Statement

The books may have existed earlier, but little evidence shows that they held the authority they later enjoyed: the papyri left by the Elephantine community of Persian times show no trace of them. The picture looks different in the following centuries, and the Persian policy of promoting the spread and enforcement of local legal tradition helps explain the change.

References

1. p. 50

   supports · main text · ch. 2

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text