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131-590: The title nasi was used for presidents of the Sanhedrin . He was the first nasi to have this title added permanently to his name; in traditional literature he is usually called "Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi." Often though (and always in the Mishnah ) he is simply called Rabbi "my teacher" ( רבי ), the master par excellence. He is occasionally called Rabbenu "our master". He is also called "Rabbenu HaQadosh" "our holy master" ( רבנו הקדוש ) due to his deep piety. Judah

262-638: A synonym : nasi (as in Yehuda HaNasi ) and nasīkh ( נָסִיך ‎). Much more recently, Adin Steinsaltz took the title nasi in an attempt to reestablish the Sanhedrin in its judicial capacity as the supreme court of Judaism . During the Mishnaic period, the office of nasi was filled as follows: List of presidents of Israel : Rabban was a higher title than rabbi and

393-519: A Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to Talmudic sources, Uriah's death was not murder, because Uriah had committed a capital offense by refusing to obey a direct command from the King. However, in tractate Sanhedrin, David expressed remorse over his transgressions and sought forgiveness. God ultimately forgave David and Bathsheba but would not remove their sins from Scripture. In Jewish legend , David's sin with Bathsheba

524-432: A chieftain over an area which cannot be described as a state or as a kingdom, but more as a chiefdom, much smaller and always overshadowed by the older and more powerful kingdom of Israel to the north. They posited that Israel and Judah were not monotheistic at the time and that later 7th-century redactors sought to portray a past golden age of a united, monotheistic monarchy in order to serve contemporary needs. They noted

655-639: A covenant with the house of David stating, "your throne shall be established forever". David wins additional victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites , Amalekites, Ammonites and king Hadadezer of Aram-Zobah , after which they become tributaries. His fame increases as a result, earning the praise of figures like King Toi of Hamath , Hadadezer's rival. During a siege of the Ammonite capital of Rabbah , David remains in Jerusalem. He spies

786-467: A different calculation, he died on 15 Kislev , AM 3978 (around December 1, 217 CE), in Sepphoris, and his body was interred in the necropolis of Beit Shearim , 15.2 kilometres (9.4 mi) distant from Sepphoris, during whose funeral procession they made eighteen stops at different stations along the route to eulogise him. It is said that when Judah died, no one had the heart to announce his demise to

917-552: A fourth category, the "living souls") Judah explains by saying that this expression designates the demons, for whom God did not create bodies because the Sabbath had come. Noteworthy among the other numerous Scriptural interpretations which have been handed down in Judah's name are his clever etymological explanations, for example: Exodus 19:8-9; Leviticus 23:40; Numbers 15:38; II Samuel 17:27; Joel 1:17; Psalms 68:7. He interpreted

1048-550: A frequent subject for painters and sculptors. David was considered a model ruler and a symbol of divinely ordained monarchy throughout medieval Western Europe and Eastern Christendom . He was perceived as the biblical predecessor to Christian Roman and Byzantine emperors and the name "New David" was used as an honorific reference to these rulers. The Georgian Bagratids and the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia claimed direct biological descent from him. Likewise, kings of

1179-491: A lack of archeological evidence for David's military campaigns and a relative underdevelopment of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, compared to a more developed and urbanized Samaria, capital of Israel during the 9th century BCE. In 2010, Amihai Mazar wrote that the United Monarchy of the 10th century BCE can be described as a "state in development". He compared David to Labaya , a Caananite warlord living during

1310-477: A legend relating to his meeting with Pinchas ben Yair , he is described as tearfully admiring the pious Pinchas' unswerving steadfastness, protected by a higher power. He was frequently interrupted by tears when explaining Lamentations 2:2 and illustrating the passage by stories of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple. While explaining certain passages of Scripture, he was reminded of divine judgment and of

1441-430: A long time. Eventually, Judah moved with the court from Beit Shearim to Sepphoris , where he spent at least 17 years of his life. Judah chose Sepphoris chiefly because of his ill health would improve in its high altitude and pure air. However, Judah's memorial as a leader is principally associated with Bet She'arim: "The Sages taught: The verse states: “Justice, justice, shall you follow.” This teaches that one should follow

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1572-514: A man skilled in playing the lyre . A servant proposes David, whom the servant describes as "skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him." David enters Saul's service as one of the royal armour-bearers and plays the lyre to soothe the king. War comes between Israel and the Philistines , and the giant Goliath challenges

1703-565: A murderer, and a lifelong vassal of Achish , the Philistine king of Gath ; Steven McKenzie argues that David came from a wealthy family, and was an "ambitious and ruthless" tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his sons. Joel S. Baden has called him "an ambitious, ruthless, flesh-and-blood man who achieved power by any means necessary, including murder, theft, bribery, sex, deceit, and treason". William G. Dever described him as "a serial killer". Jacob L. Wright has written that

1834-405: A number of artifacts, including pottery, two Phoenician-style ivory inlays, a black-and-red jug, and a radiocarbon-dated bone, estimated to be from the 10th century. Dever, Amihai Mazar , Avraham Faust , and Nadav Na'aman have argued in favour of the 10th-century BCE dating and responded to challenges to it. In 2010, Eilat Mazar announced the discovery of part of the ancient city walls around

1965-479: A political representative to the authorities while the religious leadership was led by Torah scholars. He had the power to appoint and suspend communal leaders inside and outside of Israel. The Romans respected the nasi and gave extra land and let control of own self-supported taxes. Under Jewish law , the intercalary thirteenth month in the Hebrew calendar , Adar Bet , was announced by the nasi. The last nasi of

2096-592: A publication now in the public domain :  Solomon Schechter ; Wilhelm Bacher (1901–1906). "Judah I" . In Singer, Isidore ; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Nasi (Hebrew title) Nasi ( Hebrew : נָשִׂיא , romanized :  nāśī ) is a title meaning " prince " in Biblical Hebrew , "Prince [of the Sanhedrin ]" in Mishnaic Hebrew . Certain great figures from Jewish history have

2227-452: A single contemporary reference to either David or Solomon," while noting, "against this must be set the evidence for substantial development and growth at several sites, which is plausibly related to the tenth century." In 2007, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman stated that the archaeological evidence shows that Judah was sparsely inhabited and Jerusalem no more than a small village. The evidence suggested that David ruled only as

2358-571: A very wealthy man, give his daughter to him and declare his father's family exempt from taxes in Israel. Saul offered David his oldest daughter, Merab , a marriage David respectfully declined. Saul then gave Merab in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite. Having been told that his younger daughter Michal was in love with David, Saul gave her in marriage to David upon David's payment in Philistine foreskins (ancient Jewish historian Josephus lists

2489-530: A woman, Bathsheba , bathing and summons her; she becomes pregnant. The text in the Bible does not explicitly state whether Bathsheba consented to sex with David. David calls her husband, Uriah the Hittite , back from the battle to rest, hoping that he will go home to have sex with his wife and the child will be presumed to be his. Uriah does not visit his wife, however, so David conspires to have him killed in

2620-647: Is able to infiltrate Saul's camp on the hill of Hachilah and remove his spear and a jug of water from his side while he and his guards lie asleep. In this account, David is advised by Abishai that this is his opportunity to kill Saul, but David declines, saying he will not "stretch out [his] hand against the Lord's anointed". In the morning, David once again demonstrates to Saul that, despite ample opportunity, he did not deign to harm him. Saul, despite having already reconciled with David, confesses that he has been wrong to pursue David, and blesses him. In 1 Samuel 27:1–4, David begins to doubt Saul's sincerity, and reasons that

2751-444: Is also called Caracalla and who would consult Judah on various worldly and spiritual matters. Jewish sources tell of various discussions between Judah and Antoninus. These include the parable of the blind and the lame (illustrating the judgment of the body and the soul after death), and a discussion of the impulse to sin. The authority of Judah's office was enhanced by his wealth, which is referred to in various traditions. In Babylon,

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2882-538: Is an important figure in Rabbinic Judaism , with many legends about him. According to one tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school. David's adultery with Bathsheba is interpreted as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and the Talmud says it was not adultery at all, citing

3013-474: Is angered when Saul , Israel's king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice and later disobeys a divine command both to kill all of the Amalekites and to destroy their confiscated property. Consequently, God sends the prophet Samuel to anoint a shepherd, David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem , to be king instead. After God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul, his servants recommend that he send for

3144-546: Is available. A number of scholars consider the David story to be a heroic tale similar to the legend of King Arthur or the epics of Homer , while others find such comparisons questionable. One theme paralleled with other Near Eastern literature is the homoerotic nature of the relationship between David and Jonathan . The instance in the Book of Jashar , excerpted in 2 Samuel 1 :26, where David "proclaims that Jonathan's love

3275-434: Is described as having a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God. Biblical literature and archaeological finds are the only sources that attest to David's life. Some scholars have concluded that this was likely compiled from contemporary records of the 11th and 10th centuries BCE, but that there is no clear historical basis for determining

3406-537: Is designated as Judah's real teacher. Jacob ben Hanina (possibly the R. Jacob whose patronymic is not given and in whose name Judah quotes halakhic sentences) is also mentioned as one of Judah's teachers, and is said to have asked him to repeat halakhic sentences. Judah was also taught by his father (Simon ben Gamaliel); when the two differed on a halakhic matter, the father was generally stricter. Judah himself says: "My opinion seems to me more correct than that of my father"; and he then proceeds to give his reasons. Humility

3537-471: Is escorted across the River Jordan and back to Jerusalem by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin . When David is old and bedridden, Adonijah , his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king. Bathsheba and Nathan go to David and obtain his agreement to crown Bathsheba's son Solomon as king, according to David's earlier promise, and the revolt of Adonijah is put down. David dies at

3668-420: Is his interpretation of the word "vayagged" (Exodus 19:9) to the effect that the words of Moses attracted the hearts of his hearers, like the aggadah does. Once when the audience was falling asleep in his lecture, he made a ludicrous statement in order to revive their interest, and then explained the statement to be accurate in a metaphorical sense. Judah was especially fond of the Book of Psalms . He paraphrased

3799-519: Is in danger there. He goes next to the cave of Adullam , where his family joins him. From there he goes to seek refuge with the king of Moab , but the prophet Gad advises him to leave and he goes to the Forest of Hereth , and then to Keilah , where he is involved in a further battle with the Philistines. Saul plans to besiege Keilah so that he can capture David, so David leaves the city in order to protect its inhabitants. From there he takes refuge in

3930-409: Is little about David that is concrete and undisputed. Other scholars argue that, notwithstanding the apologetic tenor of the story, the authors of Samuel were also critical of David in several respects, suggesting that the text presents a complex portrait of him rather than a purely propagandistic one. Some other studies of David have been written: Baruch Halpern has pictured him as a brutal tyrant,

4061-644: Is no chronological order in the Torah . Referring to the prophetic books, he says: "All the Prophets begin with denunciations and end with comfortings". Even the genealogical portions of the Book of Chronicles must be interpreted. It appears that there was an aggadic collection containing Judah's answers to exegetical questions. Among these questions may have been the one which Judah's son Simeon addressed to him. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

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4192-515: Is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of his sons in 2 Chronicles 11:18. His daughter Tamar , by Maachah, is raped by her half-brother Amnon. David fails to bring Amnon to justice for his violation of Tamar, because he is his firstborn and he loves him, and so Absalom (her full brother) kills Amnon to avenge Tamar. Despite the great sins they had committed, David showed grief at his sons' deaths, weeping twice for Amnon [2 Samuel 13:31–26] and seven times for Absalom. God

4323-413: Is said that once he saw a calf being led to the slaughtering-block, which looked at him with tearful eyes, as if seeking protection. He said to it: "Go; for you were created for this purpose!" Due to this unkind attitude toward the suffering animal, he was punished with years of illness. Later, when his maid was about to kill some small animals which were in their house, he said to her: "Let them live, for it

4454-425: Is the punishment for David's excessive self-consciousness. He had besought God to lead him into temptation so that he might give proof of his constancy like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who successfully passed the test and whose names later were united with God's, while David failed through the temptation of a woman. According to midrashim , Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to

4585-440: Is to be identified as part of a northern Israelite polity. In 2018, Avraham Faust and Yair Sapir stated that a Canaanite site at Tel Eton , about 30 miles from Jerusalem, was taken over by a Judahite community by peaceful assimilation and transformed from a village into a central town at some point in the late 11th or early 10th century BCE. This transformation used some ashlar blocks in construction, which they argued supports

4716-568: Is unknown. Judah spent his youth in the city of Usha in the Lower Galilee . His father presumably gave him the same education that he had received, including Koine Greek . This knowledge of Greek enabled him to become the Jews' intermediary with the Roman authorities. He favoured Greek as the language of the country over Jewish Palestinian Aramaic . In Judah's house, only the Hebrew language

4847-490: Is what kind of settlement Jerusalem was in Iron IIA: was it a minor settlement, perhaps a large village or possibly a citadel but not a city, or was it the capital of a flourishing—or at least an emerging—state? Assessments differ considerably". Isaac Kalimi wrote in 2018, "No contemporaneous extra-biblical source offers any account of the political situation in Israel and Judah during the tenth century BCE, and as we have seen,

4978-726: Is written: '[God's] tender mercies are over all his works'." After this demonstration of compassion, his illness ceased. Judah also once said, "One who is ignorant of the Torah should not eat meat." The prayer he prescribed upon eating meat or eggs also indicates an appreciation of animal life: "Blessed be the Lord who has created many souls, in order to support by them the soul of every living being." He exclaimed, sobbing, in reference to three different stories of martyrs whose deaths made them worthy of future life: "One man earns his world in an hour, while another requires many years". He began to weep when Elisha ben Abuyah 's daughters, who were soliciting alms, reminded him of their father's learning. In

5109-538: The nasi or head of the Sanhedrin in Usha before it moved to Shefar'am (now Shefa-'Amr ). According to a tradition, the country at the time of Simon ben Gamaliel's death not only was devastated by a plague of locusts but suffered many other hardships. From Shefar'am, the Sanhedrin transferred to Beit Shearim (now part of the Beit She'arim necropolis ), where the Sanhedrin was headed by Judah. Here he officiated for

5240-562: The Bible does not name his mother, the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet , a daughter of a man named Adael, and the Book of Ruth claims him as the great-grandson of Ruth , the Moabite , by Boaz . David is described as cementing his relations with various political and national groups through marriage . According to 1 Samuel 17:25, King Saul said that he would make whoever killed Goliath

5371-552: The Book of Genesis ( Lech-Lecha , Genesis 17:20 ), and the second use (in Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:6 ), is the Hittites recognising Abraham as "a godly prince" ( נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים ‎ nǝśi ʾǝlohim ). In the Book of Leviticus ( Vayikra , Leviticus 4:22–26 ), in the rites of sacrifices for leaders who err, there is the special offering made by a nasi. In the Book of Numbers ( Naso Numbers 7 ),

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5502-698: The Frankish Carolingian dynasty frequently connected themselves to David; Charlemagne himself occasionally used "David" his pseudonym. David (Arabic: داوود Dā'ūd or Dāwūd ) is an important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets God sent to guide the Israelites . He is mentioned several times in the Quran with the Arabic name داود, Dāwūd or Dā'ūd , often with his son Solomon . In

5633-833: The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke . In the Quran and hadith , David is described as an Israelite king as well as a prophet of Allah . The biblical David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries. The First Book of Samuel and the First Book of Chronicles both identify David as the son of Jesse , the Bethlehemite , the youngest of eight sons. He also had at least two sisters: Zeruiah , whose sons all went on to serve in David's army, and Abigail , whose son Amasa served in Absalom's army, Absalom being one of David's younger sons. While

5764-718: The Jewish diaspora , the office of nasi in Palestine was comparable with the office of exilarch in Mesopotamia . This position as patriarch or head of court was reestablished several years after the Bar Kokhba revolt . This made the nasi a power which both Jews and Romans respected. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, referred to by the Jews as Babylonia , also recognized him. The nasi had leadership and served as

5895-520: The Mesha Stele from Moab , dating from the 9th century, also contain the words "House of David" at the end of Line 31, although this was considered as less certain than the mention in the Tel Dan inscription. In May 2019, Israel Finkelstein , Nadav Na'aman , and Thomas Römer concluded from the new images that the ruler's name contained three consonants and started with a bet , which excludes

6026-476: The Mishnah defines the nasi of Leviticus 4 to mean the king. During the Second Temple period ( c.  530 BCE – 70 CE), the nasi was the highest-ranking member and leader of the Sanhedrin ( סַנְהֶדְרִין from Koinē Greek : Συνέδριον , romanized:  sunédrion , lit.   'council'), including when it sat as a criminal court . The position was created in c. 191 BCE when

6157-590: The Talmud Yerushalmi , David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven. The Messiah concept is fundamental in Christianity. Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), in the last two centuries BCE the "son of David" became

6288-819: The feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord ) and on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (Sunday before the Nativity ), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus . He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of

6419-527: The third king of the United Monarchy , according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament . According to Jewish works such as the Seder Olam Rabbah , Seder Olam Zutta , and Sefer ha-Qabbalah (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. The Tel Dan stele , an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in

6550-475: The 10th century BCE and that proof of the existence of a strong, centralized kingdom at that time remains "tenuous." Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa by archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor found an urbanized settlement radiocarbon dated to the 10th century, which supports the existence of an urbanised kingdom. The Israel Antiquities Authority stated: "The excavations at Khirbat Qeiyafa clearly reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in

6681-643: The 8th-century Frankish kingdom . They were a highly privileged group in Carolingian France . The Jews of Narbonne collaborated with Pepin the Short to end Muslim rule over their city in 759. The Jews accepted surrender and Pepin was able to hold off the Saracens in the Iberian peninsula. Pepin rewarded the Jews with land and privileges such as the right to judicial and religious autonomy. The heirs of

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6812-567: The Babylonian . The Mishnah consists of 63 tractates codifying Jewish law, which are the basis of the Talmud. According to Abraham ben David , the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in 3949 AM , or the year 500 of the Seleucid era , which corresponds to 189 CE. The Mishnah contains many of Judah's own sentences, which are introduced by the words, "Rabbi says." The Mishnah

6943-472: The Bible. The relief claims that Shoshenq raided places in Palestine in 925 BCE, and Kitchen interprets one place as "Heights of David", which was in southern Judah and the Negev where the Bible says David took refuge from Saul. The relief is damaged and interpretation is uncertain. Of the evidence in question, John Haralson Hayes and James Maxwell Miller wrote in 2006: "If one is not convinced in advance by

7074-570: The City of David , which she believes date to the 10th century BCE. According to Mazar, this would prove that an organized state did exist in the 10th century. In 2006, Kenneth Kitchen came to a similar conclusion, arguing that "the physical archaeology of tenth-century Canaan is consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its terrain." Scholars such as Israel Finkelstein , Lily Singer-Avitz, Ze'ev Herzog and David Ussishkin do not accept these conclusions. Finkelstein does not accept

7205-452: The Elder has no title before his name: his name is in itself a title. Similarly, Moses and Abraham have no titles before their names, but an epithet is sometimes used to differentiate between biblical and historic personages, hence Avraham Avinu (Abraham 'Our Father') and Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses 'Our Teacher'). Starting with Rabbi Judah I haNasi (born 135 CE ), not even the nasi

7336-569: The Great , Shimon ben Halafta , and Levi ben Sisi . Among his students who taught as the first generation of Amoraim after his death are: Hanina bar Hama and Hoshaiah Rabbah in Eretz Yisrael, Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea in Babylon (the Jewish term for Lower Mesopotamia ). Only scattered records of Judah's official activity exist. These include: the ordination of his students;

7467-566: The Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat. David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Saul's army, declares that he can defeat Goliath. Refusing the king's offer of the royal armour, he kills Goliath with his sling . Saul inquires the name of the young hero's father. Saul sets David over his army. All Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him ("What else can he wish but

7598-681: The Lord and on 26 December (Synaxis of the Mother of God). In European Christian culture of the Middle Ages , David was made a member of the Nine Worthies , a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry . His life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status. This aspect of David in the Nine Worthies was popularised first through literature, and thereafter adopted as

7729-565: The Mishnah, rather than its author. The Mishnah is based on the systematic division of the halakhic material as formulated by Rabbi Akiva ; Judah following in his work the arrangement of the halakot as taught by Rabbi Meir (Akiva's foremost student). Using the precedent of Rabbi Meir 's reported actions, Judah ruled the Beit Shean region to be exempt from the requirements of tithing and shmita regarding produce grown there. He also did

7860-722: The Palestinian Sanhedrin was Gamaliel VI (d. 425); the Byzantine Empire subsequently issued an edict recorded in the legal code of the Codex Theodosianus of 426 that transformed the nasi tax into an imperial tax deposited into the Aerarium , or Roman treasury. The term nasi was later applied to those who held high offices in the Jewish community, and Jews who held prominence in the courts of non-Jewish rulers. The nasi were also prevalent during

7991-405: The Philistines march against Saul. David returns to Ziklag and saves his wives and the citizens from an Amalekite raid. Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle with the Philistines, and after hearing of their deaths, David travels to Hebron, where he is anointed king over Judah. In the north, Saul's son Ish-Bosheth is anointed king of Israel, and war ensues until Ish-Bosheth is murdered. With

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8122-410: The Philistines, David and his men raid the Geshurites , the Girzites, and the Amalekites , but lead the royal court to believe they are attacking the Israelites, the Jerahmeelites , and the Kenites . While Achish comes to believe that David had become a loyal vassal , the princes (or lords) of Gath remain unconvinced, and at their request, Achish instructs David to remain behind to guard the camp when

8253-572: The Philistines, Saul heads to Ein Gedi in pursuit of David. Needing privacy " to attend to his needs ", Saul enters the cave where, as it happens, David and his supporters are hiding. David realises he has an opportunity to kill Saul, but instead, he secretly cuts off a piece of Saul's robe. When Saul leaves the cave, David comes out to pay homage to the king, and to demonstrate using the piece of robe that he holds no malice towards him. The two are thus reconciled and Saul recognises David as his successor. A similar passage occurs in 1 Samuel 26, when David

8384-403: The Prince (Judah Ha-Nasi)." Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Prince (Heb. Nasi)." David (Italics indicate a disputed reign or non-royal title) David ( / ˈ d eɪ v ɪ d / ; Biblical Hebrew : דָּוִד ‎ , romanized:  Dāwīḏ , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and

8515-472: The Quran of the wrong David did to Uriah nor any reference to Bathsheba , Muslims reject this narrative. Muslim tradition and the hadith stress David's zeal in daily prayer as well as in fasting . Quran commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous Stories of the Prophets elaborate upon David's concise quranic narratives and specifically mention David's gift in singing his Psalms, his beautiful recitation, and his vocal talents. His voice

8646-564: The Quran, David killed Goliath ( Q2:251 ), a giant soldier in the Philistine army. When David killed Goliath, God granted him kingship and wisdom and enforced it ( Q38:20 ). David was made God's " vicegerent on earth" ( Q38:26 ) and God further gave David sound judgment ( Q21:78 ; Q37:21–24 , Q26 ) as well as the Psalms , regarded as books of divine wisdom ( Q4:163 ; Q17:55 ). The birds and mountains united with David in uttering praise to God ( Q21:79 ; Q34:10 ; Q38:18 ), while God made iron soft for David ( Q34:10 ), God also instructed David in

8777-414: The Sages to the academy where they are found. For example [...] after Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi to Beit She’arim[.]" Among Judah's contemporaries in the early years of his activity were Eleazar ben Simeon , Ishmael ben Jose , Jose ben Judah , and Simeon ben Eleazar . His better-known contemporaries and students include Simon b. Manasseh, Pinchas ben Yair , Eleazar ha-Kappar and his son Bar Kappara , Hiyya

8908-422: The Sanhedrin lost confidence in the ability of the High Priest of Israel to serve as its head. In the time of the Roman Republic , the Romans recognized the nasi as Patriarch of the Jews and required all Jews to pay him a tax for the upkeep of that office, which ranked highly in the Roman official hierarchy. After the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) , in the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and

9039-502: The Torah and greatness (i.e. knowledge and rank) were united in no one to the same extent as in Judah I. Two of Judah's sons assumed positions of authority after his death: Gamaliel succeeded him as nasi , while Shimon became hakham of his yeshiva. According to some Midrashic and Kabbalistic legends, Judah ha-Nasi had a son named Yaavetz who ascended to Heaven without experiencing death . Various stories are told about Judah, illustrating different aspects of his character. It

9170-528: The age of 70 after reigning for 40 years, and on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of God and to take revenge on his enemies. The Book of Samuel calls David a skillful harp (lyre) player and "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Yet, while almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David" (also translated as "to David" or "for David") and tradition identifies several with specific events in David's life (e.g., Psalms 3 , 7 , 18 , 34 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 63 and 142 ),

9301-401: The anxious people of Sepphoris , until the clever Bar Ḳappara broke the news in a parable, saying: "The heavenly host and earth-born men held the tablets of the covenant; then the heavenly host was victorious and seized the tablets." Judah's eminence as a scholar, who gave to this period its distinctive impression, was characterised at an early date by the saying that since the time of Moses ,

9432-497: The apocalyptic and heavenly one who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man". The early Church believed that "the life of David foreshadowed

9563-575: The archaeological remains themselves cannot provide any unambiguous evidence of events." The view of Davidic Jerusalem as a village has been challenged by Eilat Mazar 's excavation of the Large Stone Structure and the Stepped Stone Structure in 2005. Mazar proposed that these two structures may have been architecturally linked as one unit and that they date to the time of King David. Mazar supports this dating with

9694-408: The art of fashioning chain mail out of iron ( Q21:80 ); this knowledge gave David a major advantage over his bronze and cast iron -armed opponents, not to mention the cultural and economic impact. Together with Solomon, David gave judgment in a case of damage to the fields ( Q21:78 ) and David judged the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber ( Q38:21–23 ). Since there is no mention in

9825-517: The biblical profile, then there is nothing in the archaeological evidence itself to suggest that much of consequence was going on in Palestine during the tenth century BCE, and certainly nothing to suggest that Jerusalem was a great political and cultural center." This echoed the 1995 conclusion of Amélie Kuhrt , who noted that "there are no royal inscriptions from the time of the united monarchy (indeed very little written material altogether), and not

9956-407: The branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by Joab , the commander of David's army. David laments the death of his favourite son: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" until Joab persuades him to recover from "the extravagance of his grief" and to fulfill his duty to his people. David returns to Gilgal and

10087-476: The child will. In fulfillment of Nathan's words, the child born of the union between David and Bathsheba dies, and another of David's sons, Absalom , fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels. Thanks to Hushai , a friend of David who was ordered to infiltrate Absalom's court to successfully sabotage his plans, Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim , and he is caught by his long hair in

10218-561: The college. Many religious and legal decisions are recorded as having been rendered by Judah together with his court, the college of scholars. According to the Talmud, Rabbi Judah HaNasi was very wealthy and greatly revered in Rome. He had a close friendship with "Antoninus", possibly the Emperor Antoninus Pius , though it is more likely his famous friendship was with either Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus or Antoninus who

10349-625: The date of the story in the Persian or Hellenistic period" because a quarter-shekel was known to exist in Hasmonean times. The authors and editors of Samuel drew on many earlier sources, including, for their history of David, the "history of David's rise" and the "succession narrative". The Books of Chronicles , which tells the story from a different point of view, was probably composed in the period 350–300 BCE, and uses Samuel and Kings as its source. Biblical evidence indicates that David's Judah

10480-504: The dating of these structures to the 10th century BCE, based in part on the fact that later structures on the site penetrated deep into underlying layers, that the entire area had been excavated in the early 20th century and then backfilled, that pottery from later periods was found below earlier strata, and that consequently the finds collected by E. Mazar cannot necessarily be considered as retrieved in situ . Aren Maeir said in 2010 that he has seen no evidence that these structures are from

10611-535: The death of Saul's son, the elders of Israel come to Hebron and David is anointed king over all of Israel. He conquers Jerusalem , previously a Jebusite stronghold, and makes it his capital. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, but the prophet Nathan forbids it, prophesying that the temple would be built by one of David's sons. Nathan also prophesies that God has made

10742-428: The death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite . David's son Absalom later tries to overthrow him, but David returns to Jerusalem after Absalom's death to continue his reign. David desires to build a temple to Yahweh, but is denied because of the bloodshed of his reign. He dies at age 70 and chooses Solomon , his son with Bathsheba, as his successor instead of his eldest son Adonijah . David is honored as an ideal king and

10873-1182: The dowry as 100 Philistine heads). Saul became jealous of David and tried to have him killed. David escaped. Then Saul sent Michal to Galim to marry Palti, son of Laish . David then took wives in Hebron , according to 2 Samuel 3; they were Ahinoam the Yizre'elite; Abigail , the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; Maacah , the daughter of Talmay, king of Geshur ; Haggith ; Abital ; and Eglah . Later, David wanted Michal back and Abner , Ish-bosheth's army commander, delivered her to him, causing Palti great grief. The Book of Chronicles lists his sons with his various wives and concubines . In Hebron , David had six sons: Amnon , by Ahinoam ; Daniel , by Abigail ; Absalom , by Maachah ; Adonijah , by Haggith ; Shephatiah , by Abital ; and Ithream , by Eglah . By Bathsheba, his sons were Shammua , Shobab, Nathan , and Solomon . David's sons born in Jerusalem of his other wives included Ibhar , Elishua, Eliphelet , Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama and Eliada. Jerimoth , who

11004-581: The exact date of compilation. Other scholars believe that the Books of Samuel were substantially composed during the time of Josiah , king of Judah, at the end of the 7th century BCE, extended during the Babylonian captivity and substantially complete by about 550 BCE. Old Testament scholar A. Graeme Auld contends that further editing was done even after then—the silver quarter- shekel Saul's servant offers to Samuel in 1 Samuel 9:8 "almost certainly fixes

11135-426: The first king of Israel, but is forced to go into hiding when Saul suspects David of plotting to take his throne. After Saul and his son Jonathan are killed in battle, David is anointed king by the tribe of Judah and eventually all the tribes of Israel. He conquers Jerusalem , makes it the capital of a united Israel , and brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city. He commits adultery with Bathsheba and arranges

11266-622: The following supplication on finishing the obligatory prayers: "May it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, to protect me against the impudent and against impudence, from bad men and bad companions, from severe sentences and severe plaintiffs, whether a son of the covenant or not." Rabbi Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg relates that the spirit of Rebbi Judah used to visit his home, wearing Shabbat clothes, every Friday evening at dusk. He would recite Kiddush , and others would thereby discharge their obligation to hear Kiddush. One Friday night there

11397-556: The forefather of the future Hebrew Messiah in Jewish prophetic literature, and many psalms are attributed to him. David is also richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition and referenced in the New Testament . Early Christians interpreted the life of Jesus of Nazareth in light of references to the Hebrew Messiah and to David; Jesus is described as being directly descended from David in

11528-454: The future Messiah." In the Middle Ages , " Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him". Western Rite churches ( Lutheran , Roman Catholic ) celebrate David's feast day on 29 December or 6 October, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate

11659-598: The generation") or Nesi doreinu ( נשיא דורנו ‎; "prince of our generation") to refer to his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn . In Modern Hebrew , nasi means "president", and is not used in its classical sense. The word nasi is used, in Israel, as the title of the President of Israel and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel . In Hebrew, the word "prince" is now expressed by

11790-533: The headings are late additions and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty. Psalm 34 is attributed to David on the occasion of his escape from Abimelech (or King Achish ) by pretending to be insane. According to the parallel narrative in 1 Samuel 21, instead of killing the man who had exacted so many casualties from him, Abimelech allows David to leave, exclaiming, "Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?" David

11921-404: The heat of battle. David then marries the widowed Bathsheba. In response, Nathan, after trapping the king in his guilt with a parable that actually described his sin in analogy, prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house." When David acknowledges that he has sinned , Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die, but

12052-452: The historicity of which has been extensively challenged , and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed. Debates persist over several controversial issues: the exact timeframe of David's reign and the geographical boundaries of his kingdom; whether the story serves as a political defense of David's dynasty against accusations of tyranny, murder and regicide; the homoerotic relationship between David and Jonathan; whether

12183-418: The hyperbolic statement was later made that even his stable-master was wealthier than King Shapur . His household was compared to that of the emperor. Simeon ben Menasya praised Judah by saying that he and his sons united in themselves beauty, power, wealth, wisdom, age, honour, and the blessings of children. During a famine, Judah opened his granaries and distributed corn among the needy. But he denied himself

12314-467: The king and nasi held a close relationship until the tenth century. According to ethnologist Erich Brauer , among the Jews of Yemen , the title of nasi was conferred upon a man belonging to the community's most noble and richest family. There was no direct election for this post. In general, the nasi was also a scholar, well-versed in Torah, but this was not a condition for his office. Among his duties, he

12445-478: The king will eventually make another attempt on his life. David appeals to king Achish of Gath to grant him and his family sanctuary. Achish agrees, and upon hearing that David has fled to Philistia, Saul ceases to pursue him, though no such pursuit seemed to be in progress at the time. Achish permits David to reside in Ziklag , close to the border between Philistia and Judah. To further ingratiate himself to Achish and

12576-466: The kingdom?"). Saul plots his death, but Saul's son Jonathan , who loves David , warns him of his father's schemes and David flees. He goes first to Nob , where he is fed by the priest Ahimelech and given Goliath's sword, and then to Gath , the Philistine city of Goliath, intending to seek refuge with King Achish there. Achish's servants or officials question his loyalty, and David sees that he

12707-506: The lamp continue to burn in its usual place; let the table be set in its usual place; let the bed be made in its usual place." While teaching Torah, Judah would often interrupt the lesson to recite the Shema Yisrael . He passed his hand over his eyes as he said it. When 70-year-old wine cured him of a protracted illness, he prayed: "Blessed be the Lord, who has given His world into the hands of guardians". He privately recited daily

12838-416: The late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase bytdwd ( 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ), which is translated as " House of David " by most scholars. The Mesha stele , erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature,

12969-504: The late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE. It commemorates the king's victory over two enemy kings, and contains the phrase 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 , bytdwd , which most scholars translate as "House of David". Other scholars have challenged this reading, but this is likely a reference to a dynasty of the Kingdom of Judah which traced its ancestry to a founder named David. Two epigraphers , André Lemaire and Émile Puech , hypothesised in 1994 that

13100-456: The late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in the late eighth century BCE or at some other later date." But other scholars have criticized the techniques and interpretations to reach some conclusions related to Khirbet Qeiyafa, such as Israel Finkelstein and Alexander Fantalkin of Tel Aviv University , who have instead proposed that the city

13231-608: The leader of each tribe is referred to as a nasi, and each one brings a gift to the Tabernacle . In Numbers 34:16–29 , occurring 38 years later in the Biblical story, the nǝśiʾim ( נְשִׂיאִים⁩ , plural) of each tribe are listed again, as the leaders responsible for apportioning tribal inheritances. Later in the history of ancient Israel, the title of nasi was given to the Kings of Judah ( Ezekiel 44:2–18 ; Ezra 1:8 ). Similarly,

13362-656: The life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd ; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds ; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Ahitophel , and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion . Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of

13493-415: The most popular legends about David, including his killing of Goliath, his affair with Bathsheba , and his ruling of the unified Kingdom of Israel rather than just Judah, are the creation of those who lived generations after him, in particular those living in the late Persian or Hellenistic periods. The Tel Dan stele , discovered in 1993, is an inscribed stone erected by Hazael , a king of Damascus in

13624-547: The mountainous Wilderness of Ziph . Jonathan meets with David again and confirms his loyalty to David as the future king. After the people of Ziph notify Saul that David is taking refuge in their territory, Saul seeks confirmation and plans to capture David in the Wilderness of Maon, but his attention is diverted by a renewed Philistine invasion and David is able to secure some respite at Ein Gedi . Returning from battle with

13755-474: The phrase "House of David". Replying to Langlois, Na'aman argued that the "House of David" reading is unacceptable because the resulting sentence structure is extremely rare in West Semitic royal inscriptions. Besides the two steles, Bible scholar and Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen suggests that David's name also appears in a relief of the pharaoh Shoshenq I , who is usually identified with Shishak in

13886-428: The pleasures procurable by wealth, saying: "Whoever chooses the delights of this world will be deprived of the delights of the next world; whoever renounces the former will receive the latter". The year of Judah's death is deduced from the statement that his student Abba Arikha left Eretz Yisrael for good not long before Judah's death, in year 530 of the Seleucid era (219 CE). He assumed the office of patriarch during

14017-565: The profane with the holy!" Judah hands down a halakhah by Jose in Menachot 14a. Judah studied from Shimon bar Yochai in Teqoa , a place some have identified with Meron . He also studied with Eleazar ben Shammua . Judah did not study with Rabbi Meir , evidently in consequence of the conflicts which distanced Meir from the house of the patriarch. However, he considered himself lucky even to have seen Meir from behind. Another of Judah's teachers

14148-542: The psalmist's wish "Let the words of my mouth ... be acceptable in thy sight," thus: "May the Psalms have been composed for the coming generations; may they be written down for them; and may those that read them be rewarded like those that study halakhic sentences". He said that the Book of Job was important if only because it presented the sin and punishment of the generations of the Flood. He proves from Exodus 16:35 that there

14279-476: The reading "House of David" and, in conjunction with the monarch's city of residence "Horonaim" in Moab, makes it likely that the one mentioned is King Balak , a name also known from the Hebrew Bible . Later that year, Michael Langlois used high-resolution photographs of both the inscription itself, and the 19th-century original squeeze of the then still intact stele to reaffirm Lemaire's view that line 31 contains

14410-469: The recommendation of students for communal offices; orders relating to the announcement of the new moon; amelioration of the law relating to the Sabbatical year; and to decrees relating to tithes in the frontier districts of Eretz Yisrael. The last-named he was obliged to defend against the opposition of the members of the patriarchal family. The ameliorations he intended for Tisha B'Av were prevented by

14541-459: The reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (c. 165). Hence Judah, having been born about 135, became patriarch at the age of 30, and died at the age of about 85. The Talmud notes that Rabbi Judah the Prince lived for at least 17 years in Sepphoris , and that he applied unto himself the biblical verse, "And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years" (Genesis 47:28) . According to

14672-443: The sages ( rabbinic leaders) of each subsequent generation. For centuries, the Torah appeared only as a written text transmitted in parallel with the oral tradition. Fearing that the oral traditions might be forgotten, Judah undertook the mission of consolidating the various opinions into one body of law which became known as the Mishnah . This completed a project which had been mostly clarified and organised by his father and Nathan

14803-662: The same for the cities of Kefar Tzemach, Caesarea and Beit Gubrin . He forbade his students to study in the marketplace, basing his prohibition on his interpretation of Song of Songs 7:2, and censured one of his students who violated this restriction. His exegesis includes many attempts to harmonise conflicting Biblical statements. Thus he harmonises the contradictions between Genesis 15:13 ("400 years") and 15:16 ("the fourth generation"); Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:18; Numbers 9:23, 10:35 and ib., Deuteronomy 14:13 and Leviticus 11:14. The contradiction between Genesis 1:25 (which lists 3 categories of created beings) and 1:24 (which adds

14934-476: The text is a Homer -like heroic tale adopting elements from its Ancient Near East parallels; and whether elements of the text date as late as the Hasmonean period. In the biblical narrative of the Books of Samuel , David is described as a young shepherd and harpist whose heart is devoted to Yahweh , the one true God. He gains fame and becomes a hero by killing Goliath . He becomes a favorite of Saul ,

15065-540: The time of Pharaoh Akhenaten . While Mazar believes that David reigned over Israel during the 11th century BCE, he argues that much of the Biblical text is of "literary-legendary nature". According to William G. Dever, the reigns of Saul , David and Solomon are reasonably well attested, but "most archeologists today would argue that the United Monarchy was not much more than a kind of hill-country chiefdom". Lester L. Grabbe wrote in 2017: "The main question

15196-504: The title, including Judah ha-Nasi , who was the chief redactor of the Mishnah as well as nasi of the Sanhedrin. In Modern Hebrew , its meaning has changed to " president ". The noun nasi (including its grammatical variations) occurs 132 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible and is usually translated "prince", or occasionally "captain." The first use is for the twelve "princes" who will descend from Ishmael , in

15327-480: The uncertainty of acquittal, and began to cry. Hiyya found him weeping during his last illness because death was about to deprive him of the opportunity of studying the Torah and of fulfilling the commandments. Once, when at a meal his students expressed their preference for soft tongue, he made this an opportunity to say, "May your tongues be soft in your mutual intercourse" (i.e., "Speak gently without disputing"). Before he died, Judah said: "I need my sons! ... Let

15458-520: The words "to do the evil" in II Samuel 12:9 to mean that David did not really sin with Bathsheba , but only intended to do so. As she was actually divorced at the time he took her. Abba Arikha, Judah's student, ascribes this apology for King David to Judah's desire to justify his ancestor. A sentence praising King Hezekiah and an extenuating opinion of King Ahaz have also been handed down in Judah's name. Characteristic of Judah's appreciation of aggadah

15589-538: Was Judah bar Ilai , who was officially employed in the house of the patriarch as judge in religious and legal questions. In later years, Judah described how in his childhood he read the Book of Esther at Usha in the presence of Judah bar Ilai. Judah felt especial reverence for Jose ben Halafta , the student of Akiva's who had the closest relations with Simon ben Gamaliel. When, in later years, Judah raised objections to Jose's opinions, he would say: "We poor ones undertake to attack Jose, though our time compares with his as

15720-472: Was Nathan the Babylonian , who also took a part in the conflict between Meir and the patriarch; Judah confessed that once, in a fit of youthful ardour, he had failed to treat Nathan with due reverence. In both halakhic and aggadic tradition, Judah's opinion is often opposed to Nathan's. In the Jerusalemite tradition, Judah ben Korshai (the halakhic specialist mentioned as assistant to Simon ben Gamaliel)

15851-475: Was nasi between 118 and 120 CE , was not given the title rabban , perhaps because he only occupied the office of nasi for a short while, after which it reverted to the descendants of Hillel. Prior to Rabban Gamliel the Elder, no titles were used before anyone's name, in line with the Talmudic adage " Gadol miRabban shmo " ("Greater than the title rabban is a person's own name"). For this reason, Hillel

15982-567: Was Judah's work, although it includes a few sentences by his son and successor, Gamaliel III , perhaps written after Judah's death. Both the Talmuds assume as a matter of course that Judah is the originator of the Mishnah—"our Mishnah," as it was called in Babylon—and the author of the explanations and discussions relating to its sentences. However, Judah is more correctly considered redactor of

16113-642: Was a knock at the door. "Sorry," said the maid, "I can't let you in just now because Rabbeinu HaKadosh is in the middle of Kiddush." From then on Judah stopped coming, since he did not want his coming to become public knowledge. According to Rabbinical Jewish tradition, God gave both the Written Law (the Torah ) and the Oral Law to Moses on biblical Mount Sinai . The Oral Law is the oral tradition as relayed by God to Moses and from him, transmitted and taught to

16244-416: Was a representative of the community in all its affairs before the government. He was also entrusted with the duty of collecting the annual jizya or poll-tax, as well as settling disputes arising between members of the community. The term nasi was used by Menachem Mendel Schneerson to refer to the spiritual leaders of Chabad . In particular, he used the term Nesi Hador ( נשיא הדור ‎; "prince of

16375-592: Was a virtue ascribed to Judah, and he admired it greatly in his father, who openly recognised Shimon bar Yochai's superiority, thus displaying the same modesty as the Bnei Bathyra when they gave way to Hillel , and as Jonathan when he voluntarily gave precedence to his friend David . Nothing is known regarding the time when Judah succeeded his father as leader of the Jews remaining in Eretz Yisrael . According to Rashi , Judah's father Simon had served as

16506-473: Was born in 135 in the newly-established Roman province of Syria Palaestina to Simeon ben Gamaliel II . According to the Talmud , he was of the Davidic line . He is said to have been born on the same day that Rabbi Akiva died as a martyr . The Talmud suggests that this was a result of divine providence : God had granted the Jewish people another leader of great stature to succeed Akiva. His place of birth

16637-525: Was given the title rabban . In its place, Judah haNasi was given the lofty accolade Rabbeinu HaKadosh ('Our Holy Teacher'). Jeremy Cohen, "The Nasi of Narbonne: A Problem in Medieval Historiography," AJS Review, 2 (1977): pp. 45–76, Jones, Lindsay, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Detroit: Gale, 2005. s.v. "Yehudah Ha-Nasi." Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Judah

16768-619: Was given to the nasi starting with Gamaliel the Elder . The title rabban was restricted in usage to the descendants of Hillel the Elder , the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai (c. 30–90 CE ), the leader in Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE and who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with the Emperor Vespasian . Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah , who

16899-422: Was something less than a full-fledged monarchy: it often calls him nagid "prince, chief" (Hebrew: נָגִיד , romanized:  nāgīḏ ), rather than melekh "king" ( מֶלֶךְ ); David sets up none of the complex bureaucracy that a kingdom needs. His army is made up of volunteers and his followers are largely relations or from his home region of Hebron . Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations

17030-430: Was spoken, and the maids of the house became known for their use of obscure Hebrew terminology. Judah devoted himself to the study of the oral and the written law. He studied under some of Akiva's most eminent students. As their student and through converse with other prominent men who gathered about his father, he laid a strong foundation of scholarship for his life's work: the editing of the Mishnah. His teacher at Usha

17161-475: Was sweeter to him than the love of a woman", has been compared to Achilles ' comparison of Patroclus to a girl and Gilgamesh 's love for Enkidu "as a woman". Others hold that the David story is a political apology—an answer to contemporary charges against him, of his involvement in murders and regicide. The authors and editors of Samuel and Chronicles aimed not to record history but to promote David's reign as inevitable and desirable, and for this reason there

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