Amoraim (
Aramaic: plural אמוראים , singular
Amora אמורא ; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen"), were renowned
Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the
Oral Torah, from about 200 to 500 CE in
Babylonia and the
Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually
codified in the
Gemara. The
Amoraim followed the
Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The
Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the
Amoraim expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification.