Gamaliel in the context of Hillel the Elder

⭐ Core Definition: Gamaliel

Gamaliel the Elder (/ɡəˈmeɪliəl, -ˈmɑː-, ˌɡæməˈliːəl/; also spelled Gamliel; Hebrew: רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן Rabban Gamliʾēl haz-Zāqēn; Koine Greek: Γαμαλιὴλ ὁ Πρεσβύτερος Gamaliēl ho Presbýteros), or Rabban Gamaliel I, was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early first century CE. He was the son of Simeon ben Hillel and grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder. He fathered Simeon ben Gamliel, who was named for Gamaliel's father, and a daughter, who married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael.

In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisaic doctor of Jewish Law. Gamaliel was named as a member of the Sanhedrin in Acts 5 and the teacher of Paul the Apostle in Acts 22:3. Gamaliel encouraged his fellow Pharisees to show leniency to the apostles of Jesus in Acts 5:34.

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Gamaliel in the context of Av Beit Din

The av beit din (Hebrew: אָב בֵּית דִּין, romanized: ʾāḇ bēṯ din, lit. 'chief of the court, chief justice'), abbreviated abd (אב״ד avad), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was considered the most learned and important of these seventy members.

Menahem the Essene served as av beit din in the 1st century BC before abdicating to "serve the King" in 20 BC. The House of Shammai attained complete ascendency over the Sanhedrin from 9 CE until Gamaliel became nasi in 30 CE. The post of av beit din was eventually filled since the Babylonian Talmud states that Joshua ben Hananiah was the av beit din in Baba Kamma 74b and Nathan the Babylonian was av beit din in Horayot 13b in the Babylonian Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud tells the story of how Gamaliel II was deposed and Eleazar ben Azariah replaced him as Nasi. After Gamaliel was reinstated, Eleazar ben Azariah was made av beit din. The parallel story in the Babylonian Talmud has Eleazar ben Azariah remaining as a co-nasi with Gamaliel.

View the full Wikipedia page for Av Beit Din

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