In style the Mishna is remarkable for its extreme conciseness, and the Gemara is written upon the same model, though not so frequently obscure. The prevail- ing principle of the composition seems to have been the employment of the fewest words, thus rendering the work a constant brachylogy. A phrase becomes a focus of many thoughts, a solitary word an anagram, a cipher for a whole subject of reflection. To employ an appro- priate expression of Delitzsch, " What Jean Paul says of the style of Haman applies exactly to that of the Tal- mud: 'It is a firmament of telescopic stars, containing many a cluster of light which no unaided eye has ever resolved'" (Zur Geschichte der judischen Poesie [Leips. I80G], p. 31). But without regard to grammatical and linguistic difficulties and numberless abbreviations which crowd the pages of the Talmud, there are a num- ber of so-called termini technici, which were current only in the Rabbinical schools, but have been incorpo- rated in the Gemara, like joints and ligaments in its or- ganization, so as to make the knowledge of them indis- pensable to the student. Such termini were —
1. The explication, or 'DTi^S, which is introduced by the formate -\D "^XO, "What is this?" "li:Xp iX^a, "What does he say?" ■p'^npiX "^X^n, "How is this to be understood?" 'S'^pOS' iX'^l, "What is the matter here?" tl'Cii ^21 "iXTO, "Who could think of such a thing ?" "^^al ■'3'^n, " How have we to iuterpret this?"'
2. The question, or T\biiX2. If a question is offered by one school to another, it is introduced by the formula inp X^1*2^X, "They propose to tliem ;" if from several persons to one, the formula is IT'S'^^ I^S, "They ask of him ;" or if the demand is made of one person to an- other, it is ni:''^ Xrn, "I ask of him."
3. The response, or rtDTlUn, which may consist either in strong reasons (5<Z:U33 or Vll^H) or in strong objec- tions (SD'l'^S or X'^'Ulp), is introduced by the formula ■|b XJ'S, "Whence have yon this?" or ilhy iin iX^a, " You wish to know the decision in this case."
4. Tosiphta, or XTSOin, an appendix to the Mishna. We have seen that R. Chiya, or, as some have it, R. Ne- heraya under his direction, composed a work of this de- scription in Palestine, the substance of which is diffused in citations throughout the Talmud. They are indicated by the sign-word Tana, X35<n, " He teaches," or Vetani aley, "^PjJ "^jni, "It is taught hereupon," pretixed to the sentence.
5. Boraitha, or X!n'i'i*l3, another kind of supplement to the Mishna. Such are the books Siphra, Siphre, and Mxhiltha, mentioued above. When a citation is adduced
from a Boraitha in the Talmud, it is introduced by one of these forms: Tanit, rahbanan, "|32"l IJn, "Our rabbins have taught;" Tani chada, NIPI "'Dn, "A certain (rabbi) has taught," etc.
C. The suspense, or Ip'^lH, is used when a case cannot be decided either pro or con, and thus this foimiila is used, which accordiuij to some contains tlie initials of i^liUn m"'m"'N1 m"iaip ■J'ln'^, i. e. "the Tishbite (viz., Elijah, at his coming) will explain all objections and in- quiries." Others, however, pretend that it is an abbrevia- tion of D3p^r, "It remains in statn quo."
7. The objection, or N'^CIp, a question not of a fixed Halakah, which is irrefragable, but of some position of the Amoraim or perhaps Tanaiin, which is lawfully debatable, and is introduced by the formukie 3?'aU XH, "Come and hear:" nD-i^ VQ':i, " Hear of this :" "'^n ^X, "If so;" X"abx, "Therefore;" !1T3 Tplbn'O, "There is a con- troversy in this case ;" '^sbs'^'O Xp iX^2, " What is the . ground of the controversy?" "Tnyi Xp?D, "Thou couldst suppose."
8. The refutation, or XrSIT, is used in order to up- hold the authority of the Bible (pTOSH 'jT^) against a Tauaite, and to oppose the authority of a Tanaite against that of one of the Amoraim, and is introduced by the for- mula xrmin, Xmi^n, "TWs objection is truly of great weight."
9. The contradiction, or il"'^"l, an objection thrown against a sentiment or opinion by the allegation of a contrary authority, and is introduced by the formula in^-'a-n, "But I oppose this."
10. The argtimentation, or XPQpr;n, "an assailing or seizing upon," is a kind of objection in use only among the later Amoraim, and is introduced by ilP r]'^pn'3 ■"DliS "I, "Rabbi N. objects to this." If this objection is no"^ refuted, it takes the value of Halakah.
11. The solution, or pIT^S, is the explanatory answer to the objection (see supra 7).
12. The infirmation, or 'i13'l!3, "disowning or shifting off," when a sage, sorely pressed in debate, shifts off his thesis npcni another, introducing this by the formula XH ■1313, "But whose is this sentence."
13. 'Y\\& apimi, or S'T'D, "support," is a corroborative evidence for a doctrine or principle, introduced by the for- mula nib :.'iiO^ ^•O'h, "it can be said," "There is support fir it."
14. The necessitij, or >13"i:jn. This term is nsed in or- der to justify a sentence or a word, or even a single let- ter, which seems superfluous in the Bible or in the Mish- na, and is introduced by the formula ^h iTab IT XH, "What is this for?" To which is answered, X2in:j, "It is absolutely necessary."