ORAL TORAH is the most common rendering of the Hebrew term torah shebeʾal peh. Rabbinic teachings originating in Galilee between the third and fifth centuries CE, particularly works of scriptural exegesis (e.g., Sifrʾa to Lv. 26:46 and Sifre to Dn. 33:10) and the Palestinian Talmud (e.g., Peʾah 2:6), refer occasionally to religious teachings (devarim, "words") transmitted "orally" or "by memory" (al peh) and others transmitted "in writing" (bikhtav). The former references denote oral traditions preserved among ancient sages, whereas the latter denotes texts of scriptural revelation. The full expression oral Torah is rare in rabbinic tradition of late antiquity and only appears in rabbinic texts completed between the fifth and sixth centuries CE (e.g., Avot Nat. A:15/B:26 and the B.T., Shab. 31a, Yomʾa 28b, and Qid. 66a). In these sources oral Torah refers to a body of unwritten oral tradition...