Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar "to say" or "tell over"), were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Palestine. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or other regroupement, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is verbally transmitted. ... Babylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ... For linguistic codification, see codification (linguistics). ... The Gemara (Hebrew גמרא) is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical commentaries and analysis on the Mishnah, undertaken in the Academies of Palestine and Babylon over a 300 year period to about 500. ...

The first and foremost Babylonian Amora was Abba Arika, respectfully referred to as Rav. His contemporary and frequent debate partner was Samuel of Nehardea. The foremost Amoraim in Palestine were Jonathan bar Nappaha and Simeon ben Lakish. Codification of the Gemara began at the end of the fourth century by Ashi and is generally thought to have been completed by 500 CE. Abba Arika, the name of the Babylonian amora of the 3rd century, who established at Sura the systematic study of the Rabbinic traditions which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud. ... Samuel of Nehardea was a member of the first generation of amoraim of Babylonia and one of the most frequently cited authorities in the Talmud. ... Ashi, known as Rav Ashi (Rabbi Ashi), (352–427) was a celebrated Jewish religious scholar, a Babylonian amora, who reestablished the academy at Sura and was first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. ...

Other Amoraim include:

• Abaye
• Rava
• Abbahu

Abaye, the name of a Babylonian amora (q. ... Abbahu, the name of an amora who flourished c. ...

External link

• http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Gemara.html