Symmachus ben Joseph ( he, סוֹמְכוֹס בן יוסף Romanized: Sômǝkôs ben Joseph) was a Jewish Tanna sage of the fifth generation.

Biography

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mish ...

is considered his main teacher.

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 cen ...

Kiddushin 33a
/ref> After R. Meir died, and despite R.

Judah ben Ilai Judah bar Ilai (), also known as Yehuda bar Ma'arava (, lit. "Judah of the West") and Rabbi Judah, was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of tannaim). Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" a ...

's reluctance to teach R. Meir's students (who were considered "vexatious" students), Symmachus joined R. Judah ben Ilai's class and debated

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

matters with him. Symmachus' brilliance was described as follows:

Teachings

He is quoted five times in the Mishna: three times his teachings appear, and twice he quotes an opinion of Rabbi Meir. He is best known for the following disagreement about judgment in a case of monetary dispute: Later opinions differ on which situations Symmachus intended for his rule to apply.The Position of Sumchus: Mammon Ha-Mutal Be-Safek Cholkim
/ref>

Relation to other individuals named Symmachus

Some have tried to identify him with Symmachus the translator, but this view has been generally rejected. In Epiphanius' treatise ''

On Weights and Measures ''On Weights and Measures'' is a historical, lexical, metrological, and geographical treatise compiled in 392 AD in Constantia by Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315–403). The greater part of the work is devoted to a discussion on Greek and Ro ...

'', a certain Symmachus is said to have converted to Judaism from the Samaritan religion at the time of the Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

who is also called Verus.'' Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures - The Syriac Version'' (ed. James Elmer Dean), University of Chicago Press 1935, p. 32 Rabbi Meir would have been his contemporary.

References

{{Tannaim Mishnah rabbis