Gamaliel the Elder (/ɡəˈmeɪliəl, -ˈmɑː-,ˌɡæməˈliːəl/ ;[1] also spelled Gamliel; Hebrew: רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן Rabban Gamlīʾēl hazZāqēn; Koinē 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,[2] and a daughter, who married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael.[3]
In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law.[4] Acts of the Apostles, 5 speaks of Gamaliel as a man held in great esteem by all Jews and as the Jewish law teacher of Paul the Apostle in Acts 22:3.[5] Gamaliel encouraged his fellow Pharisees to show leniency to the apostles of Jesus Christ in Acts 5:34.[6]
In the Talmud, Gamaliel is described as bearing the titles Nasi (Hebrew: נָשִׂיא Nāśīʾ) "prince" and Rabban "our master", as the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem; it is not doubted that he held a senior position in the highest court in Jerusalem.[2]Gamaliel holds a reputation in the Mishnah for being one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism: "Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time".[7]
Gamaliel's authority on questions of religious law is suggested by two Mishnaic anecdotes in which "the king and queen" ask for his advice about rituals.[8] The identity of the king and queen in question is not given, but is generally thought to either be Herod Agrippa and his wife Cypros the Nabataean, or Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice.[2][9]
As rabbinic literature always contrasts the school of Hillel the Elder to that of Shammai and only presents the collective opinions of each of these opposing schools of thought without mentioning the individual nuances and opinions of the rabbis within them, these texts do not portray Gamaliel as being knowledgeable about the Jewish scriptures, nor do they portray him as a teacher.[2] For this reason, Gamaliel is not listed as part of the chain of individuals who perpetuated the Mishnaic tradition.[10] Instead the chain is listed as passing directly from Hillel to Yohanan ben Zakkai.
Nevertheless, the Mishnah mentions Gamaliel's authorship of a few laws about community welfare and conjugal rights. He argued that the law should protect women during divorce, and that, for the purpose of remarriage, a single witness was sufficient evidence for the death of a husband.[11]