In this chapter, we examine the Talmud in its final form, the document that came to shape in the century or so before the Muslim conquest. This is a document with unique and surprising qualities, which we can understand only if we interpret it in its original, late antique setting. In this chapter, we study representative Talmudic texts, carefully laying out the qualities of the Talmud that make it Talmudic. We ask how this composition of the Babylonian rabbis compares to that of the Yerushalmi, allowing the comparison to help us appreciate the uniqueness of the latter. Then focusing on the Bavli, we ask several key questions: to what audience was it addressed? What purpose did it serve for the masters who conceived it and their students? Why is it so devoted to argumentation? Based upon the picture that emerges, we weigh various claims for what the Talmud really is: is it a commentary on the Torah, or on the Mishnah, or something else entirely? Is it a legal code? What is its theology? Its vision of society? And how did the authors of this elite document hope to make a difference in the shape of Judaism for coming generations?

What is the importance of the Talmud, that it merits a comprehensive history? In this chapter, the author paints a picture, in broad strokes, of the importance of the Talmud, to both Jews and their neighbors, through history. The Talmud is the document that ultimately defined the contours and obligations of Jewish practice and belief; how did it gain that centrality and authority? How did the Talmud help shape Jewish society? Why did the Talmud provoke such powerful rejection in Christian circles, and later among Jewish reformers? Offering a word about the difficulties of writing such a history, then defining basic terms and directions, the author in this chapter establishes the foundation of the history to follow.

The rabbis who made their way to Babylonia joined an ancient Jewish community, descendants of Jews who first came to that land at the time of the biblical exile. In that setting, the Babylonian rabbis enjoyed, along with their brothers and sisters, relative peace and comfort, allowing them to explore and elaborate the traditions they learned from their colleagues to the west. But the inherited rabbinic tradition was only one of the forces that shaped the Babylonian Talmudic tradition. There were also the many historical and cultural factors – the traditions of ancient Persia, Zoroastrianism, eastern Christianity, and others – that contributed to the shape of the local rabbinic tradition. In this chapter we review the historical and cultural factors that shaped Babylon in the centuries during which the Bavli emerged. We examine the growth of this rabbinic community and its relationship with the recognized head of the Babylonian Jewish community, the exilarch. Finally, we trace the trends of study that gave birth to a work that, despite its traditional vocabulary, represents what is arguably a radical new “tradition.”