Shemaiah (, ''Šəmaʿyā''; , ''Samaíās''), or Shmaya (in

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 w ...

) 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 t ...

nic 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 Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...

of the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...

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

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 Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

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

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

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 ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

descent, although both were

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

ns. According to the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

, 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), wh ...

. He was a leader of the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

in the 1st century BCE and president of the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

before the reign of

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 ...

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

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 ...

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,

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 (; , ; ), 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 pr ...

and the Talmud. The tombs of Shemaiah and Abtalyon are located in Jish, a Maronite Christian village in the Galilee.

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'' (). According to Josephus, he led the

during the transition period between the Hasmonean dynasty and the rise of King Herod the Great. Shemaiah is described by Josephus as a disciple of Pollion 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, ''Geschichte'' iii. 171–207, and note 16 * Emil Schürer, ''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