The earliest of these is the Mishna, which belongs to the second half of the second century A.D.; somewhat later is the _Tosephta_,[167] i.e. a collection of “additions” to the Mishna; these additions consist of matter not incorporated in the Mishna, but they are taken from the same mass of floating traditional material of which the Mishna is made up. The three Midrashic works, _Sifra_ (a commentary on Leviticus), _Sifre_ (a commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy), and _Mechilta_ (a commentary on Exodus), are also valuable sources.[168] Comparatively late as all these sources are—the earliest belongs to a time after the Sadducees and Pharisees had ceased to exist as parties—they are nevertheless of high importance because they all utilize traditional material belonging to earlier times, much of which most likely existed in written form; so that they contain many traditions dating back to the second century B.C. The evidence contained in these sources consists in the main of records of controversies on various topics between Pharisees and Sadducees. It is in the highest degree improbable that these accounts should be fictitious, for by the time that they were incorporated in the Mishna the Pharisees had long triumphed over the Sadducees; there would, therefore, have been no point in making them up; they are evidently genuine records.[169] (_c_) _The New Testament._ This source is so familiar that it will be unnecessary to do more than merely mention it. (_d_) _The Zadokite Fragments._