Anon asked Staff ago I would be interested in knowing when you think the Torah, in its present form, was crystallized.
Without in-depth knowledge, I think that for at least the last 2500 years the Torah must have been more or less what it is now (with some changes), from the period of the Mishnah, for example, or perhaps even earlier.
I would be happy to get an answer.
Meirav Blake
jsadmin Staff answered 22 years ago
Dear Meirav,
According to most scholars the Torah was finalized in the era of Ezra (458 BCE), though there are still changes from the version we have before us today, like the details of the commandment about Sukkot in Nechemiah 8:14-17:
“They found written in the Teaching that the Lord had commanded Moses that the Israelites must dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month, and that they must announce and proclaim throughout all their towns and Jerusalem as follows, “Go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of olive trees, pine trees, myrtles, palms and leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” So the people went out and brought them, and made themselves booths on their roofs, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the House of G-d, in the square of the Water Gate and in the square of the Ephraim Gate. The whole community that returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths — the Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun to that day — and there was very great rejoicing.”
Note that the text that was before Nechemiah is different from the one before us. in Nechemiah it is written “leafy branches of olive trees [and] pine trees,” which is not mentioned in our Torah scrolls, while the citron mentioned in our scrolls (Leviticus 23:39-42) is not mentioned in Nechemiah.
Incidentally, the era of the Mishnah is the first centuries CE.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet
jsadmin Staff answered 22 years ago
Hello.
Even according to your interpretation Nechemia ignored the commandment of the four species, so the Torah scroll before him must not have mentioned them at all. Forced settlements are generally the lot of the faithful, for it is a fundamental principle of the religious that the Scriptures, as Holy Writ, are a single unit and there is no sequential order to it, nor any contradictions at all.
About the tradition passed from father to son see Pamphlet 9.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet