Shemaiah ( he, שְׁמַעְיָה, ''Šəmaʿyā''; grc-koi, Σαμαίᾱς, ''Samaíās''), or Shmaya in

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

) was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

nic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era who lived at the same time as

Abtalion Abtalion ( he, אַבְטַלְיוֹן ''ʾAbhtalyôn'') or Avtalyon (Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era. He was a leader of the Pharisees during the 1st century BCE, and by tradition vice-president of the great Sanh ...

. They are known as one of the ''zuggot'' ("couples"): ''Shemaiah and Abtalion''; Shemaiah holding the title 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 ...

'', whilst Abtalion holding the office of

Av Beit Din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

Biography

Abtalion and Shemaiah were

converts to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Th ...

or the descendants of converts; by tradition they were descended from King

Sennacherib Sennacherib (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynast ...

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

. Despite this, they were influential and beloved. The ''

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

'' relates that once, when the high priest was being escorted home from the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

by the people, at the close of a

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's o ...

, the crowd deserted him upon the approach of Abtalion and Shemaiah and followed them. However, Graetz has argued that neither Shemaiah nor Abtalion was of

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

descent, although both were

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

ns. According to the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

, both Shemaiah and Abtalion studied Torah under

Simeon ben Shetach Simeon ben Shetach, or Shimon ben Shetach or Shatach (), ''circa'' 140-60 BCE, was a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of Alexander Jannæus (c. 103-76 BCE) and his successor, Queen Salome Alexandra (c. 76-67 BCE), who ...

. He was a leader of the

Pharisee The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs bec ...

s in the 1st century BCE and president of the

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 ...

before the reign of

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...

. He and his colleague Abtalion are termed the ''gedolei ha-dor'' (the great men of the age) and ''darshanim'' (exegetes).

Hillel the Elder Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, sag ...

was a contemporary of Shemaiah and Abtalion, and regularly attended their lectures. Of the political life of Shemaiah, only one incident is reported. When Herod on his own responsibility had put to death the leader of the national party in

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of J ...

, he permitted the Sanhedrin to cite him before the tribunal. Herod appeared, but in royal purple robes, whereupon the members of the Sanhedrin lost courage. Only Shemaiah was brave enough to say: "He who is summoned here on a capital charge appears like one who would order us to execution straightway if we should pronounce him guilty. Yet I can blame him less than you and the king, since ye permit such a travesty of justice. Know then that he before whom ye now tremble will some day deliver you to the executioner." This tradition is found twice, in

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

and the Talmud. The tombs of Shemaiah and Abtalyon are located in

Jish Jish ( ar, الجش; he, גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב, Jish, Gush Halav) is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In it had a population of , w ...

, a Maronite Christian village in the

In Josephus

Shemaiah and Abtalion may be identical to Sameas and Pollion who are mentioned by

. Shemaiah is named by Josephus under his Greek name ''Sameas'' ( gr, Σαμαίας). According to Josephus, he led the

during the transition period between the

Hasmonean dynasty The Hasmonean dynasty (; he, ''Ḥašmōnaʾīm'') was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity, from BCE to 37 BCE. Between and BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, and ...

and the rise of King Herod the Great. Shemaiah is described by Josephus as a disciple of

Pollion Abtalion ( he, אַבְטַלְיוֹן ''ʾAbhtalyôn'') or Avtalyon (Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era. He was a leader of the Pharisees during the 1st century BCE, and by tradition vice-president of the great Sanh ...

the Pharisee, who, in rabbinic literature, is known as Abtalion. Herod held both Abtalion and Shemaiah in great honour.

Quotes

* Love work. Hate aving to assumeauthority. Do not make yourself known to the government.

References

, ''Avot'' 1:10 *

, ''Ant.'' xiv-xv *

Heinrich Grätz Heinrich Graetz (; 31 October 1817 – 7 September 1891) was amongst the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective. Born Tzvi Hirsch Graetz to a butcher family in Xions (now Książ Wielkopo ...

, ''Geschichte'' iii. 171–207, and note 16 *

Emil Schürer Emil Schürer (2 May 184420 April 1910) was a German Protestant theology, theologian known mainly for his study of the history of the Jews around the time of Jesus' ministry. Biography Schürer was born in Augsburg. After studying at the universi ...

, ''Geschichte'' i. 348, 349, 399; ii. 202, 205, 355, 358 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shmaya (tannah) Mishnah rabbis Converts to Judaism from paganism 1st-century BCE rabbis Pirkei Avot rabbis Zugot Sanhedrin