Gamaliel
Gamaliel the Elder (
Rabbinical eras |
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In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is recognized as a
In Jewish tradition
In the Talmud, Gamaliel is described as bearing the titles Nasi (Hebrew: נָשִׂיא Nāśīʾ) "prince" and Rabban "our master", as the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem; it is not doubted that he held a senior position in the highest court in Jerusalem.[2] Gamaliel holds a reputation in the Mishnah for being one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism: "Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time".[7]
Gamaliel's authority on questions of religious law is suggested by two Mishnaic anecdotes in which "the king and queen" ask for his advice about rituals.[8] The identity of the king and queen in question is not given, but is generally thought to either be Herod Agrippa and his wife Cypros the Nabataean, or Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice.[2][9]
As rabbinic literature always contrasts the school of Hillel the Elder to that of Shammai and only presents the collective opinions of each of these opposing schools of thought without mentioning the individual nuances and opinions of the rabbis within them, these texts do not portray Gamaliel as being knowledgeable about the Jewish scriptures, nor do they portray him as a teacher.[2] For this reason, Gamaliel is not listed as part of the chain of individuals who perpetuated the Mishnaic tradition.[10] Instead the chain is listed as passing directly from Hillel to Yohanan ben Zakkai.
Nevertheless, the Mishnah mentions Gamaliel's authorship of a few laws about community welfare and conjugal rights. He argued that the law should protect women during divorce, and that, for the purpose of remarriage, a single witness was sufficient evidence for the death of a husband.[11]
Various pieces of classical rabbinic literature additionally mention that Gamaliel sent out three epistles, designed as notifications of new religious rulings, and which portray Gamaliel as the head of the Jewish body for religious law.[12] Two of these three were sent, respectively, to the inhabitants of Galilee and "the Darom" (southern Judea), and were on the subject of the first tithe. The third epistle was sent to the Jews of the diaspora and argued for the introduction of an intercalary month.
Since the Hillel school of thought is presented collectively, there are very few other teachings which are clearly identifiable as Gamaliel's. There is only a cryptic dictum, comparing his students to classes of fish:
- A ritually impure fish: one who has memorized everything by study, but has no understanding, and is the son of poor parents
- A ritually pure fish: one who has learnt and understood everything, and is the son of rich parents
- A fish from the Jordan River: one who has learnt everything, but doesn't know how to respond
- A fish from the Mediterranean Sea: one who has learnt everything, and knows how to respond
In some manuscripts of Dunash ibn Tamim's tenth-century Hebrew commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah, the author identifies Gamaliel with the physician Galen. He claims to have seen an Arabic medical work translated from Hebrew entitled The Book of Gamaliel the Prince (Nasi), called Galenos among the Greeks.[13] However, since Galen lived in the second century and Gamaliel died during the mid-first century, this is unlikely.
Quotes
In the Pirkei Avot, Gamaliel is credited as saying:
Make a teacher for yourself and remove yourself from doubt; and do not give excess tithes by estimating.[14][15]
In other places
The
And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
The Book of Acts later goes on to describe
Alleged Gospel of Gamaliel
The "Gospel of Gamaliel" is a hypothetical book speculated to exist by some scholars, perhaps a part of
Reasonably complete manuscripts of Laha Maryam exist in both
Veneration
Ecclesiastical tradition claims that Gamaliel had embraced the
The
Gamaliel is referred to in the 15th-century
See also
- List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
- Gamaliel Foundation
- Gamaliel's principle
- Beit Jimal
- Split of Christianity and Judaism
References
- ^ Jones, Daniel; Gimson, A.C. (1977). Everyman's English Pronouncing Dictionary. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. p. 207.
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia.
- ^ Avodah Zarah 3:10
- ^ "Gamaliel". Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3.
- ISBN 0-8146-2154-6
- Sotah9:15
- Pesahim88:2
- ^ Adolph Buechler, Das Synhedrion in Jerusalem, p.129. Vienna, 1902.
- Pirkei Abot1–2
- ^ Yevamot 16:7
- Sanhedrin 2:6; Sanhedrin 11b; Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 18d; Jerusalem Talmud Ma'aser Sheni56c
- ^ Gero, Stephen (1990). "Galen on the Christians: A Reappraisal of the Arabic Evidence". Orientalia Christiana Periodica. 56 (2): 393.
- ^ Six Orders of the Mishnah (Pirḳe Avot 1:16).
- ^ The Living Talmud - The Wisdom of the Fathers, ed. Judah Goldin, New American Library of World Literature: New York 1957, p. 72
- ^ Shabbat 30b
- ISSN 2194-4024.
- ISBN 0-567-08699-2); citing M.-A. van den Oudenrijn, Gamaliel: Athiopische Texte zur Pilatusliteratur (Freiburg, 1959).
- ^ Paton James Gloag, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Volume 1, page 191, citing Photius, Cod. 171 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1870).
- ^ Recognitions of Clement 1:65–66
- ISBN 0-8028-3782-4
- ^ Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar (referenced Aug 14, 2020)
- ^ Saint Gamaliel (referenced August 14, 2020)
- ^ "Gamaliel the Elder", Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^ Diccionari de la Literatura Catalana (2008)
External links
Media related to Gamaliel at Wikimedia Commons
- The Jewish Encyclopedia on Gamaliel I
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 434.
- Perspectives on Transformational Leadership in the Sanhedrin of Ancient Judaism