Editing Exegesis (section)

====''Tannaim''====
[[Tannaim|''Tannaitic'']] exegesis distinguishes principally between the actual deduction of a thesis from a passage as a means of proving a point and the use of such a passage as a mere [[mnemonic]] device—a distinction that was also made in a different form later in the [[Talmudic academies in Babylonia|Babylonian schools]]. The Babylonian ''[[Amoraim]]'' were the first to use the expression "[[Peshaṭ]]" ("simple" or face value method) to designate the primary sense, contrasting it with the "Drash", the [[Midrashic]] exegesis. These two terms later became essential features in the history of Hebrew Bible exegesis. The important principle that the Midrashic exegesis could not annul the primary sense was formulated in Babylonia.{{cn|date=April 2025}} This principle subsequently became the watchword of commonsense Bible exegesis.

How little it was known or recognized may be seen from the admission of [[Kahana ben Tahlifa]], a Babylonian [[Amoraim|''amora'']] of the fourth century, that while at 18 years of age, he had already learned the whole [[Mishnah]], he had only heard of that principle a great many years later (''[[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]]'' 63a). Kahana's admission is characteristic of the centuries following the final redaction of the Talmud. The primary meaning is no longer considered, but it is becoming more and more fashionable to interpret the text according to its meaning in traditional literature. The ability and even the desire for original investigation of the text succumbed to the overwhelming authority of the Midrash.

It was, therefore, providential that, just at the time when the Midrash was paramount, the close study of the text of the Hebrew Bible, at least in one direction, was pursued with rare energy and perseverance by the [[Masorites]], who set themselves to preserving and transmitting the pronunciation and correct reading of the text.