Revival of the Hebrew language many Jews spoke a related Semitic language, Aramaic.) From the 2nd century CE until the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language "circa" 1880, Hebrew served as a literary and official language and as the Judaic language of prayer. After the spoken usage of Mishnaic Hebrew ended in the 2nd century CE, Hebrew had not been spoken as a mother tongue. Even so, during the Middle Ages, Jews used the language in a wide variety of disciplines. This usage kept alive a substantial portion of the traits characteristic of Hebrew. First and foremost, Classical Hebrew was preserved in full through
Jesus in the Talmud is made to "Sanhedrin 43a" saying that Yeshu was hanged on the eve of the Sabbath. Some Talmudic sources include passages which identify a "son of Pandera" ("ben Pandera" in Hebrew), and some scholars conclude that these are references to the messiah of Christianity. Ancient Hebrew midrashic literature contain the "Episode of Jesus" (known also as "Maaseh Yeshu"), in which Jesus is described as being the son of Joseph, the son of Pandera (see: ). The account portrays Jesus as an impostor. The Talmud, and other talmudic texts, contain several references to the "son of Pandera". A few of the