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Shmaya (tanna)
Shemaiah (, ''Šəmaʿyā''; , ''Samaíās''), or Shmaya (in Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era who lived at the same time as Abtalion. They are known as one of the '' zugot'' ("couples"): ''Shemaiah and Abtalion''; Shemaiah holding the title of '' nasi'', whilst Abtalion holding the office of Av Beit Din. Biography Abtalion and Shemaiah were converts to Judaism or the descendants of converts; by tradition they were descended from King Sennacherib of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Despite this, they were influential and beloved. The ''Talmud'' relates that once, when the high priest was being escorted home from the Temple by the people, at the close of a Day of Atonement, 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 descent, although both were Alexandrians. According to the Mishnah, both Shemaiah and Abtalion studied Torah under Simeon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest languages still spoken as a native language, native language, on account of Hebrew being attested since the 2nd millennium BC. It uses the Hebrew Alphabet, an Abjad, abjad script written from right-to-left. The current standard was Codification (linguistics), codified as part of the revival of Hebrew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and now serves as the Official language, sole official and national language of the State of Israel, where it is Languages of Israel, predominantly spoken by over 9 million people. Thus, Modern Hebrew is near universally regarded as the most successful instance of language revitalization in history. A Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 was Simeon's sister. He was therefore closely connected with the court, enjoying, at least initially, the favor of Alexander. Simeon lived approximately from 140 BCE - 60 BCE. Although a rabbi by profession, the omission of such an epithet when referred to in rabbinic literature is said to attest to his greatness as a rabbinic Sage, ranking with Hillel. The Shim'on ben Shatah Street in the center of Jerusalem carries his name. Under Alexander Jannaeus During the reign of Alexander the Sanhedrin consisted almost entirely of Sadducees; nevertheless Simeon succeeded in ousting some of the Sadducean members and in replacing them with Pharisees. Having accomplished this, Simeon recalled from Alexandria, Egypt the Pharisees who had been co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiquities Of The Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It contains an account of the history of the Jewish people for Josephus's gentile patrons. In the first ten volumes Josephus follows the events of the Hebrew Bible beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve. The second ten volumes continues the history of the Jewish people beyond the biblical text and up to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE). This work, along with Josephus's other major work, '' The Jewish War'' (''De Bello Iudaico''), provides valuable background material for historians wishing to understand 1st-century CE Judaism and the early Christian period. Stephen L. Harris, ''Understanding the Bible'', (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985). Content Josephus' ''Antiquities of the Jews'' is a vital source for the history of the intertes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed Hasmonean royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor. In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became emperor in AD 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of '' Flavius''. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Judea, probably over the period 47–40 BCE. Accession Hyrcanus was the eldest son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Alexandra Salome. After the death of Alexander in 76 BCE, his widow succeeded to the rule of Judea and installed her elder son Hyrcanus as High Priest. Alexander had numerous conflicts with the Pharisees. However, Hyrcanus was supported by the Pharisees, especially later in his tenure. When Salome died in 67 BCE, she named Hyrcanus as her successor as ruler of Judea as well, but soon he and his younger brother, Aristobulus II, began fighting over who had the right to the throne. Deposition Hyrcanus had scarcely reigned three months when Aristobulus II rose in rebellion. Hyrcanus advanced against him at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and south of the east-west section of the Litani River. It extends from the Israeli coastal plain and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea with Acre, Israel, Acre in the west, to the Jordan Valley to the east; and from the Litani in the north plus a piece bordering on the Golan Heights to Dan (ancient city), Dan at the base of Mount Hermon in the northeast, to Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south. It includes the plains of the Jezreel Valley north of Jenin and the Beit She'an Valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the Hula Valley. Etymology The region's Hebrew name is , meaning 'district' or 'circle'. The Hebrew form used in Isaiah 9, Isaiah 8:23 (Isaiah 9:1 in the Christian Old Testament) is in the construct state, leading to "Galilee of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pesachim
Pesachim (, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the Passover sacrifice, both called ''"Pesach"'' in Hebrew. The tractate deals with the laws of ''matza'' (unleavened bread) and '' maror'' (bitter herbs), the prohibitions against owning or consuming ''chametz'' (leaven) on the festival, the details of the Paschal lamb that used to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, the order of the feast on the first evening of the holiday known as the Passover seder, and the laws of the supplemental " Second Pesach". Two reasons are given for the name of the tractate ''Pesachim'' being in the plural: either because the tractate originally comprised two parts, one dealing with the Passover sacrifice, and the second with the other aspects of the holiday, before they were combined into a single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoma
Yoma (Aramaic: יומא, lit. "The Day") is the fifth tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ('Order of Festivals') of the ''Mishnah'' and of the ''Talmud''. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their sins from the previous year. It consists of eight chapters and has a Gemara ('Completion') from both the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. Content The first chapter is regarding the seven days before Yom Kippur in which the Kohen Gadol is separated from his wife and moves into a chamber on the Beit HaMikdash, sprinkled with water from the Red Heifer and taught the laws relating to the Yom Kippur sacrifices. The second through seventh chapters deal with the order of services on Yom Kippur, both those specific to Yom Kippur and the daily sacrifices. Some of the issues addressed include those of the lottery employed to assign services to Kohanim, laws regarding the scapegoat, and the incense sacrifices performed by the Kohe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) 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 centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. This text is made up of 63 tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in the early seventh century. Traditionally, it is thought that the Talmud itself was compiled by Rav Ashi and Ravina II a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hillel The Elder
Hillel ( ''Hīllēl''; variously called Hillel the Elder or Hillel the Babylonian; died c. 10 CE) was a Jewish religious leader, Sage (philosophy), sage and scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and the founder of the House of Hillel school of ''tannaim''. He was active during the end of the first century Common Era, BCE and the beginning of the first century CE. He is popularly known as the author of three sayings: * "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" * "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." * "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah." Biography He came from Talmudic academies in Babylonia, Babylon to Land of Israel, Israel, although he was descended from David. His descendent Judah ha-Nasi, Judah haNasi traced his lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pesahim
Pesachim (, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the Passover sacrifice, both called ''"Pesach"'' in Hebrew. The tractate deals with the laws of ''matza'' (unleavened bread) and '' maror'' (bitter herbs), the prohibitions against owning or consuming '' chametz'' (leaven) on the festival, the details of the Paschal lamb that used to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, the order of the feast on the first evening of the holiday known as the Passover seder, and the laws of the supplemental " Second Pesach". Two reasons are given for the name of the tractate ''Pesachim'' being in the plural: either because the tractate originally comprised two parts, one dealing with the Passover sacrifice, and the second with the other aspects of the holiday, before they were combined into a sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herod The Great
Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple#Herod's Temple, Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base—the Western Wall being part of it. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus. Despite Herod's successes, including forging a new aristocracy, he has been criticized by various historians. His reign polarizes opinion among historians, some viewing his legacy as evidence of success, and some viewing it as a reminder of his tyrannical rule. Herod the Great is described in the Christian Bible as the coordinator of the Massacre of the Innocents. However, most of the New Testament references are to his son Herod Antipas (such as the events leading to the executions of John the Baptist a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
