The Oral Torah and the authority of the Talmud
The claim, stated fairly
Rabbinic Judaism teaches that at Sinai Moses received a written Torah and an oral Torah, passed down from teacher to teacher and later written in the Mishnah and Talmud, and that Scripture must be read through it.
The Tanakh never mentions an oral Torah given to Moses. It says Moses wrote the words down.
The chain of tradition is first stated in the Mishnah (Avot 1:1), edited around 200 CE: "Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua..." That is a claim about the past made many centuries later.
The Torah itself describes a written covenant: "Moses wrote all the words of the LORD" (Exodus 24:4). Joshua read "all the words of the law" and "there was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not" (Joshua 8:34-35). When the scroll was rediscovered under Josiah, the reform followed what was written (2 Kings 22-23). God warned, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2).
Yeshua honoured the written Torah and challenged traditions that, in his words, set aside the commandment of God (Mark 7:8-13).
The text
4וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּ֥בֶן מִזְבֵּ֖חַ תַּ֣חַת הָהָ֑ר וּשְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ מַצֵּבָ֔ה לִשְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָׂ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
4And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
WEB/WMB: Moses wrote all the LORD’s words, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Exodus 24:4 (Hebrew, JPS 1917, WMB)
34וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן קָרָא֙ אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י הַתּוֹרָ֔ה הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה כְּכָל־הַכָּת֖וּב בְּסֵ֥פֶר הַתּוֹרָֽה׃ 35לֹֽא־הָיָ֣ה דָבָ֔ר מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֣ה מֹשֶׁ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־קָרָ֜א יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ נֶ֣גֶד כָּל־קְהַ֤ל יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְהַנָּשִׁ֣ים וְהַטַּ֔ף וְהַגֵּ֖ר הַהֹלֵ֥ךְ בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃
34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that walked among them.
WEB/WMB: Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the scroll of the Torah. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua didn’t read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.
Joshua 8:34-35 (Hebrew, JPS 1917, WMB)
2לֹ֣א תֹסִ֗פוּ עַל־הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָנֹכִי֙ מְצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תִגְרְע֖וּ מִמֶּ֑נּוּ לִשְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶֽם׃
2Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
WEB/WMB: You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2 (Hebrew, JPS 1917, WMB)
In the New Covenant
8“For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” 9He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
Mark 7:8-9 (WMB)
Where scholars disagree
Rabbinic scholars point to commands that need explanation, such as "thou shalt kill of thy herd... as I have commanded thee" (Deuteronomy 12:21), as evidence of instructions not written in the Torah. That some oral explanation existed is likely; that the Talmud as a whole was given at Sinai is the claim the text does not support.
Sources
- Mishnah, Avot 1:1
- Exodus 24:4; Joshua 8:34-35; 2 Kings 22-23; Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:21
- Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex. English: JPS 1917; World Messianic Bible (public domain).