“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” – Gal. 1:8

What is the Talmud?
The Babylonian Talmud (the Bavli) is a central collection of classical rabbinic Jewish literature. It consists mainly of the Mishnah plus the Gemara’s lengthy discussions and interpretations of it. There is also a Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi), but the citations below come overwhelmingly from the Babylonian Talmud. It contains extensive debates on Jewish law (halakha), customs, ethics, biblical interpretation, history, and more.

From a Christian perspective, the Talmud is not part of the inspired Scriptures. The Bible—66 books, God-breathed according to 2 Timothy 3:16—stands alone as the final authority. Christians therefore do not grant rabbinic traditions the same authority. In fact, key Talmudic teachings directly contradict the Bible and attack core Christian truths about Jesus.

The following material is drawn primarily from the Babylonian Talmud (or from Mishnah traditions discussed within it). Where a passage originates in the Mishnah, that is noted.

Yeshu (the figure traditionally identified with Jesus)

The Talmud contains several hostile traditions about a figure called Yeshu. These have long been understood in both Jewish and Christian history as polemical responses to Jesus of Nazareth and the claims of the Gospels. Identification is not always straightforward—manuscripts vary due to censorship, and some passages have chronological problems—but the anti-Christian thrust is unmistakable.

Origins and birth
In Shabbat 104b (with parallel discussion in Sanhedrin 67a), the Talmud discusses Ben Stada / Ben Pandera. The text asks whether he was the son of Stada or Pandera. Rav Hisda explains that the husband was Stada and the lover was Pandera. It then identifies the mother as Miriam, the dresser of women’s hair, and offers a wordplay: she “turned away” (satat da) from her husband.

This is a passage concerning Ben Stada/Ben Pandera that has traditionally been understood as referring to Jesus. It functions as a crude Jewish rebuttal to the Christian doctrine of the Virgin Birth—portraying the mother as an adulteress rather than a pure vessel chosen by God. (Note: the Talmud itself does not explicitly call Pandera a “Roman soldier”; that detail appears in later polemical literature.)

Miracles as sorcery
Shabbat 104b also describes Ben Stada bringing sorcery out of Egypt by writing/incising it into his flesh.
Sanhedrin 107b and Sotah 47a contain a related tradition: Yeshu practiced sorcery, enticed Israel, and led the people astray. In the story, Yeshu is a student of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachiah who is rejected, sets up a brick and worships it, and is denied the chance to repent because he caused the public to sin.

These passages recast the miracles of the Gospels as forbidden magic (keshafim). The chronological setting in the time of Yehoshua ben Perachiah creates problems for a simple one-to-one identification with the historical Jesus, yet the tradition has long been read as an attack on him.

Trial and execution
Sanhedrin 43a is one of the clearest and most damaging passages:
“On the eve of the Passover, Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried: ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favor, he was hanged on the eve of the Passover.”

In uncensored manuscripts, this is often linked to Yeshu ha-Notzri. The Talmud presents the execution as fully justified under Jewish law for sorcery and leading Israel into idolatry—directly contradicting the New Testament account of an innocent Messiah crucified for the sins of the world.

Fate in the afterlife
Gittin 57a records a story in which the convert Onkelos raises spirits. When he summons Yeshu and asks about his punishment, the reply is: “With boiling excrement. For a master has said: Whoever mocks the words of the Sages is punished with boiling excrement.”

A figure called Yeshu is depicted suffering this degrading torment specifically for mocking the rabbis. Traditional Jewish and Christian readers have long understood this as a reference to Jesus—portraying the Christian Savior as eternally degraded for opposing the Sages.

Miscellaneous disturbing content in classical rabbinic law

The Babylonian Talmud also records a legal system with features that stand in sharp tension with biblical justice and modern notions of equality and human dignity.

Unilateral power of divorce
Classical halakha gives only the husband the power to initiate and deliver a valid get (bill of divorce). Without it (or verified death), the wife becomes an agunah—a “chained woman” unable to remarry. Courts can sometimes compel the husband, but the husband’s free will remains essential for validity. This remains a core feature of traditional Jewish law (discussed in places such as Gittin and Yevamot).

Women excluded from legal testimony
According to Shevuot 30a and related discussions, women are generally disqualified as formal witnesses (edim) in rabbinic courts for most civil and criminal matters. The rule is derived from biblical phrasing that speaks of “men.” Narrow exceptions exist (for example, certain personal-status cases that free an agunah).

Child betrothal
A father has the legal authority to betroth his minor daughter (ketanah, under 12). Kiddushin 41a records this power while also containing a clear rabbinic discouragement: a person should not betroth his daughter while she is a minor until she grows up and says, “I want so-and-so.” The underlying authority, however, remained part of the classical system.

The mamzer stigma
A mamzer is the offspring of certain prohibited unions (mainly adultery by a married woman or severe incest). The status is permanent and hereditary. Descendants face severe marriage restrictions (see Deuteronomy 23 in the Hebrew numbering; many English Bibles list it as 23:2). The detailed table of genealogical classes and marriage rules appears in Mishnah Kiddushin 4:1 and is discussed in the Bavli around Kiddushin 69a–73a. Marriage is tightly restricted according to these hereditary classes.

Restricted legal capacity
The Talmud regularly groups the cheresh (historically a deaf-mute), shoteh (mentally impaired), and katan (minor) as lacking full legal capacity (da’at). Their ability to own or transfer property, contract, witness, or independently marry or divorce is restricted, though the precise rules vary by category and act (see Chagigah 2b, Bava Kamma 87a and related passages). Liability is often asymmetrical.

Public humiliation of the suspected adulteress (Sotah)
The biblical Sotah ordeal (Numbers 5) is elaborated in the Talmud (Sotah 2a–8b). It involved public degradation, including uncovering the woman’s hair and disarranging her clothing, then forcing her to drink the bitter water mixture. According to Mishnah Sotah 9:9 (discussed in the Bavli), the bitter waters ceased from the time adulterers multiplied; this is attributed to Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai.

Genealogical classes and marital hierarchy
Mishnah Kiddushin 4:1 (discussed in Bavli Kiddushin 69a–73a) lists ten genealogical classes—Kohanim, Levites, Israelites, and lower categories including mamzerim, converts, freed slaves, and others—with graded rules about who may marry whom. Higher-status groups, especially priests, face stricter prohibitions. These are hereditary lineage restrictions.

Non-Jews disqualified as court witnesses
Formal testimony in a beit din for capital, civil, or monetary cases was generally limited to qualified adult Jewish males. Non-Jews (along with women, minors, and certain others) were disqualified as witnesses. (Mishneh Torah, Testimony 9:1–4)

Disabled priests barred from service
Expanding Leviticus 21, Bekhorot 43a–45b lists extensive physical blemishes (mumim) that permanently disqualify a Kohen from Temple altar service—while still allowing him to eat terumah. This is a ritual qualification rule, not a general civil disability.

Excommunication and social shunning
Rabbinic courts could impose nidui (temporary ban) or the stronger cherem, involving social isolation, mourning practices, distance requirements, and exclusion from communal life (Moed Katan 16a–17a and related passages). Terminology and exact practices developed over time.

No recognition of interfaith marriage
Under traditional halakha, kiddushin (Jewish betrothal/marriage) between a Jew and a non-Jew is legally null and void (see Kiddushin 68b and Avodah Zarah discussions). No valid Jewish marriage exists, so no get is required. This stands in clear contrast to modern human-rights frameworks that protect the right to marry across religious lines.

Amulets permitted
Shabbat 61a discusses effective amulets (kame’a mumḥeh) that may be worn under controlled conditions if written by an expert and proven effective. Rabbinic literature distinguishes these from forbidden sorcery, though the practice sits in tension with the Torah’s broader opposition to magic. Later authorities such as Maimonides were more skeptical of attributing independent power to them.

 

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart, and He can deliver you from darkness and sin and have your name written in His Book of Life.

If you are sincere, you can say this simple prayer to the Father (it doesn’t have to be word for word):

“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. Please forgive me of all of my sins just as I forgive others. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross, I believe in my heart Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in the Lord and GOD Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”