MIDDOT

MIDDOT (Heb. מִדּוֹת; "measures"), tenth tractate of the order Kodashim (in some codices and early editions it is ninth; in current Talmud editions the 11^th and last). It is found in the Mishnah only. This tractate gives, in five chapters, exact details and measurements of the building of the Temple and of its component parts, intended perhaps to serve as a guide for the rebuilding of the Temple. The description is of the Temple of Herod. It is not based on a plan drawn up in Temple times, but depends on the memory of sages who saw the Temple and who after its destruction gave an oral description of it to their disciples. The main reporter seems to have been *Eliezer b. Jacobi, who figures prominently in this tractate. He is thought to have seen the Temple while it was still standing, but he may also have learned much about its inner arrangements from his uncle who actually served in it (1:2). That the descriptions are based on memory is evident from the controversies on factual points (1:9; 2:6; 3:4, 6; et al.); moreover, Eliezer b. Jacob is repeatedly reported to have "forgotten" certain details (2:5; 5:4). In fact this tractate was considered the original mishnah ("teaching") of Eliezer b. Jacob; the final redaction of Judah ha-Nasi contains, of course, the variant traditions of the other authorities as well (see Yoma 16a–17a; tj, Yoma 2:3, 39d).

bibliography:

Ḥ. Albeck, Shishah Sidrei Mishnah, 5 (1959), 313–5.

[Arnost Zvi Ehrman]