Hezekiah Gaon or Hezekiah ben David ( he, חזקיה בן דוד) was the last
Gaon
Gaon may refer to
* Gaon (Hebrew), a non-formal title given to certain Jewish Rabbis
** Geonim, presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita
** Vilna Gaon, known as ''the'' Gaon of Vilnius.
* Gaon Music Chart
The Circl ...
of the
Talmudic academy in
Pumbedita
Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa; arc, פוּמְבְּדִיתָא ''Pūmbəḏīṯāʾ'', "The Mouth of the River,") was an ancient city located near the modern-day city of Fallujah, Iraq. It is known for having hosted t ...
from 1038–40.
Hezekiah ben David was a member of the
House of Exilarchs, his father David was the son of Zakkai. Some scholars believe Hezekiah was great-grandson of David ben Zakai (not the grandson of David).
Hezekiah was elected to the office of principal after the death of
Hai Gaon
Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the e ...
at the age of 99, but was denounced to a fanatical government of the
Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Cou ...
, who then imprisoned and tortured him to death. However, the Jewish Quarterly Review mentions that Hezekiah was liberated from prison, and became head of the academy, and is mentioned as such by a contemporary in 1046. With him ended his family except two sons who escaped to the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, where they found a home with
Joseph ibn Naghrela,
son of
Samuel ibn Naghrillah.
The death of Hezekiah ended the line of the
Geonim
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy ...
, which had begun four centuries earlier (see
Hanan of Iskiya Hanan of Iskiya (Asikia) ( he, רב חנן מאישקיא/מאישקא; alternative English spellings: Hanan of Iskia, or Hanan of Iskya, or Hanan of Ishqiya) was rector of the Talmudical academy at Pumbedita, 589-608. He was succeeded by Mari ben ...
), and with it,
Pumbedita Academy
Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פומבדיתא; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a yeshiva in Babylon during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel (220 ...
. The Spanish poet,
Hiyya al-Daudi (d. 1154), ancestor of the
Ibn Yahya
ibn Yahya (or ''ibn Yachya'') may refer to:
* David ibn Yaḥya ben Solomon (1455-1528) rabbi of Lisbon, author of the "Leshon Limmudim"
* Gedaliah ibn Yahya ben Joseph (c. 1515 – c. 1587), Italian-Jewish talmudist
* Yosef ibn Yachya, Bible co ...
family descended from David ben Hezekiah, who had escaped the Buyyids with his brother. In addition,
Abraham bar Hiyya was said to be a descendant of Hezekiah.
References
* It has the following bibliography:
*Rabad, Sefer ha-Kabbalah;
*Zacuto, The book of Lineage;
*Gans, Ẓemaḥ Dawid, i.;
*Grätz, Gesch. v. 428;
*Jost, Gesch. der Juden und Seiner Sekten, ii. 287.
Geonim
11th-century rabbis of Al-Andalus
Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita
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