When finally the office of patriarch was abolished, Palestine lost its place as the spiritual center of Judaism. The study of the law declined, and from the middle of the fourth century we find in Palestine studies confined to homiletical and exegetical works, due in part to the controversies with the Christians. Some of their greatest teachers, such as Jerome, the translator of the Bible into Latin, were disciples of Palestinian rabbis. Of the homiletical explanations collections were made; these are called Midrash. The oldest of these collections is the Midrash Rabba to Genesis, compiled in the seventh century. BABYLONIA Although in the fifth century B.C., Ezra is already mentioned as an expounder of the law, who had come from Babylon, although Hillel is said to have arrived in Palestine also from Babylon in the first century B.C. with a reputation for scholarship, and although Judah Hanasi is quoted as having said that the only man whose superiority he acknowledged was Huna, the Exilarch of Babylon, we find no distinct traces of literary activity in Babylon until the third century. At that time two men were prominent as scholars: Abba Areka, called Rab, and Samuel. Both had spent some time in Palestine, studying under Judah Hanasi. Rab was a member of the committee which assisted Judah Hanasi in the compilation of the Mishnah. Before he left Palestine, he was ordained by Judah Hanasi somewhat restrictedly, because it was a rule that the full prerogatives of the members of the Sanhedrin could not be exercised outside of the Holy Land. Probably for this reason Judah Hanasi refused to confer ordination upon Samuel. Rab taught in Sura, and Samuel in Nehardea. Both these places were for centuries the seats of prominent schools. At this time, Rab was considered the greatest authority on ritual law, while Samuel was considered learned in civil law. Rab’s decisions are characterized by rigorous interpretation of the law, especially as to Passover. Samuel accommodated himself more to the spirit of the times. From him we have the famous decision which makes the civil law of the country binding upon the Israelites as a religious obligation. He also partly abolished those laws of the Sabbatical year which had become obsolete, such as the cancellation of debts. He also declared that the celebration of the second holydays was unnecessary. He further laid down the principle that the Messianic prophecy merely meant the political independence of the Jews, and not a change in the condition of humanity.