V. THE GAONIM (04=), or THE LAST DOCTORS OF THE LAW IN THE CHAIN OF RABBINIC SUC CESSION.
Name and date.—lt is now difficult to ascer tain the etymology of I1W, the title of the chief doc tors of the law who succeeded the Saborainz. One thing, however, is certain—namely, that it is not Hebrew, since both in the Bible and in the Talmud this word signifies 25ride, haughtiness, whilst here it is an honourable appellation given exclusively to the presidents of the two distinguished colleges at Sora and Pumbadita. Now the period in which it originated may throw some light on the etymo logy of this title. Graetz (v. 139, 477) has shown that /his title obtained circa A.D. 658. When Alilhe son-in-law and vizier of Mohammed, was elected caliph (655), and the Islamites were divided into two parties, one for and the other against him, both the Babylonian Jews and the Nestorian Chris tians decided in his favour and rendered him great assistance. Maremes, who supported Ali's com mander-in-chief in the siege of Mosul,was nominated Catholicos, whilst R. Isaac the president of the college at Sora. who at the head of several thousand Jews aided Ali in the capture of Tiruz Shabur (May 657), was rewarded with the title Gaon (Excellence). Accordingly the title OW is either of Arabic or Persian origin, and properly belonged to the presidents of the Sora college, who alone bore the appellation at the beginning. The president of the subordinate sister college at Pumbadita was called the head of the college (Heb. r1TV4 Lvt41, Aramaic Nnn-in vii) by the Babylo nians, and the appellation Ga011, whereby they were sometimes styled, obtained at first among the non Babylonian Jews who were not thoroughly ac quainted with the dignities of the respective colleges in Babylon. It was only after 917, when Pum badita became of equal importance with Sora, and especially after 942-m38, when Sora, after the death of Saadia, began to decay altogether, and Pumbadita continued alone to be the college of the doctors of the law, that the presidents of its college, like those of Sora, were described by the title Gaon. The period of the Gamzim extends from A.D. 657 tO 1034 in Sara, and from 657 to to38 in Pumbadita, during which time the former col lege had no ltss than thirty-five presidents, and the latter forty-three.
ii. The Presidents and Organisation of the Colleges. —As frequent reference is made throughout this Cyclopclia to the Gaonim or the presidents of the colleges which were the chief seats of leaming, where the successors of the Sciibes or the doctors of the law were trained, we subjoin the following chronological list of these Gaonim both in Som and Pumbadita.
As to the organisation of these colleges, the pre sident of each school sat in front, next to him in rank was the superg'or judge (Heb. 141 1143 ; Aramaic, nni tivi), who discharged the judi cial functions, and was presumptive successor to the Gaonate. Then came the ten who constituted the more limited synod, seven of whom were at the head of the assembled students (n& +c,NI) and three associates (13+1311) ; these sat with their faces towards the president. Then came the college of roo members, subdivided into two uneven bodies, the one consisting of 7o members, and representing. the Great Sanhedrin: [SaNHEDRim], the other consisting of 30 members, and representing the Smaller Sanhedrin:. Of these hundred, the 70 only were ordained ; they bore the title of teachers (D+Di5N, magistn), or the ordained sages mnn innInDro, and were capable of advancing to the highest office, whilst the other thirty were simply candidates otvp '433), and do not seem to have been legally entitled to a seat or voice. The 70 sat in seven rows, each consisting of ten, and being under one of the seven hea,ds of the college. They transmitted their membership to their sons.
iii. The work and anthoriol of these Colle,ges.— In later times these colleges assembled together for two months in the year—viz. in Adar (=March) and Elul (= September). In these sittings the members explained difficult points in the Talmud, discussed and answered all the legal and ritual ques tions which were sent in during the vacation from the different Jewish cornmunities abroad, and en acted new laws for the guidance and regulation of the dispersed congregations, in accordance with the requirements of the ever-shifting circumstances of the nation and the sundry localities. Each mem
ber of the college took part in the discussions, the president summed up the various opinions, decided the question, and ordered the secretary to write down the decision. All the decisions which were passed through the session were read over again by the president before the assembly was dissolved, were signed in the name of the college, sealed with the college seal, and forwarded .by special messen gers to the respective communities, who in return sent gifts to the college, which constituted the ex traordinary revenue of these schools for training the doctors of the law. Their ordinary income was derived from regular taxes which the college fixed for those communities which were under their jurisdiction. Thus the jurisdiction of Sora ex tended over the south of Irak, with the two im portant cities Wasit and Bassra, to Ophir (=India), and its annual income, even when it began to decline, amounted to 1500 ducats ; whilst that of Pumbadita extended over the north of Irak up to Chomsan. The president, with the superior judge and the seven heads of the college, appointed judges for each district, and gave them regular dip/omas. As these judges or dajanim (04141) had not only to decide civil questions, but also to settle religious matters, they were also the Rabbis of the respective comtnunities, and selected for themselves in each place two learned members of the congre gation who were styled elders (npt), and with them constituted the judicial and Rabbinate college. This local college had to issue all the legal instru ments, such as marriage contracts, letters of divorce, bills of exchange, business contracts, receipts, etc. etc. Though each of the two imperial colleges had the power of governing itself and of managing its own affairs and dependencies, yet the college of Sora was at first over that of Pumbadita, as may be seen from the following facts In the ab sence of the Prince of the Exiles the Gaon of Sora was regent, and called in the taxes from all the Jewish communities. 2. The college of Sora got two shares of the taxes, whilst Purnbadita only got one share. 3. The president of Sora took prece dence of the president of Pumbadita, even though the former happened to be a young man and the latter an old man. In later times, however, the college of Pumbadita rose to the dignity of Sora, and eventually eclipsed it. These seats of learning, in which were trained the doctors of the law, the successors of the ancient Scribes, and which repre sented the unbroken chain of tradition and ordina tion, were extinguished in the middle of the th century. The remarlcable men of these schools who contributed to the elucidation and exposition of the Bible and the Hebrew language are noticed in separate articles of this Cyclopmdia.
Literature.—Krochmal, More tIrcbocke Ha-Seman, p. 161, etc., Lemberg '85 ; Frankel, Monatschrift fiir Geschichte und Wlrsenschaft des yudenthums, vol. i. pp. 2o3 ff., 4.03 ff., Dessau 1852 ; Stein schneider, 7ewish Literature, p. 9, etc., Longman 1857 ; Catalogus Libr. Ilebr. in Bibliotheca Bodlei ana, p. 2615, etc. ; Graetz, in Frankel's Monats chrift, vol. vii. pp. 336 ff., 381 ff., Leipzig 1857 ; Geschichte der juden, vols. iv. and v. ; Frankel, Hodegetica Mischnam, Lipsim 1859.—C. D. G.
SCRIP (U1r)4_ ; Sept. atAXo-yli, rod), a bag used for the carrying of food or other necessaries, generally made of leather and slung over the shoulder (r Sam. xvii. 40 ; lqatt. x. ; Mark vi. 8 ; Luke ix. 3 ; x. 4 ; xxii. 35, 36). A similar article is still used by the Syrian shepherds (Porter, Five Years in Damascus, ii. 109).—W. L. A.