Simeon ben Gamliel (I) ( or רשב"ג הראשון; c. 10 BCE – 70 CE) was a '' Tanna'' sage and leader of the Jewish people. He served as nasi of the Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem during the outbreak of the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

, succeeding his father in the same office after his father's death in 52 CE and just before the

destruction of the Second Temple The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province o ...

. The great-grandson of

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, ...

, he was considered to be a direct descendant of King David.(Hebrew)
He was a contemporary of the high priests Ḥanan ben Ḥanan and

Yehoshua ben Gamla Joshua ben Gamla (), also called Jesus the son of Gamala (), was a Jewish high priest in about 64-65 CE. He was killed during the First Jewish–Roman War. While the Talmud refers to Joshua ben Gamla, the earlier Greek works of Josephus Flavius ...

. He is one of the Ten Martyrs mentioned in Jewish liturgy. According to the '' Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon'' he was beheaded, along with Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha the

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

, prior to the Temple's destruction, although the historian

Josephus Flavius 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 des ...

mentions only the execution of Ishmael in Cyrene during the First Jewish–Roman War (ca. 66-68 CE). The account is mentioned in both Tractate Semachot ch 8, and in

Avot de-Rabbi Nathan Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c.700–900 CE). Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the "minor tracta ...

(38:3), where he is given the title of '' nasi'', along with the dignitary title of "Rabban" ("our Master"). No contemporary Greek or Roman historian has left an account of his beheading by the Romans at Cyrene, but Josephus may have alluded to the cause by writing in his ''

Vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

'' that Simeon, during the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt, gave his verbal support to the warring faction in Galilee under John of Gischala. Before his death, he and his fellow jurists opposed the appointment of

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 ...

as military governor of the Galilee and sought to remove him from that post, but to no avail. His tomb is traditionally located in

Kafr Kanna Kafr Kanna ( ar, كفر كنا, ''Kafr Kanā''; he, כַּפְר כַּנָּא) is an Arab town in the Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel. It is associated by Christians with the New Testament village of Cana, where Jesus turn ...

, in the lower

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 Gali ...

of northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Quotes

* All my life have I been reared among the Sages, but I have found nothing better for the body than silence; 'Tis not the conveyance of teachings which is the principal im but rather the discharge of one's duty (i.e. action). Whosoever is verbose brings on sin. * By three things is the world sustained: by judgment, by truth, and by peace.Pirkei Avot 1:18
/ref>

References

1st-century BCE Jews 1st-century rabbis 10s BC births 70 deaths Jewish martyrs Mishnah rabbis People executed by the Roman Empire People of the First Jewish–Roman War Pirkei Avot rabbis Sanhedrin {{MEast-rabbi-stub