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Gamaliel the Elder (; also spelled Gamliel; Rabban Gamlīʾēl hazZāqēn; 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, and a daughter, who married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael. Avodah Zarah 3:10
In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisees doctor of Halakha. Gamaliel was named as a member of the Sanhedrin in the fifth chapter of Acts and the teacher of Paul the Apostle in . (2025). 9780805443653, B & H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805443653 Gamaliel encouraged his fellow Pharisees to show leniency to the apostles of Jesus in .Raymond E. Brown, A Once-and-Coming Spirit at Pentecost, page 35 (Liturgical Press, 1994).
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.Pesahim 88:2 (88b) 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 Nabataeans, or Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice.Adolph Buechler, Das Synhedrion in Jerusalem, p.129. Vienna, 1902.
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 views of the rabbis within them, these texts do not portray Gamaliel as being knowledgeable about the Jewish scriptures, nor do they describe him as a teacher. For this reason, Gamaliel is not listed as part of the chain of individuals who perpetuated the Mishnaic tradition. Pirkei Abot 1–2 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. Yevamot 16:7
Various pieces of classical rabbinic literature additionally mention that Gamaliel sent out three , designed as notifications of new religious rulings, and which portray Gamaliel as the head of the Jewish body for religious law.Tosefta Sanhedrin 2:6; Sanhedrin 11b; Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 18d; Jerusalem Talmud Ma'aser Sheni 56c Two of these three were sent, respectively, to the inhabitants of Galilee and "the Darom" (southern Judea), and were on the subject of the first tithe. The third epistle was sent to the Jewish diaspora and argued for the introduction of an intercalary month.
Since the Hillelian school of thought is presented collectively, very few other teachings are clearly identifiable as Gamaliel's. There is only a cryptic dictum comparing his students to classes of fish:
In some manuscripts of Dunash ibn Tamim's tenth-century Hebrew commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah, the author identifies Gamaliel with the physician Galen. He claims to have seen an Arabic medical work translated from Hebrew entitled The Book of Gamaliel the Prince (Nasi), called Galenos among the Greeks. However, since Galen lived in the second century and Gamaliel died during the mid-first century, this is unlikely.
The Book of Acts later goes on to describe Paul the Apostle recounting that though "born in Tarsus", he was brought up in Jerusalem "at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (). No details are given about which teachings Paul adopted from Gamaliel, as it is assumed that as a Pharisee, Paul was already recognized in the community at that time as a devout Jew. Also, how much Gamaliel influenced aspects of Christianity is unmentioned. However, there is no other record of Gamaliel ever having taught in public, but the Talmud does describe Gamaliel as teaching a student who displayed "impudence in learning", which a few scholars identify as a possible reference to Paul.Shabbat 30b The relationship of Paul the Apostle and Judaism continues to be the subject of scholarly debate. Helmut Koester, Professor of Divinity and Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University, questions if Paul studied under Gamaliel at all, arguing that there is a marked contrast in the tolerance that Gamaliel is said to have expressed toward Christianity with the "murderous rage" against Christians that Paul is described as having before his conversion (). However, Richard Bauckham, a scholar at Ridley Hall at Cambridge, argues that Paul was indeed connected to Gamaliel.
Reasonably complete manuscripts of Laha Maryam exist in both Ge'ez and Garshuni versions. Regardless of whether Laha Maryam is quoting a lost gospel, Gamaliel does feature in it. He witnesses a miracle of healing in raising a dead man at empty tomb; Jesus's abandoned grave cloths have miraculous powers. Gamaliel also talks with Pontius Pilate, who is portrayed highly positively as a Christian himself.Günter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in The Holy Land: Palestine in The Fourth Century, pages 110–111 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2000. ); citing M.-A. van den Oudenrijn, Gamaliel: Athiopische Texte zur Pilatusliteratur (Freiburg, 1959).
The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Gamaliel as a saint, and he is commemorated on August 2, Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar (referenced Aug 14, 2020) Saint Gamaliel (referenced August 14, 2020) the date when sacred tradition holds that his were found, along with those of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, Abibon (Gamaliel's son), and Nicodemus. The traditional liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church celebrates the same feast day of the finding of the relics on August 3. It is said that in the fifth century, his body had been discovered and taken to Pisa Cathedral by a miracle."Gamaliel the Elder", Catholic Encyclopedia
Gamaliel is referred to in the 15th-century Catalan language document, Acts of Llàtzer. Diccionari de la Literatura Catalana (2008)
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