Judah III (or Nesi'ah II;
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: יהודה נשיאה; יודן נשיאה), Yudan Nesiah, was a prominent
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
sage, who held the office of ''
Nasi
Nasi may refer to:
Food Dishes
Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian and Malay word for ''cooked rice'', featured in many Southeast Asian dishes
*Nasi goreng, a popular rice dish often simply called ''nasi''
*Other Southeast Asian ''nasi'' dishes:
**Nasi ...
'' of the ancient
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
between about 290 and 320 CE (fourth generation of
amoraim
''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 Common Era, CE, who "sai ...
).
Biography
He was the son of
Gamaliel IV
Gamaliel IV (flourished probably late 3rd century CE; also known as Gamaliel IV ben Judah II) was the son of the nasi Judah II and father of Judah III
Judah III (or Nesi'ah II; Hebrew: יהודה נשיאה; יודן נשיאה), Yudan Nesiah, ...
, and grandson of
Judah II
Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE.
He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Jud ...
.
It is often difficult to know when the Mishna and Talmud are referring to Judah II or Judah III; they do not clearly distinguish between them. Since the title "Nesi'ah" was borne by both, which of the two in any citation is meant by "Judah Nesi'ah" can be gathered only from internal evidence, especially from the names of the scholars mentioned in the context.
He was a pupil of R.
Johanan bar Nappaha
:''See Johanan (name) for more rabbis by this name''.
Johanan bar Nappaha ( he, יוחנן בר נפחא Yoḥanan bar Nafḥa; alt. sp. Napaḥa) (also known simply as Rabbi Yochanan, or as Johanan bar Nafcha) (lived 180-279 CE) was a leading r ...
(d. 279). In a question regarding the time of the
new moon
In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse.
...
, which he sent to
Rav Ammi
Rabbi Ammi, Aimi, Immi (Hebrew: רבי אמי) is the name of several Jewish Talmudists, known as amoraim, who lived in the Land of Israel and Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud the first form only is used; in the Jerusalem Talmud all three forms ...
, he introduces a teaching taught to him by Johanan with the words: "Know that R. Johanan has taught us thus all his life long".
Judah III commissioned Johanan's pupils
Ammi and
Assi, who directed the
Academy
An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
of
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
in the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, after
Eleazar ben Pedat
Eleazar ben Pedat ( he, רבי אלעזר בן פדת) was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, in the Land of Israel, of the 2nd and 3rd generation (third century).
Biography
He was a Babylonian by birth and of priestly descent. In his nati ...
's death, to organize the schools for children in the
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
cities. Ammi especially appears as his councilor in
aggadic
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
questions. He also visited the
baths of Gadara with Ammi.
Ammi, however, protested against the number of fast-days which Judah set in times of trouble, saying that the community should not be overburdened. Once
Helbo
Rabbi Helbo (רבי חלבו) was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both Talmuds.
It seems that Helbo lived at first in Babylonia, where he studied under Rav Huna, the head of the Academy ...
, a pupil of the above-mentioned Samuel ben Nahman, requested Judah, who had absented himself from a fast-day service held in the public square of the city, to take part in the service, which would thereby become more efficacious. The prominent amora Jeremiah is said to have reproached Judah in a letter for hating his friends and loving his enemies.
Germanus, Judah's Roman slave, is mentioned several times.
The most important event of Judah III's patriarchate was the visit of the emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
to Palestine. One Friday the patriarch was called upon hurriedly to visit Diocletian at
Caesarea Philippi
Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek ...
, and his extraordinarily quick journey to there from
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
gave rise to a legend in which the aged Samuel ben Nahman appears. On the Church father
Epiphanius' reference to the patriarch, see Grätz.
When Judah III died (c. 320),
Hiyya bar Abba
Ḥiyya bar Abba (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר אבא), Ḥiyya bar Ba (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר בא), or Ḥiyya bar Wa (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר ווא) was a third generation ''amoraic'' sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly des ...
compelled his colleague
Zeira
Rabbi Zeira ( he, רבי זירא), known before his semicha as Rav Zeira ( he, רב זירא) and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era ( he, רבי זעירא), was a Jewish Talmudist, of the third generation of amoraim, who lived in th ...
, who was of priestly descent, to ignore, in honor of the dead patriarch, the laws to be observed by
kohanim
Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally be ...
. This scene took place in the "synagogue of the vine" at
Sepphoris
Sepphoris (; grc, Σέπφωρις, Séphōris), called Tzipori in Hebrew ( he, צִפּוֹרִי, Tzipori),Palmer (1881), p115/ref> and known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ar, صفورية, Ṣaffūriya) since the 7th century, is an archaeolog ...
; hence it is to be assumed that Judah III was buried at Sepphoris. He was succeeded by his son
Hillel II
Hillel II (Hebrew: הלל נשיאה, Hillel the Nasi), also known simply as Hillel, was an '' amora'' of the fifth generation in the Land of Israel. He held the office of ''Nasi'' of the Sanhedrin between 320 and 385 CE. He was the son and succes ...
.
Jewish tradition holds that Judah III was interred at
Ovnit
Jamnith ( gr, Ἰαμνειθ), also Jabnith, Yavnit (), Iamnia, or in medieval parlance, Ibnit / Abnit / Ovnit, is a ruin in the Upper Galilee that came to renown during the First Jewish Revolt in the 1st-century CE. The ruin, known locally by th ...
.
[, chapter: Tombs of the forefathers and righteous /ref>
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judah Iii
3rd-century births
4th-century deaths
Talmud rabbis of the Land of Israel
3rd-century rabbis
Sanhedrin