Great Assembly

According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly (כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה, also translated as Great Synagogue or Synod) was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period (around 516 BCE) to the early Hellenistic period (which began with Alexander's conquests of 333–332 BCE), roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel. The assembly's members, known as Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (, "The Men of the Great Assembly"), traditionally included such figures as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Mordechai and Zerubbabel. Among the developments in Judaism that are attributed to the rabbis of this period are the fixing of the Jewish biblical canon (including the Book of Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, and the Twelve Minor Prophets); the introduction of the Feast of Purim; and the institution of many prayers and rituals including the Amidah prayer. The members of the Great Assembly are designated in the Mishnah as those who occupied a place in the chain of tradition between the Prophets and the tannaim: The Prophets transmitted the Torah to the men of the Great Assembly. ... Simon the Just was one of those who survived the Great Assembly, and Antigonus of Sokho received the Torah from him. The first part of this statement is paraphrased as follows in Avot of Rabbi Natan: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi received from the Prophets; and the men of the Great Assembly received from Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In this paraphrase, the three post-exilic prophets are separated from the other prophets, for it was the task of the former to transmit the Law to the members of the Great Assembly. It must even be assumed that these three prophets were themselves included in those members, for it is evident from the statements referring to the institution of the prayers and benedictions that the Great Assembly included prophets.