove of garlic, except for this bald fellow.” And who was that? R. Akiva [ben Joseph; see b. Bekhorot 58a]. [ . . . ]

And even when the sages said, “So-and-so against So-and-so; the law is in accordance with So-and-so,” when there is [an opinion of] a later rabbi which follows the view of one of them, then the law is in accordance with him.

And when two tannaim or amoraim disagree with each other, and it is not taught whether the law is in accordance with one or the other, look and see whether there is a teacher with that student, for the law does not follow a student in opposition to the teacher. [ . . . ]

And any place where it is not taught that the law is in accordance with this master or that master, one may act in accordance with the opinion of that master or the other master [see b. Bekhorot 27a]. This is the law.

And any question where it was not resolved if it follows the view of the earlier or later rabbis, one may act in accordance with either opinion.