Assessed against comparable documents of Scripture and the Qumran library, the Mishnah shows itself as a triumph of imagination. It exhibits remarkable capacity to think in new and astonishing ways about familiar things. This study compares the Mishnah to four biblical codes and two codes found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Religion and Theology at Bard College and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard. He has published more than 900 books and unnumbered articles, both scholarly and academic and popular and journalistic, and is the most published humanities scholar in the world. He has been awarded nine honorary degrees, including seven US and European honorary doctorates. He received his AB from Harvard College in 1953, his PhD from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in 1961, and rabbinical ordination and the degree of Master of Hebrew Letters from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1960. Neusner is editor of the 'Encyclopedia of Judaism' (Brill, 1999. I-III) and its Supplements; Chair of the Editorial Board of 'The Review of Rabbinic Judaism,' and Editor in Chief of 'The Brill Reference Library of Judaism', both published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. He is editor of 'Studies in Judaism', University Press of America. Neusner resides with his wife in Rhinebeck, New York. They have a daughter, three sons and three daughters-in-law, six granddaughters and two grandsons.

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 The Mishnah's Indicative Traits Chapter 3 The Book of the Covenant (EX. 20:22-23:33) and Mishnah-Tractate Baba Qamma Chapter 4 The Priestly Code (LEV. 1-15) and Mishnah-Tractate Menahot Chapter 5 The Holiness Code (LEV. 17-26) and Mishnah-Tractates Baba Mesia and Kilayim Chapter 6 The Deuteronomic code (DT. 12-26) and Mishnah-Tractates Gittin and Hullin Chapter 7 The Damascus Covenant (CD) and Mishnah-Tractate Shabbat Chapter 8 The Manual of Discipline (1QS) and Mishnah and Tosefta Tractated Demai and Mishnah Tractate Tohorot Chapter 9 Epilogue Chapter 10 Appendix