[Avodah] tannaitic transmission?

[H Lampel via Avodah]

On 10/30/2016 5:24 AM "Rich, Joel via Avodah" wrote:
> The gemara in makot (15b-top) has an exchange between R'Yochanan and a Tanna (whose job it was to memorize tannaitic material) concerning the memorized text (bitlo vs. kiymo)... On one level, it could be simply a transmission error that R'Yochanan was looking to fix.
Although I'm not in the sugya, from R. Yochonon's introductory phrase, 
''mai ka-amart,'' (''what are you saying?!''), I would go with this 
explanation, especially since we know that Amoraim were critical of such 
''reciters'' who sometimes produced corruptions of the citations that 
knowledge and application of halachic principles would prevent.
>   Yet we see cases where an intermediate case is indeterminate and the gemara simply concludes that we can't determine the halacha from this source.
Perhaps the difference is whether, as in the case cited, the Amora, 
considers his editing obvious on the strength of what he maintains are 
established external principles.

Zvi Lampel